MANILA, Philippines -- Stephan Schrock believes he is leaving the Philippine Azkals in good hands after the talismanic midfielder played his final game for the country on Monday night.

It wasn't quite the ending that Schrock envisioned, as the Azkals fell, 2-1, to Indonesia in their Group A game of the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Cup. They had already been eliminated from semifinal contention ahead of the match but the team had been hoping to give their skipper a triumphant send-off.

"Obviously, we wanted to win for our last group stage game before we finish this tournament. I think we gave a good fight," said Schrock after the match.

"I think the performance was well from all of us, from those who started and those who came in. I think we can all agree, that is a performance to be proud of, regardless of the result," he added.

• READ: Azkals bow to Indonesia in Schrock's final game

Schrock, 36, left his mark on the match as he assisted on Sebastian Rasmussen's 83rd minute goal that gave the Azkals some hope. But their search for an equalizer was for naught, with Indonesia holding on after scoring twice in the first half.

The loss capped a challenging campaign for the Azkals. Not only did they miss out on the semifinals, but they won just once in four games in the group stage.

A costly 3-2 defeat to Cambodia in their first game immediately put them in a tough position, although they rebounded with a 5-1 rout of Brunei at home. But they were comprehensively beaten by holders Thailand, 4-0, and closed out the tournament with yet another loss in front of their home supporters at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

This marks the second straight edition that the Azkals failed to advance to the semis.

Schrock, who played for the national team for 11 years, is asking for patience for the relatively young group, amid grumblings from supporters both online and at the stadium.

"If you follow the league, if you follow club football closely, then you would know what kind of struggles the players went through. They have a lot to deal with," he explained. "I have nothing but respect for everyone who showed up prepared, motivated, and with passion and commitment."

"Obviously, football is a result game, a performance thing. But you will not understand the troubles the players went through -- all of the players. You have to give credit to them," he said.

"And we have a bright future with the young ones, very, very promising players," Schrock assured.

Schrock had been the elder statesman of the group, which featured 14 players aged 25 and under. One of them is goal-scorer Rasmussen, who is only 20 and plays club football in Denmark for Randers Freja.

"It's a good move, it's a very smart move from the federation and from the management that we started the transition now. You will not see immediate results in this tournament, but this is a long-term concept, and it was necessary to do so," said Schrock.

"We will see results in the near future. Just be patient," he added.

Schrock won 57 caps for the Philippines, having made his debut against Sri Lanka on June 29, 2011. He went on to score six goals for the country and later earned the captain's armband.

He was hesitant to name his "successor" in the current squad, only stressing that the Azkals must work hard to achieve their full potential.

"There are plenty of good young players. But to be a good young player doesn't mean nothing yet. You have to develop as a person, as a player. There's many, many steps, many downfalls, many roller coasters to cross, and eventually someone will grow into that," said Schrock.

"Maybe not the best football player or maybe not the most popular guy, I don't know who it will be. But like I said, it would be unfair to point out someone from this group of the youth teams of the national team, because everyone is different from each other."

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