AFTER impressive initial wins last week, the Philippines and South Korea dispute Group E leadership today and, possibly, a ticket to the next round of the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games women’s football tournament at the Wenzhou Sports Center Stadium in Wenzhou, China.
The Filipinas greeted new Australian coach Mark Torcaso by opening their campaign with a 3-1 lacing of Hong Kong while the Korean Tigresses shut out Myanmar 3-0 to set up a pivotal match at 7:30 p.m. at the 18,000-capacity arena located 310.9 kilometers southeast of Hangzhou.
Strikers Sarina Bolden and Katrina Guillou accounted for the first two goals of the Nationals, who are making their Asian Games debut, in the eighth and 89th minutes, respectively, while veteran midfielder Quinley Quezada added the third in the 91st minute.
The victory wheeled them into the best second-placed squad among the five groups where the group topnotchers advance to the knockout phase together with the best three runners-ups spread across the groupings.
A second straight win by the Filipinas could push them one foot into the quarterfinal, with one match remaining against Myanmar on Thursday.
The South Koreans beat the Filipinas 2-0 the last time they met in the semifinals in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Feb. 3, 2022 in Pune, India, at which time the national footballers had earned their ticket to the FIFA Women’s World Cup held last July in Australia and New Zealand.
But the PH squad handled then by Aussie tactician Alen Stajcic had a better record with one win and two losses in Group A, their lone triumph coming at the expense of co-host New Zealand 1-0 at the Sky Stadium in the Kiwi capital of Wellington last July 25.
South Korea had one draw and two losses in Group H in Australia.
On paper, the Tigresses are fancied to win, based on their No. 20 rating in the FIFA women’s world rankings, 24 rungs higher than their foes.
But given their World Cup achievements and never-say-die mentality, the Filipinas cannot be taken lightly and are once again expected to fight tooth and nail in their bid to achieve a new milestone in Philippine football and advance closer to the gold-medal round.
