Philippines falls short vs South Korea, exits Women’s Asian Cup

February 4 ------ All good things must come to an end. The Philippine Women’s National Football Team saw its successful AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 campaign end after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of South Korea in the semifinal stage, Thursday afternoon at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India.

The first half proved to be a rude awakening for the Philippines as it succumbed to a two-goal deficit at the hands of South Korea. Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Cho So-hyun, who previously scored a brace against the Filipinas four years ago, broke the deadlock. She headed past goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel in the 4th minute. Things then got worse for the Filipinas in the 34th minute. Forward Son Hwa-yeon converted from close range to set South Korea on its way to victory.

It was more of the same story in the second period. The Filipinas were primarily on the backfoot with the South Koreans looking to extend their cushion. McDaniel was forced to make fine stops to limit the damage and keep the scoreline as it is. Despite the ending, coach Alen Stajcic’s wards should remain proud after clinching what was initially unthinkable – a ticket to the FIFA World Cup 2023, hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Philippines XI: Randle, Long, Annis ©, Miclat, Bugay, Harrison, Bolden, Madarang, Quezada, Guillou, O. McDaniel (GK).

South Korea XI: H.J. Choo, S.Y. Shim, S.J. Lim, S.H. Cho, S.Y. Ji, Y.R. Choe, G.M. Lee, Y.J. Lee, J.M. Kim (GK), H.R. Kim ©, H.Y. Son.

Source: tiebreakertimes.com