Filipinas in tough Olympic qualifying group

The Filipinas will take heart in some of the positives from the SEA Games, including a second straight win over regional powerhouse Vietnam. —PFF PHOTO

The Filipinas will once again cross paths with Chinese-Taipei in another bid to make history in the second round of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in October.

After defeating the same country last year to qualify for the Fifa (International Federation of Association Football) Women’s World Cup for the first time, the Philippines is hoping to get a favorable result against its Taiwanese counterpart in Group A in order to reach the third and final phase of the qualification tournament for next year’s Paris Games.

But the Filipinas will also face group favorite Australia and Iran in its bid to progress further by going on top of the table or become the best among the three second-placers in the qualifiers.

In Group B are China, South Korea, Thailand and North Korea while Group C is composed of Japan, Vietnam, Uzbekistan and India following a draw held on Thursday.

Four slots from the three groups are at stake in the final round in February, using a playoff format to fill the two Olympic slots allotted for Asia.

It was Chinese-Taipei which the Philippines defeated to secure a World Cup berth for the first time in the country’s footballing history, happening during the quarterfinals of last year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India, with the Filipinas enduring a dramatic penalty shootout to pull off the unthinkable.

Goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel’s heroics between and in front of the sticks highlighted the Philippines’ 4-3 win in the shootout after the two teams couldn’t break a 1-1 tie after extra time.

Chinese-Taipei had won all of the four meetings with the Philippines prior to the thrilling encounter in the continental competition.

The historic Asian Cup run also saw the Filipinas take on Australia in the group stage, losing 4-0 against a Matildas team led by Chelsea star Sam Kerr.

The Filipinas also beat Australia to open its successful title campaign in the Asean Football Federation Women’s Championship in Manila last year, though the latter sent a squad made up mostly of youth players.

Meanwhile, the Philippines was drawn in Group B of the qualifiers for the 2024 U-17 Asian Cup in Indonesia with Australia, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

The U-17 qualifiers are set in September, with the top two teams advancing to the Asian Cup.