THE PHILIPPINE women’s national football team plays its last match in group play at the 2019 AFF Women’s Championship in Thailand today with an eye on booking a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament.
To take on already-eliminated Singapore at the IPE Chonburi Stadium 1, the Malditas, sporting a 2-0-1 record and good for second place in Group A, are out to get the victory and the full three points that go with it to advance.
The team is coming off a 4-2 loss against host Thailand on Wednesday in a game that saw the Malditas get off to a good start but just could not keep in step with their opponents as the match progressed.
Quinly Quesada (11’ and 66’) scored a brace for the Philippines but it was not enough to tow her team over Thailand, which relied on a strong finish to put the game away in its favor.
Prior to the loss to Thailand, the Malditas were on a roll, beating Malaysia, 3-0, and Timor-Leste, 7-0, in that order.
The Philippines has a similar record with Malaysia (2-0-1) but has a higher goal difference of +8 to the latter’s +6. Malaysia plays group leader Thailand (3-0-0) today.
Out to derail the Philippines is Singapore, the lone winless team in Group A.
The Singaporean lost to Timor-Leste, 2-1; Thailand, 8-0; and Malaysia, 4-0.
In the 2019 AFF Women’s Championship, the top two teams in the two groupings advance to the knockout stage, with the finals set for Aug. 27 at Chonburi.
Already through from Group B are Vietnam (3-0-0) and Myanmar (2-0-1).
The Philippine team is using the tournament as part of its preparation for 30th Southeast Asian Games which the country is hosting later this year. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
