Filipinas striker Sarina Bolden (left) struggles to keep ball possession against Matildas defender Clare Hunt. —PHILIPPINE WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM
The Filipinas will not only need to win their final second round match in the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament but also win it big and rely on other teams to slip up after a brutal beating at the hands of host Australia on Sunday.
Coach Mark Torcaso’s side suffered an 8-0 loss before 59,000 fans at Optus Stadium in Perth as the Matildas displayed the quality that made them one of the world’s top women’s football countries behind a pair of English club strikers Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord.
And the merciless scoreline sent the Filipinas behind the eight-ball in so far as their dreams of flying to Paris for next year’s Summer Games, as being the best among the three second-place teams in the round now seems far-fetched.
Team PH not only needs to beat Iran on Wednesday to wrap up its Group A assignment at Rectangular Stadium by a big margin, which was still being determined at press time.
But they also have to rely on the fate of the teams from the two other groups in hopes of a miracle and sneak the elusive spot in the third and final phase of the Olympic qualification.
A goal difference of -5, however, no thanks to the number of goals they conceded against the Matildas, will certainly put the Filipinas in a situation where they’ll need more than a prayer to stay in contention. They opened the second round last Thursday with a 4-1 comeback win over Chinese Taipei.
Goal difference
North Korea and Uzbekistan are second in their respective groups before Sunday’s matches, each having a goal difference of +1.
Goal difference is determined by subtracting the number of goals scored to the number of goals conceded.
It was the third time that the Filipinas were beaten handily under Torcaso, who took over from fellow Aussie Alen Stajcic after the Fifa Women’s World Cup, adding to the 5-1 loss to South Korea and an 8-1 defeat to Japan in the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The shutout was also the first in Torcaso’s early tenure after seven matches.
Kerr, a world-class striker for Chelsea, punished the Filipinas by producing three goals in a performance that may have signified her return to full strength after being limited by injuries in the Matildas’ run to the World Cup semis on home soil.
Also having a big hand in tearing the Filipinas defense to shreds was Foord, another high-caliber player suiting for Arsenal. She assisted the first two Australia goals courtesy of Mary Fowler and Kerr inside 19 minutes before scoring twice before halftime and adding a third during the second half.
The Filipinas also didn’t have a shot on target during the contest. INQ