THE PHILIPPINE women’s national football team is out to finish a breakthrough campaign at the 2019 ASEAN Football Federation Women’s Championship on the podium when it battles Myanmar for the bronze today at the IPE Chonburi Stadium in Thailand.

Barged into the knockout stages of the competition for the first time, the Malditas go for their best finish to date by bagging third place in their scheduled 4 p.m. (Manila time) game against Myanmar.

The Philippines had a chance to advance to the final but fell, 2-1, to Vietnam in a hard-fought semifinal match on Sunday.

Against Vietnam, the Malditas held tough in the opening half, that saw them go up, 1-0, in the 35th minute from an own goal from midfielder Tran Thi Hong Nhung.

But the Vietnamese were quick to get back as they were able to level the count at 1-1 with a goal from captain Huynh Nhur in the 41st minute.

In the second half, Vietnam kept the pressure on the Philippines, rewarded with another goal in the 57th minute care of Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung to make it, 2-1, in their favor.

The Malditas tried to scrambled their way back but could not complete it and saw themselves slump to the loss.

While rued the missed opportunity to go even deeper in the tournament, the Philippine team was still thankful to be in the position it was in and is looking forward to getting a podium finish in today’s game.

Battling in the finals of the tournament are host Thailand and Vietnam. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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