Filipinas head to Gold Coast, look to bounce back vs. South Korea

MANILA, March 3 ------ The Philippine women's national football team is shifting its focus to another powerhouse opponent after a close loss in their first match of the AFC Women's Asian Cup. The Filipinas are headed to the city of Gold COast, where they will play South Korea on Thursday at the Cbus Super stadium.

They are coming off a narrow 1-0 defeat to host nation Australia last Sunday, wherein they gave up a goal to Sam Kerr in the 14th minute before frustrating the Matildas the rest of the way. "This is credit to the hard work the girls have put in, not just for the last month, but for over a year, to get to this point, to where we want to get into another World Cup," Filipinas coach Mark Torcaso said after their defeat to the world No. 15 team.

The Filipinas entered the tournament ranked 41st in the world but caused all sorts of problems for the Matildas with their discipline on defense. Despite dominating possession, Australia struggled to break through the Philippines' low block, with veteran goal-keeper Olivia McDaniel doing well to keep the hosts out of the back of the net. "I’m really happy with the girls, really proud of them, and we’re just gonna look to get better and better each game," said McDaniel, who came up with key stops against Manchester City star Mary Fowler late in the match.

South Korea, meanwhile, is set to take on Iran in another Group A showdown on Monday. The top two teams in each of the three groups, as well as the two best third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout round. The tournament offers six berths to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com