Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times
(C) PFF/PWNT

Filipinas

AFC: Filipinas keep Olympic dreams alive with crucial win over Iran


The Philippine Women’s National Football Team kept its Parisian dreams alive with a 1-0 win over Iran in the second round of the 2024 AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Perth, Australia.

The Filipinas secured second place in Group A with six points and a goal difference of minus-4. While the Philippines currently tops the ranking of group runners-up, it will be reliant on the results of other groups to advance to the next phase.

The 2022 AFF Women’s Championship winners need Group B teams South Korea and China to draw with each other. Group C teams Vietnam and Uzbekistan to lose against Japan and India, respectively. An Uzbekistan draw against India will suffice as well.

Tahnai Annis scored the game’s lone goal in the 19th minute with a cool finish from close range. The skipper’s goal gave the Filipinas a dream start to their must-win game, and they were forced to work hard for all three points against a desperate Iranian team.

Iran pounded the Philippines’ goal to revive its Olympic dreams. Goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel performed routine stops against Negin Sandi and Zahra Ghanbari to protect the Filipinas’ lead before the halftime break.

Come the second half, Ghanbari had an attempt that hit the crossbar and forced another crucial save from McDaniel. Amidst the danger of an Iranian leveler, the Philippines sought a safety goal. None arrived, but it was not because of a lack of effort in the attacking third.

Iran goalkeeper Zahra Khajavi denied Filipinas’ top scorer Sarina Bolden’s volley attempt from close range as well as Katrina Guillou one-on-one to keep her team in the contest.

#ReadMore  PWNFT held to draw by Myanmar in SEA Games debut

Ultimately, the Filipinas held on to accomplish their part of the bargain. They shall now wait and see if other pieces fall into place.

We knew that they were gonna be a difficult team to break down,” said coach Mark Torcaso. “Before today, I think, they only conceded two goals so we knew it was gonna be an extremely hard game to literally get in behind but score but in the end, I think we did enough to get the result.

On the other hand, the Lionesses of Iran finished their campaign tied with Chinese Taipei for the third to fourth spots in Group A. Chinese Taipei and the host nation Australia will face each other later tonight.

The Matildas are assured of qualifying for the next round as the top team of the group because of their superior tally of six points and a plus-10 goal difference.

Philippines XI: O McDaniel (GK), Cowart, Sawicki, Long, Annis ©, Bolden, Eggesvik, Beard, Harrison, Barker, Guillou.

Iran XI: Khajavi (GK), Amineh, Shaban, Sarbali, Chatrenoor, Behesht, Ghanbari ©, Taherkhani, Zandi, Mohammadi, Khosravi.

Written By

Lorenzo's a frustrated author who knows a thing or two about Football and Basketball. Went all green from Ortigas to Taft. Supports Liverpool FC, FC Bayern Munich and the Alaska Aces




You May Also Like

Filipinas

For the past few months, questions have lingered about star striker Sarina Bolden’s availability for the Philippine Women’s National Football Team. The Filipinas are...

Filipinas

Fresh off a dominant showing in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers, Philippine Women’s National Football Team head coach Mark Torcaso believes the...

Filipinas

Capping off a perfect run in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualification tournament, the Philippine Women’s National Football Team secured a hard-fought 1-0...

Filipinas

Amid the Philippine Women’s National Football Team’s emphatic goalscoring display against host nation Cambodia last Wednesday in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualification...

Filipinas

For the second straight match in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifying tournament, Meryll Serrano once again stole the spotlight, powering the Philippine...

Filipinas

Eighteen-year-old Alexa Pino couldn’t hide her excitement — and who could blame her? In just her second senior cap for the Philippine Women’s National...

Filipinas

For the past few years, the Filipinas have served as the standard bearer of Philippine football. Milestones such as qualifying for and winning a...

Filipinas

Meryll Serrano took center stage as the Philippine Women’s National Football Team cruised to a dominant 3-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in the opening...

Advertisement