Philippines naturalizes 8 stars to play for Vietnam national team, including Bayern Munich player

Coach Tom Saintflet announced that the Philippines team will soon have about 8 more naturalized players. These new players are expected to play in 2 matches in June, respectively against Vietnam and Indonesia in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The players revealed by coach Tom Saintfiet include Raphael Obermair (SC Paderborn 07 - Germany), Anthony Markanich (St. Louis City SC - USA), Joseph Baccay (Odds BK - Norway), Zico Bailey (New Mexico United - USA), Dylan Demuynck (SV Zulte Waregem - Belgium), Johannes Selven (Vestri - Sweden), Bjorn Martin Christensen (Aalesunds - Norway) and Adrian Ugelvik (Levanger FK - Norway).

“Theoretically, 90% of these players have completed the naturalization procedure and have passports for the matches next June,” coach Tom Saintfiet emphasized.

Among these 8 players, Raphael Obermair is the highest valued player according to the transfer website.Transfermarkt(1.2 million euros, more than 33 billion VND). Winger Raphael Obermair (28 years old) has played 67 matches in the German second division for SC Paderborn 07. Raphael Obermair's father is German and his mother is Filipino. Notably, Raphael Obermair used to train at Bayern Munich's training center.

Raphael Obermair played 61 matches and scored 9 goals for Bayern Munich's reserve team in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. However, this player has not played a single match for Bayern Munich's first team. Raphael Obermair was called up to the Philippines national team 2 years ago but for some reasons he has not played a single match for the national team.

After being appointed as coach of the Philippines national team in February this year, coach Tom Saintfiet has been actively looking for players of Filipino descent in the US and Europe.

SheetBolaof Indonesia believes that coach Shin Tae-yong and his team need to be vigilant against the aforementioned naturalized players of the Philippine national team. “The Indonesian team needs to be careful. The Philippine coach is preparing to use 8 naturalized players, one of whom used to be a player of Bayern Munich,” the newspaperBolawrite.

SheetSpinof the Philippines believes that the national team still has a chance to continue in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia. "With 1 point, the Philippine team still has a very slim chance to advance to the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup," the newspaper commented.

Indonesia is in second place in Group F with 7 points. The Philippines will face Vietnam and Indonesia in June. If they do not advance to the World Cup qualifiers, the Philippines will compete in the third qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup.

According to the match schedule, the Philippines team will play away at My Dinh Stadium against the Vietnamese team on June 6. Coach Tom Saintfiet and his team will then play away at the Indonesian team on June 11.