Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 29) — The Filipinas booked a historic quarter final berth in the 19th Asian Games after dominating Myanmar, 3-0, at the Wenzhou Sports Centre Stadium in Wenzhou, China on Thursday.
The women’s team qualified for the knockout stage after finishing second in Group E, recording 6 points and a +1 goal difference to land second in the bracket with a 2-1 win-loss slate.
“The girls executed a very good plan today. We set ourselves to score in this game and we scored very well and we were excellent so I’m grateful to be part of this opportunity and now we progress to the next stage,” Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso said.
Earlier this year, the Filipinas also made history during their maiden World Cup stint after a win over New Zealand.
The knockout round is set for Saturday, Sept. 30, with the 44th-ranked Philippines going head-to-head with world No. 8 and Asia’s top team Japan.
Midfielder Sara Eggesvik’s goals off Sarina Bolden’s header and Meryll Serrano’s through ball sealed the Filipinas’ win with a 3-0 advantage in the second half.
Bolden opened the Filipinas scoring from a spot kick at the 19th minute to secure an early 1-0 lead.
“It could have been any one of us who scored so I’m glad to get on the scorer sheet but it’s a team, always a team effort ,” Eggesvik said.
The last Philippine football team to advance to a knockout stage in the Asian Games was in 1958 from a run by the men’s squad.
