The Philippine national women’s football team is off to a rousing start as it crushed Chinese Taipei, 4-1, in the second round of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Thursday at the Perth Rectangular Stadium in Perth, Australia.
With three points and a +3 goal difference on hand, the Filipinas are currently on top of Group A and will be oozing with confidence when they march into their all-important match against the Australians on Sunday at Perth Stadium.
Coming off a scoreless first half, the Taiwanese struck first, thanks to a tap-in goal from Hsu Yi-yun in the 47th minute and it looked like they would get their revenge from their heartbreaking loss in the quarterfinal of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India.
But Sarina Bolden scored a penalty kick in the 54th minute to equalize before Katrina Guillou made it 2-1 for the Filipinas in the 61st minute after scoring a tap-in goal via an assist from team captain Tahnai Annis.
Bolden would then continue scoring for the Filipinas in the 83rd minute before getting substituted for Chandler McDaniel three minutes later.
McDaniel would then add her name in the score sheet as her strike in the 90th minute hit the crossbar and into the net to make it 4-1.
The Philippines are aiming to secure one the four sports for the third and final round of the Olympic qualifiers which will be held in February next year.
Only the top teams of each group and the best second place team in the second round will advance to the two-legged third round next year.
The Filipinas’ encounter with the Australians will be very crucial.
A win or a draw against the Matildas, who made it as far as the semifinal of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup last August, will further boost the Filipinas chances of making it to the third and final round of the qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Summer Games while a loss will put them on the verge of elimination.
