“I never stopped caring, I always gave everything for the team and the country.”

Philippine Men’s National Football Team (PMNFT) goalkeeper Neil Etheridge has announced his retirement from the national team, in an announcement posted via his Instagram account late last night.

With Etheridge’s announcement, all 13 men of the historic “Miracle of Hanoi” team, that defeated then defending ASEAN champs Vietnam in 2010 and is regarded as the turning point of modern Philippine football, have retired from international football.

Etheridge is widely regarded as PMNFT’s greatest goalkeeper, having played for flag and country from 2008 to 2024. He is also the Philippines and Southeast Asia’s first-ever player to play in the English Premier League for Cardiff City in 2018, earning the club’s Player of the Year Award and the Philippine Sportswriters Association’s Footballer of the Year award in the same year.

Capped in 82 international games for the Philippines, Etheridge was the starting keeper when the PMNFT clinched its first and only Asian Cup finals in a defining win against Tajikistan in March 2018.

“I think [his] legacy would be known to be the best, but not just known to be the best, but also more importantly, helping,” Etheridge’s teammate and PMNFT team manager Patrick Reichelt said. “He’s on [Philippine football’s] Mount Rushmore for me in any way.”

Etheridge continues his professional career for back-to-back ASEAN club champions Buriram United of Thailand and will still serve as an inspiration and motivator for the current crop of Filipino goalkeepers.

* * *