Cole Mrowka relishes scoring debut goal in front of home crowd

MANILA, June 5 ------ Cole Mrowka relished making his debut for the Philippine Men's National Football Team in front of 2,243 fans on home soil.

In his first appearance for the national team, Mrowka was in the Starting XI against Guam in the Tr-Nation Friendlies opener on Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The Filipino-American midfielder wasted no time making his presence felt, scoring the breakthrough goal for the Philippines in the sixth minute.

Mrowka cherished the opportunity of having his debut game at home, with a sweet bonus of scoring his first goal. "Scoring goals is always fun but when you hear the crowd, cheer in that way, it's amazing," he told reporters after the 5-1 victory over Guam. "Obviously as a team you know you want to win. The goal always when you step on the field is to win. I would say, personal goal is to just play well and combine with my teammates. And kind of build those connections," Mrowka added.

The 20-year-old said the Guam friendly gave him a huge confidence boost, heading into their next assignment in the Tri-Nation Friendles. "It's important. We knew like it's a result that we should have. But you still have to do the steps to get there at the end of the day. It's important and it's a good building block into a tougher opponent. And you know we'll see what happens," Mrowka said.

Aside from doing his part as midfielder, the Filipino-American midfielder said he is eager to build chemistry with his teammates on the pitch. "My first three training sessions and now a game. So it's difficult when you haven't played with people before so you kinda have to build those connections on the pitch," he explained.

But Mrowka said his teammates have been guiding him and making sure he settles into the squad as they prepare for the 2026 ASEAN Championship. "There's obviously a lot of experience especially with the midfield, with Sandro and all of them. So they've been giving me their advice. And honestly the support they've given me is very easy," he shared. "So when you have players around you that are backing you and they wanna see you do well and they wanna help you, it's easy to play well and there's less pressure on the pitch," Mrowka added.

Fellow midfielder Sandro Reyes lauded the new faces for quickly adapting to the team, including Mrowka. "I think the guys that came come from very good football knowledge. Cole [Mrowka], Kenji [Nishioka] a lot of the guys making their debut today. And they look like they were with the team for a couple of years already," he said.

Before the national team call-up, Mrowka has been playing for professional American club Columbus Crew in Ohio since 2024. Last year, he was loaned to Colorado Springs Switchbacks that competes in the USL Championships. When asked what his next objective is after his memorable debut, Mrowka simply said it's all about 'scoring more goals.' Mrowka will have another opportunity as the national team takes on Myanmar on June 9, Tuesday at the same venue.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com