Filipinas book 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup ticket after taking down Hong Kong

July 8 ------ The Philippine women's national football team is headed to the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup. The Filipinas marked their entry into the continental tournament anew after they defeated Hong Kong, 1-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh. This win also completed the Philippines' sweep of Group G, after previously tallying decisive victories over Saudi Arabia (3-0) and Cambodia (6-0). They finished the qualifiers with nine points while also keeping a clean slate while scoring 10 goals.

The Filipinas now join hosts Australia, together with China, South Korea, Japan, and Bangladesh as the qualified teams for next year's Asian Cup, which also serves as the final qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil. "The team had a goal and it was to win all three games and do the best we absolutely could," said Chandler McDaniel during the post-game interviews. "I think that's exactly what our team did. You know, three games in six days is always hard, but we showed a lot of heart. We came out and showed that you know we deserve to go back to qualifiers again this year," she added, before expressing her gratitude to the Filipinos who supported them despite being on foreign soil. Always, the fans are so supportive," she also said. "We love seeing all of our Filipinas out to support us, and we're just so happy we were able to give them the three wins and give them the result that they deserved," she said.

It was yet another statement victory that allowed the Nationals to earn this, as they opened their match vs. Hong Kong in a strong manner all thanks to C. McDaniel putting the Filipinas up 1-0 as early as the fourth minute. Hong Kong looked to tie the contest at the 20th minute following an attempt by Cheung Wai Ki, but Olivia McDaniel blocked her attempt to allow the Philippines to sit at 1-0 at halftime.

The Filipinas had their own chances to pad the lead, with McDaniel coming close in the 18th minute after getting to the end of a long pass from sister Olivia. However, her chip could not find the back of the net. In the 75th minute, substitute Quinley Quezada met a cross from Jackie Sawicki, but her header went wide. Six minutes later, McDaniel was called to action, saving another attempt from Hong Kong. This now puts the Filipinas in the Women's Asian Cup for the third straight time, and they would like to replicate their history-making campaign in the 2022 edition wherein they came out clinching a spot in the 2023 Women's World Cup.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com