After a week-long camp which drew nine UAAP booters, the youngest and only high schooler of the batch made the Philippine Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT) for the 2026 World Cup Qualifying Tournament this month.
Reigning UAAP juniors football Golden Boot awardee Theo Jico Libarnes of Far Eastern University (FEU) Diliman is among the seven strikers included in the final 28 for the home-and-away window against world number 59 Iraq on March 21 (in Basra) and March 26 (in Manila).
The 19-year-old Libarnes, who scored seven goals in the just-concluded Season 86, joins the most-capped active national Patrick Reichelt (KL City), his fellow 12-year veteran O.J. Porteria (Dewa United), and UAAP alumni Jarvey Gayoso (Kaya), Jeremiah Borlongan (Cebu), Chima Uzoka (Cebu), and Andres Aldeguer (Central Connecticut).
“Unang-una po thankful po ako kay God and sa coaches dahil sa opportunity na binigay sa ‘kin para i-represent ang ating bansa,” Libarnes told Fullcourtfresh.com.
Despite being the second youngest in the team (a year older than Atleti youth’s Santi Rublico), Libarnes expressed his “eagerness to learn and improve as a player.”
“Marami po akong natutunan sa camp lalo na po isa ako sa pinakabata na nasa lineup nanibago po talaga ako dahil ibang level napo talaga yung nakakasabayan ko po. Sobrang daming nakukuha kong learning kina coach at mga kuyas ko po inside and outside the pitch,” Libarnes explained.
Due to the lack of depth in the PMNFT’s final third due to the absence of Gerrit Holtmann (Darmstadt), Sandro Reyes (Greuther Furth II), Sebastian Rasmussen (Hobro), and Kenshiro Daniels (RASN Nusantara), the Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur native, if fielded, will be up against the likes of Ayman Hussein (Al-Quwa), who scored braces against Japan and Vietnam in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
And while he is a star in his campus and has played in a packed UP Diliman stadium in FEU’s games, Libarnes recognizes the magnitude of playing in a much larger crowd in the international arena.
“First time ko po maglalaro sa maraming crowd nire-ready ko na sarili ko po para mahandle ko nang maayos sarili ko po sa laro,” Libarnes commented.
A change in the Philippine football climate—new leaders, new management, a dearth in scorers, and the Philippine Football Federation’s renewed commitment in developing the grassroots—catapulted the young Libarnes to the proverbial lion’s den.
“If ever na mabigyan po ako ng time maka laro bibigay ko po lage 100% best ko,” he assured.
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