The Philippine Under-17 Women’s National Team clinched their place in the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup final round after a 1-0 win over Vietnam last Sunday at the National Youth Football Center in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Isabella Preston scored the winning goal from the free kick in the 56th minute to send the Filipinas U17 to the Asian Cup as one of the two teams in Group B alongside group winners Australia.
The Philippines were on the ascendancy in the opening half with chances from Nina Mathelus and Sophia Saludares, but were kept at bay by the Vietnamese defense.
However, Preston provided the marginal goal midway in the second half which clinched the tie in favor of the Filipinas U17. The forward placed her shot towards the top left corner which left Le Thi Thu out of position as the ball crept in.
“I kinda knew that I can score from a long distanced range and I trusted myself to do it, and when it went in I was in complete awe,” said Preston. “It was an amazing effort from the girls and we made history and we’re going through to the Asian Cup.”
The Philippines, coached by Sinisha Cohadzic, finished the qualifiers in second place with two wins and one loss.
“Tactically, we set ourselves up and we knew that if we can hold in the first 45 minutes, we knew that second half we’ll get on top of them,” said Cohadzic. “We were holding on the defensive performance and it was such a big result in such a big stage that the country can be proud of. Let’s go to the next step!”
The Filipinas will join hosts Indonesia, defending champions Japan, runners-up DPR Korea, third placed China PR, Korea Republic, Thailand, and Australia in the final round next year.