Filipinas cling to thin hopes
The Philippine women’s football team kept the inside track to the quarterfinals of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after ending the group stage with a 2-0 win over Iran in Gold Coast, Australia, on Sunday night.
Sara Eggesvik and Chandler McDaniel scored in each half as the Filipinas finally got the win to finish third in Group A with three points, which enabled the Philippines to momentarily hold onto one of the two best third-placer slots that would assure them of reaching the knockout stage.
Coach Mark Torcaso’s side now plays the waiting game, with Vietnam set to face Japan in Group B and Uzbekistan playing Bangladesh in Group B.
Vietnam has three points, while Uzbekistan has yet to win and has a goal difference of -6.
The Filipinas have a goal difference of -2 after dropping their first two matches against host Australia (1-0) and South Korea (3-0).
Uzbekistan meets Bangladesh on Monday, while Vietnam takes on Japan on Tuesday.
The top two teams in each of the three groups are also guaranteed of their places in the quarters of the tournament, which will contest the six Asian slots for the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Eggesvik broke the ice past the hour mark as the Filipinas took the lead against an Iranian side that is getting attention, given the conditions back home.
The Filipinas sustained the scoreline before McDaniel was able to double the lead in the 82nd.
McDaniel could have actually completed a brace and made it 3-0 for the Filipinas late, but that was disallowed after a video review commonly known as VAR.
The Filipinas came with the mindset of hoping to replicate what they had done in winning the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, where they got out of the group stage via the back door.
Should they advance, the Filipinas have two chances of getting back to the World Cup.
They could either beat their quarterfinal opponent to book their place in Brazil as one of the four Asian Cup semifinalists.
If they don’t, the Filipinas will go through a play-in match against one of the four losing quarterfinalists to contest a World Cup berth.
