By MARK REY MONTEJO
The Philippine women’s futsal team delivered a spirited effort for the home fans but its best was not enough, yielding to Poland, 6-0, in the opener of the 2025 FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City on Friday, Nov. 21.
Motivated by the country’s historic hosting of the inaugural edition of the global competition, the Filipina5 came out like wounded tigers, they roared but the Polish booters demonstrated their class, mainly, in the second half where they fired four goals.
The three yellow cards weren’t able to dampen the offensive assault by one of the European heavyweights with Julia Basta spearheading Poland’s assault after hitting the back of the net twice and posting one assist.
Poland now shared the lead in Group A with Argentina after winning in a similar fashion, against Morocco.
The Philippines goes for a rebound when it takes on Morocco, while Argentina and Poland dispute the No. 1 spot in Group A. Both games are set Monday, Nov. 24, at the same venue.
Basta ignited Poland’s assault with a sixth-minute strike, with Natalia Matuszewska padding it to 2-0 in the 18th minute.
Unforgiving, Poland displayed much better outing in the next 20 minutes where they slotted home four more times and almost made it a “seventh heaven” after numerous attempts.
The Nationals battled for a much-needed breakthrough, only to be scuttled time and again by Poland’s disciplined defensive wall.
Meanwhile, Argentina put on a masterclass and demolished Morocco, 6-0, to start its campaign.
Ana Ontiveros sparked the Albiceleste’s onslaught at 14:56 mark as she scored their first goal that was quickly followed by a strike from Chiesa Agostina, Mailen Romero, and Luciana Natta to make it a sizable 4-0 advantage heading into the break.
The Argentinians sustained their superb form, with Lara Villalba and Julia Dupuy each finding the net to further break down the Atlas Lionesses, who struggled despite several attempts to respond.
Midfielder Nava was named as the outstanding player of the game after posting a goal and two assists, while Ontiveros made history as the first-ever scorer in the international futsal joust.
