Philippines: Premier League Nations

Continuing our alphabetical world tour, next up is the Philippines. According to the Premier League, just one Filipino player has appeared in the Premier League, playing every minute of the 2018/19 season.

First (and only) Player – Neil Etheridge (Cardiff City; 2018-19)

An archetypal late bloomer of a footballer, Neil Etheridge made his Premier League debut in 2018 at the age of 28, playing every game in goal for Cardiff City and impressing with several match-saving performances.

Earlier in his career, Etheridge had spent six years with Fulham in the Premier League, but only ever made one appearance for the club, in the Europa League. By the summer of 2015, then aged 25, Etheridge had spent time with clubs in all four divisions in England but had made only 20 league appearances.

In stark contrast, by this point he had won 46 caps for the Philippines, the country of his mother, despite appearing for England’s under 16s in 2005.

His move to Walsall in 2015 proved the catalyst for his career. After two full seasons as the first choice, he moved to Cardiff, seamlessly entering an impressive side that won promotion to the Premier League with 90 points in Etheridge’s first season in the Welsh capital.

He played every single minute of Cardiff’s unsuccessful top-flight return, memorably saving penalties in each of his first two games. He remains at Cardiff now.

Records

• Most appearances – Neil Etheridge (38)
• First appearance – Neil Etheridge (Bournemouth 2-0 Cardiff, August 11^th 2018)
• Most goals – None
• First goal – N/A

Trivia

• Neil Etheridge kept clean sheets in each of his first four international appearances.
• Two Englishmen have previously managed the Philippines national team; Alan Rogers (1962-63) and Terry Butcher (2018).
• Neil Etheridge was the first and to date the only goalkeeper in the history of the Premier League to save a penalty in each of his first two appearances in the competition.