It’s official!
The Philippine women’s national football team are advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup by being one of the two best third place teams in the three groups.
The confirmation came after Japan’s 4-0 win over Vietnam today in Group C in Perth, which eliminated the 2025 SEA Games silver medalists from quarterfinal contention due to an inferior -4 goal difference compared to the Filipinas’ -2.
Moreover, the Filipinas, semifinalist in the 2022 Asian Cup, has also qualified to the 2028 Olympic Qualifying Tournament by making the #2026WAC quarterfinals, according to the Asian Football Confederation.
John Anthony Gutierrez, president of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), welcomed the progress of the Filipinas in Asia’s biggest stage.
“Qualifying for the quarterfinals despite the challenges of the group stage shows the fighting spirit that define the Filipinas. This is another step in our quest to be back to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and we stand firmly behind our players as they continue to chase history for Philippine football,” Gutierrez said.
The Filipinas’ breakthrough, though, was not possible without their aggressive performance against Iran, where they won, 2-0, last Sunday thanks to goals from Sara Eggesvik and Chandler McDaniel.
The opening day game against host and 2023 World Cup semifinalist Australia was also crucial as the Filipinas conceded the least number of goals in head-to-head history against the Matildas at 0-1.
Uzbekistan is the best third place team with a -2 goal difference owing to their dominant 4-0 win against Bangladesh yesterday. The three third place teams were all tied on points at three.
Aside from Vietnam, those eliminated were the last place teams in the three groups namely Iran, Bangladesh, and India.
The Filipinas, though, will face the mighty Nadeshiko–world champions in 2011 and Asian champions in 2014 and 2018–in the quarterfinals on March 15, 4 PM (7 PM Philippine time) at the Stadium Australia in Sydney.
The Filipinas can directly qualify to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil if they upset Japan on Sunday, but can also qualify in the play-in games for fifth and sixth place on March 19 in Gold Coast at 1 PM (3 PM Manila time) in the event of a loss.
PFF Filipinos in Australia, particularly in Sydney, are encouraged to rally behind the Filipinas on Sunday.
