Defending champion Philippine women’s national football team suffer an early exit in the ASEAN Women's MSIG Serenity Cup 2025, losing to Myanmar in the group stage.
The Philippine women’s national football team were sent packing early at the ASEAN Women's MSIG Serenity Cup in Vietnam after they settled for a draw against Myanmar, 1-1, in their final Group B phase match at the Lach Tray Stadium on Wednesday night.
The defending champions finished Group B with four points with a 1W-1D-1L record. Myanmar (2W-1D) and Australia (2W-1L) move on to the semis where they face Vietnam and Thailand.
The Filipinas couldn’t break through even though they were energized with a Nina Mathelus equalizer at the 71st minute mark.
It was Myanmar who seized the lead early in the game after a foul was called on contact between Olivia McDaniel and Myanmar captain Win Theingi Tun around the half-hour mark. The official signaled for a spot kick shortly after.
Coming off of a hat-trick against Timor-Leste, Tun slotted the ball past McDaniel who guessed wrong as she dove left and the Burmese were ahead of the defending champions.
Despite spirited attempts from the Filipinas, who were struggling to finish in the attacking third thanks to immense pressure from Myanmar, they were unable to score enough goals to propel themselves to the semifinals.
The Filipinas needed to win by two goals — or score thrice in a win over Myanmar — to leap past Australia in the standings.
A consolation for the Filipinas with the early exit is that they notch their first draw against Myanmar in ASEAN competition. They had previously lost all seven previous matches in the tournament against Myanmar.
McDaniel was also a bright spot for the erstwhile defending champions after making tremendous saves all game long — including two late in the second half where she kept the score level ahead of the five minutes of added time in the second 45-minute frame.