The Filipina5 ended their 2025 FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup run on a dismal note, suffering a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of South American heavyweight Argentina on Thursday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, in front of 2,811 fans.
Meanwhile, in the first match of the day, 31st-ranked Morocco pulled off a stunning 1-0 upset over world No. 14 Poland, securing the African nation’s place in the last eight.
Argentina, already through to the knockout stage, made it a point to put on a show after scoring five goals within the first seven minutes of the match.
Lara Villalba (‘2), Mailen Romero (‘4), Luciana Natta (‘4), Agostina Chiesa (‘7), and Melina Quevedo (‘7) iced the game early for La Albiceleste with most of the first half still to be played.
Despite the lopsided loss, the Filipina5 faithful at the PhilSports Arena still had something to cheer about after Isabella Bandoja struck the country’s lone goal in the 28th minute.
“It was the first goal we had set ourselves, trying to qualify first, so we are very happy that we were able to achieve it,” said Argentina coach Nicolas Noriega.
“Tomorrow our rivals will be defined in quarters. Tomorrow, surely, rest and train Saturday and Sunday to prepare for Monday, which is the quarterfinal.”
Joining Argentina in advancing out of Group A is runner-up Morocco, which booked its quarterfinal berth through an incredible upset over Poland.
With the match still goalless, the breakthrough came in the 29th minute when Jasmine Demraoui capitalized on a Polish turnover to score the biggest goal of her young career.
Klaudia Kubaszek, Julia Basta, Ang Bala, and Natalia Majewska all had chances to equalize for Poland, but none found the mark as Morocco held firm to secure the historic victory.
“Nothing is easy; nothing is easy for you to play against the experienced female players in the futsal,” said Morocco coach Adil Sayeh.
“We trained for this about a year and three months. All players play regular football. We want to thank them very much for their devotion, for their patriotic spirit. I want to thank the viewers because they stay up too late to watch our games.”
As the top seed in Group A, Argentina advances to the next round with nine points built on three straight wins, followed by Morocco with six points from two wins and one loss.
Poland finished third with three points, while the host nation Philippines ended at the bottom with zero.
While the Philippines and Poland bow out of the competition, Argentina and Morocco move on to face their Group B counterparts in Monday’s quarterfinals at the same venue.
Up next for the Filipina5 is their campaign in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in the coming weeks.
