By: Icko De Guzman
Spain joined Argentina as the first two teams to reach the quarterfinals of the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup 2025 after routing Colombia, 5-1, on Tuesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Fresh from their 5-2 win over Thailand last Saturday, Spain raced to an early 4-0 lead in the first half.
Irene Samper opened the scoring in the second minute, followed by Vane Sotelo finding the back of the net in the sixth. Antia Perez added a third just a minute later, before Sotelo completed her brace in the 15th minute.
Colombia nearly pulled one back through Diana Selis in the 24th minute, but the goal was overturned after video review showed a foul by the Colombian pivot prior to the attempt.
Irene Cordoba extended Spain’s lead in the 29th minute, but she would later hand Colombia a consolation goal after redirecting a deflected shot into her own net in the 32nd minute.
“The important thing is to have won this game, gain confidence, and above all, that all the players have been able to participate and that they have been able to add to this important victory,” said Spain head coach Claudia Pons.
“It’s a first step we wanted, we still have a game to go. We have to be very clear that we want to continue in this tournament; they need to gain confidence to go further in the tournament.”
(C) FIFA
In the first game of the day, Thailand moved closer to a spot in the next round after eliminating Canada with a 6-3 victory.
Darika Peanpailun powered the Thais with a hat-trick as they bounced back from their opening-day loss to Spain.
Peanpailun scored in the second, fourth, and 25th minutes, while Sangrawee Meekham (20’), Arriya Saetoen, and Jenjira Bupha also found the mark as Thailand had to dig deep to secure their first win of the tournament.
“It was pressure for the whole team because when (Canada) equalized, it was super difficult to fix the situation,” said Peanpailun.
“But the coach and our team tried to fix it to win the game.”
With today’s results, Spain has already qualified for the next round with six points.
Thailand sits ahead of Colombia on goal difference, with both teams holding three points, while Canada remains at the bottom with zero.
All four teams return to action this Friday, November 28. Thailand and Colombia will battle for a quarterfinal berth at 6 p.m., while Canada looks to end its World Cup campaign on a positive note against Spain at 8:30 p.m.
