PH women’s team nears Asian Cup berth

Sustaining its fiery form, the Philippines closed in on its first AFC Women’s Asian Cup appearance in 15 years after an 8-0 demolition of host Tajikistan on Friday for its third straight victory of the qualification stage at Pamir Stadium in Dushanbe.

Flashing their best game yet, the Filipinos leaned on a hat trick of headers from Haili Long and a brace from Anicka Castaneda as they moved within a point of progressing to the final round of the most prestigious competition in the continent.

The Philippines last participated in the Asian Cup in 2003 in Thailand, where it won one game and lost three in the group stage. The tournament did not have a qualifying stage back then. The Philippines has missed out in the last four editions of the tournament.

A draw against Bahrain on Monday night will be enough for the Filipinos to make the Asian Cup in Amman, Jordan, in April next year. The Top 5 in the eight-nation Asian Cup will clinch berths to the next Women’s World Cup.

On the heels of 4-0 victories over Iraq and United Arab Emirates, the Filipinos delivered another scintillating display with Long equaling teammate Eva Madarang’s goal tally for the tournament with four goals.

Madarang did open the scoring with an angled header in the 17th minute, before Castaneda’s shot in the 34th minute beat Sakhina Saidova. Long grabbed the first of three goals with a header off a corner to make it 3-0 in the 38th minute.