PERTH – Heading east on Monday, March 1, the Philippine national women’s football team are off to their next mission.
After travelling 3620 km by air, the Filipinas will get ready to meet South Korea on Thursday for their second Group A match of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in the city of Gold Coast.
Reeling from a 0-1 loss to the Australian Matildas, the Filipinas will be in the suburbs of Robina, in time for action at the Cbus Super Stadium, a 27,690-seater arena, located inside the State of Queensland.
“This is credit to the hard work the girls have put in, not just for the last month, but for over a year, to get to this point, to where we want to get into another World Cup,” said coach Mark Torcaso, hours after their encounter with the world no. 15 Matildas.
They may have lost, but the world no. 41st Filipinas showed guts, and almost silenced a big home crowd, with a sturdy defense during their 95-minute battle, and in a campaign supported by the Philippine Football Federation and the Philippine Sports Commission.
After skipper and comebacking star player Sam Kerr scored in the 14th minute, they took pride in the defensive stand that the team put up against the Matildas, who won 8-0, the last time Filipinas met them in an Olympic qualifier.
“So I’m really happy with the girls, really proud of them, and we’re just gonna look to get better and better each game,” said goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel, whose memorable saves kept the Matildas kept the from doing more damage.
Among McDaniel’s unforgettable moments during included her stops against Stephanie Catley (in the 40th minute), Caitlin Foord (53’, 89’), Clare Wheeler (66’), Gorry (74’), and Mary Fowler (86’).
The Matildas tried one last attempt, a final dangerous lob from Fowler, another key scorer, deep into stoppage time (90+4’), something that McDaniel took care off.
After the lone goal, the central-defense duo of Jessika Cowart and Hali Long repeatedly disrupted crosses and kept an eye on the presence of Kerr in their area.
Left back Sofia Wunsch repulsed the attacks Ellie Carpenter, along with Fil-Aussie defender Angela Beard.
