The Philippine women’s national football team faced possible elimination against defending gold medalist Vietnam, but rookie forward Mallie Ramirez delivered a dramatic late goal to lift the Filipinas to a crucial 1-0 victory in the 2025 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games women’s football tournament on Monday in Chonburi, Thailand.
The win, the second straight against Vietnam in the SEA Games, kept the Filipinas’ semifinal hopes alive after suffering a heartbreaking 1-2 loss to Myanmar last Friday, delighting the predominantly Filipino crowd at the Chonburi Stadium, which included Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio.
The historic night was made even more memorable as the Philippines completed an unprecedented sweep of reigning SEA Games football gold medalists within a span of 30 minutes.
Earlier in Chiang Mai, the Philippine men’s national football team defeated 2023 SEA Games champion Indonesia, 1-0, to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1991.
“Historic day for Philippine football. For the Philippines to be able to defeat two Southeast Asian champions in one night is something that we never thought would happen, but it happened,” said Philippine Football Federation (PFF) President John Anthony Gutierrez.
“But this win by the Filipinas against Vietnam is a testament to their World Cup quality and the immense growth of women’s football in the Philippines for the past decade. To see the women’s, men’s, youth in both boys and girls, and futsal national teams growing strong together is a testament of our country’s upward trajectory as a formidable force, not only in Southeast Asia, but in our continent as well,” President Gutierrez added.
For his part, Chairman Gregorio commended the Filipinas in overcoming the strong Vietnamese charge.
“That’s what’s good about football. Up to the last second, one shot, one kick, and we’re there. So congratulations to the Filipinas for the beautiful win. Thank you for making the Filipinos so happy,” Chairman Gregorio said.
“That’s why football is really emerging in the Philippines because of you ladies, and we’re very proud of you,” he added.
The Filipinas opened the match with composure and discipline against Vietnam, a fellow finalist in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
In the 11th minute, goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel produced the game’s first major save, stopping a shot from Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy following a clearance from Malea Cesar.
Three minutes later, Alexa Pino nearly broke the deadlock when she fired a dangerous shot inside the box off an Angie Beard breakaway, but her attempt drifted just high.
The Filipinas continued pressing, and in the 35th minute, captain Hali Long rose for a bouncing header off Pino’s corner kick, only for Vietnamese keeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh to push the ball away.
Vietnam mounted several dangerous moments of their own, but the Filipinas backline held firm.
Pivot Isabella Pasion made the first of several crucial interventions in the 56th minute when she cut off a breakaway by Nguyen, rushing back to cover a rare miscue by McDaniel from a Huynh Nhu cross.
Long had another chance at goal twelve minutes later, connecting with a header from a Beard free kick, but the ball sailed over the bar.
As Vietnam increased pressure deep into the match, veteran left back Sofia Harrison-Wunsch delivered a vital block in the 87th minute to deny Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha a dangerous shot from the right flank.
The Filipinas nearly went ahead in the 89th minute when Ramirez attempted an acrobatic bicycle kick off a left-sided corner, but she missed the ball.
Four minutes into stoppage time, however, the breakthrough finally came. After Megan Murray drew a hard foul from Thai Thi Thao just past the center line, McDaniel stepped up to deliver a long free kick toward Long at the edge of the penalty area. Long headed the ball toward substitute Alessandrea Carpio, whose strong header forced a reflex save from Thanh.
The rebound spilled into the path of Ramirez, who reacted quickest and smashed the ball into the net for the game-winning goal at the 90+4’ mark. It was Ramirez’s second international goal—both scored in this SEA Games, and both in her first two senior caps.
Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso expressed immense pride in the team’s determination and in their young attacking unit.
“My heart is still going very quickly. But I’m very proud of all the girls. We started tonight with three young players up front. Mali was one of them, Jael, and Pino,” Torcaso said. “I’m very proud of the girls, that they fought very hard to get the result all together, along with our experienced players. It’s very exciting for us to get a good result tonight.”
Player of the Match Ramirez, still visibly overwhelmed by the moment, described the goal as a product of instinct and commitment.
“Obviously, I feel very proud and excited to be able to do this for my team, and for my country, most of all,” she said. “Similar to my first goal against Myanmar, I saw the ball going into Hali in the box, and I knew I needed to attack that space in the front post. I thought maybe the keeper would lob it, and I just wanted to be in the right moment at the right time and capitalize on it.”
Torcaso added that the triumph was the result of the team’s tactical discipline and the growing depth of its young core.
“As I said, there’s a group of players here that are willing to fight very hard for our country, and it doesn’t matter the age of them—they’re here fighting hard,” he explained. “We planned exactly the way the game played out: to be very resilient and strong in defense, and to hopefully get an opportunity to score from a set piece. Thankfully Mali was on the end of the goal.
Aside from the young Ramirez, Torcaso also commended nineteen-year-old Pasion.
“We have a number of 18 to 23-year-olds here, and it’s an exciting time for our country not just for the next Asian Cup, but for beyond. Bella Pasion has been an absolute rock for us in the last seven or eight matches. People see her as small, but she’s the most aggressive player I’ve coached. What she did tonight is exactly what we’re about as a national team—putting our body on the line for each other and for our country,” Torcaso explained.
Looking forward, Torcaso emphasized the importance of staying focused. “We know that we need to win the next game, and everything else will take care of itself. We’re going to be aggressive and get goals on the board. We want to play well for the country and for all our fans back home, and we’ll put everything into that last game because we want to be there for the playoff matches.”
Ramirez closed by thanking Filipino fans for their overwhelming support. “Maraming salamat. Just to walk out of the stadium and see that my whole country is out there supporting us means a lot. To score that goal and make our country proud means the world to me.”
With the result, the Filipinas enter a must-win match against Malaysia on December 11 at 5:00 PM (Philippine time) in Chonburi, with a semifinal berth on the line.
