The Philippine women's national football team held their ground against host country Australia at the AFC Women's Asian Cup, but ultimately fell short in a close encounter.
The Philippine women's national football team were unable to stage a late-match comeback against host team Australia, suffering a narrow 0-1 loss to begin the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup at the Perth Stadium on Sunday.
The Filipinas could not equalize after Sam Kerr reintroduced herself to the Matildas with an early goal at the 14th minute.
Haley Raso hoped to double the Matildas' advantage near the half hour mark, but her goal was disallowed as offside.
The ruling spurred Filipinas on, as the Philippine squad who kept things interesting with their defense and gutsy tries on the offensive end.
Olivia McDaniel led the Philippines' formidable backline, which helped neutralize the world no. 15 Australians enough to give the Filipinas a chance to equalize.
Despite dropping all three points to Australia in Group A, the Filipinas minimized the damage as they now move on to face nemesis South Korea.
The Philippines lost to the Koreans in the semifinals of the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.
The rematch is set for Thursday, March 5, at Gold Coast Stadium.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.