The Philippine Women’s National Football Team closed out its Group G campaign with a 5-1 loss to 2022 Asian Games bronze medalist China on Monday at the Nagaragawa Athletics Stadium in Gifu, Japan.
Despite the score, the Filipinas advance to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive Asian Games by placing as the best third place team among the three groups with four points.
The quarterfinals is set on September 25 at the Shizuoka Stadium in Fukuroi, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. Philippine time).
China opened the scoring in the 20th minute through a Wang Yanwen header, and the Beijing Chengjian forward who has recently played two seasons for Dijon in the French Premiere League would go on to complete a hat trick by the 54th minute, powering the hosts of the previous edition’s bronze medal to a commanding lead.
Chen Qiaozhu added another in the 49th minute, while Yuan Cong capped the scoring in stoppage time.
The Filipinas battled throughout, mounting a number of set pieces opportunities, leading to Skye Leach’s goal in the 65th. minute off Katrina Guillou’s left corner kick, while Mallie Ramirez and Alex Carpio had two dangerous shots on goal in the second half that were saved by goalkeeper Xiao Zhitong.
Forward Mallie Ramirez (with ball) continues to show her worth, nearly scoring a goal in the 56th minute.
Amid the result, two milestones stood out.
Team captain Hali Long earned her 109th international cap, officially surpassing men’s legend Phil Younghusband to become the most capped Filipino footballer in history.
Leach, meanwhile, became the first Filipina ever to find the net against China and closing out her first major tournament with two goals in three matches.
PFF President John Anthony Gutierrez struck an optimistic tone despite the defeat.
“Tonight’s score doesn’t define this campaign; Hali Long’s record-breaking 109th cap and Skye Leach’s historic goal against China do,” Gutierrez said.
“This team fought valiantly against a strong China side, and we are marching on to our second straight Asian Games quarterfinals. Our campaign is far from over, and we will be back stronger. See you on September 25!”
In an interview with pff.org.ph, head coach Mark Torcaso echoed that sentiment, praising his squad’s fight against one of the tournament’s strongest sides.
“With China at full strength, I thought our girls never stopped, which I was proud of,” Torcaso said.
Commending Long and Leach on their individual milestones, Torcaso added: “We are very proud of Hali and how she leads this team. I congratulate her on this great milestone, but I wish we could have got something from this for her. As for Skye, we knew her quality for some years now, and I am glad she has performed well at this level. To score two goals in three games in her first tournament is an outstanding accomplishment.”
Filipinas team captain Hali Long (left) has played her 109th national team cap, surpassing the legendary Phil Younghusband as the most capped Filipino footballer.
Torcaso noted that missing several regulars due to the match falling outside the FIFA window gave younger players valuable experience against elite competition.
“This is not a FIFA window for us, so we have a lot of players unavailable. The Chinese players all play together in the league in China, and almost every player is available for them in this tournament… this was good learning for some of our younger players to play.”
Looking at the bigger picture, Torcaso framed the Asian Games as one piece of a much larger preparation cycle stretching into the team’s upcoming camp in Peru.
“We have been using this Asian Games and the next few weeks leading into Peru as a program regarding playing six to eight games in tournament format, different opponents, and we’re really using this opportunity to use as many players as possible, but also to play many different types of opponents,” Torcaso said.
“The opportunity to go straight from Asian Games to Peru is an amazing chance for all our players to travel, experience a different opponent, but the build-up of a whole program through Asian Games and FIFA window of six to eight games is exactly what we wanted, and I’m really happy that we managed to get the extra game outside of the group stage at the moment and hopefully push for another game if we make it to the semifinals, but right now we’re very glad with where we’re at, and the girls should be very proud of themselves.”
