Filipina5 wrap up Futsal World Cup campaign with loss to Argentina

MANILA, November 28 ------ Isabella Bandoja scored a consolation goal as the Philippine women's national futsal team bowed out of the FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup with a 1-5 loss to powerhouse Argentina.

In front of over 2,800 fans at the PhilSports Arena, the Filipina5 regained their bearings after a shaky first half and put up a gutsy effort in their final 20 minutes in the competition. Bandoja found the back of the net after the 27th minute, giving the home fans something to cheer for. Unfortunately for the Filipina5, it was not enough to overturn Argentina's five-goal lead, as the world No. 6 peppered the Philippines' goal in the first seven minutes of the contest.

Lara Villalba opened the scoring just 90 seconds in, followed by goals from Mailen Romero, Luciana Natta, Agostina Chiesa, and Melina Quevedo. The huge result allowed Argentina to complete a sweep of Group A, as they won all three of their assignments with a plus-11 goal differential.

The Philippines entered the match having already been eliminated after losses to Poland (0-6) and Morocco (2-3). Their loss to Morocco was a heartbreaker, as the Filipina5 went ahead 2-0 off goals by Inday Tolentin and Cathrine Graversen. They could not hold on to their advantage, however, as the African champions answered back with three straight goals.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com