History has been made as the national women’s football officially punched its spot in the prestigious FIFA World Cup next year.
Bannered by Philippine Malditas, the country made history as it escaped Chinese Taipei, 4-3 on penalties, in the quarterfinals of the AFC Asian Cup at Shivchatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India late Sunday.
It was Sarina Bolden who provided the winning spark, delivering the World Cup-clinching penalty shot in a nerve-wracking shootout.
With the win, the country will see action in the prestigious quadrennial event that will be held in Australia next year, as well as a semifinals spot in the continental tourney.
Trailing by one point during the penalities, Olivia McDaniel steered the Pinays and fired a crispy strike to even the scorecard, before Bolden disappointed the Taiwanese squad and secured the golden win.
Coming off a scoreless first half, striker Quinley Quezada put the Filipinas ahead in the 48th minute, before Zhuo Li-Ping equalized in the 83rd minute of the regulation, 1-1. Also securing their World Cup slots earlier are semis-bound Japan, South Korea and China.
The Philippines will face South Korea in the Final Four match on 3 February.
To recall, the Malditas advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup after clobbering Indonesia, 6-0, in their last remaining group stage match, finishing their Group B campaign at second place with six points off a 2-1 win-loss slate.IMT Sports
