The Philippine women's national football team finally got on the board in the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup, beating Iran in their final group stage game.
The Filipinas gave themselves a lifeline in the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup after winning over Iran, 2-0, in their Group A showdown at Gold Coast on Sunday.
After wrapping up their preliminary schedule, the Filipinas are currently the second best third-ranked team across all three groups.
As such, the Filipinas still have a chance to advance to the next round depending on how the other matches unfold.
After a frustrating loss against South Korea in their last game, the Filipinas put the Iranian defense to task.
From the get-go, the Filipinas tried to get ahead in the match by creating multiple chances in their attacking third.
It would be shortly after the hour mark before Sara Eggesvik got past Iranian keeeper Raha Yazdani to score the team's first goal in the tournament.
Referee review made the goal even more dramatic, as the official needed to check VAR to confirm if the conversion was onside.
With the Filipinas already on the board, the team continued to push the issue against an Iranian side that was determined to get their own breakthrough.
A physical matchup kept things heated throughout, with both teams eager to win.
But fresher legs prevailed as substitute Chandler McDaniel was able to get the better of Yazdani at the 82nd minute, doubling the Filipinas' lead as goal difference could determine their fate for the next round.
McDaniel actually had the chance to make it 3-0 in favor of the Filipinas after a pass inside from Alessandrea Carpio. But officials deemed it offside and the score was disallowed.
The Philippines now await the result of the other matches in Groups B and C to determine the final teams for the next round.
The Filipinas need to finish among the two-best third place teams in the competition to move on.
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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.