TARLAC, Philippines -- Philippines' hopes of reaching a second straight ASEAN Championship knockout stage suffered a major setback on Tuesday after Myanmar cruised to a stunning 4-1 victory at New Clark City Stadium in Capas, Tarlac.
Than Paing struck in each half to help Myanmar secure its first three points of the tournament after opening with a defeat to Malaysia, while Philippines suffered its first home loss since falling to Iran during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers two years ago.
With torrential rain falling before kickoff, Myanmar made the brighter start and grabbed the lead in the seventh minute.
Kyaw Min Oo headed home after Soe Moe Kyaw's initial effort from a corner was blocked by Daisuke Sato inside the box, reacting quickest to convert the rebound.
Things went from bad to worse for Philippines just before the half-hour mark. Maung Maung Lwin split the defense with a perfectly-weighted through ball to Than Paing, who calmly slotted past Quincy Kammeraad to double Myanmar's advantage.
Philippines thought they had a lifeline in the 32nd minute when Jarvey Gayoso went down inside the penalty area but -- after a VAR review -- the referee overturned the decision and ruled there was no foul.
Gayoso eventually pulled one back in the 68th minute, finishing Javier Mariona's pass to cut Myanmar's lead to 2-1 and ignite the 3,104 fans in attendance.
Any hopes of a comeback, however, were quickly extinguished. Win Naing Tun restored Myanmar's two-goal cushion in the 81st minute before Than Paing completed his brace two minutes later to seal an emphatic victory.
Philippines will look to respond on Saturday when it faces Laos at KM16 National Stadium in Vientiane, with the result likely to have a significant impact on its hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.
