The Philippine women’s national football team couldn't quite keep up against Japan in the quarterfinals of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
A stellar opening half for the Filipinas was not enough as they endured a tough 7-0 loss to Japan in the quarterfinals of the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Sunday.
Going with an interesting Starting XI, Niña Meollo powered the Philippines' lockdown defense against the Nadeshiko in the first 44 minutes of the match.
Despite overwhelming pressure from the Japanese side, Meollo made a number of saves keep things interesting in the first half.
But Japan's relentless attacks finally paid off right before halftime, when Mina Tanaka was able to get the first goal of the match.
That opened the floodgates for Japan who punched their ticket into the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup by making the semifinals of this tournament.
Tanaka’s goal was followed shortly by Toko Koga’s header during injury time in the first half for a 2-0 lead at the break.
But that was only the beginning, as Japan added five more scores in the second half.
Remina Chiba and Manaka Matsukubo scored in quick succession to make it 4-0 in favor of Japan by the 67th minute.
Koga then completed her brace at the 76th minute. Momoko Tanikawa and Riko Ueki added the icing on the cake with two more goals in the 86th and 90th minute, respectively.
Japan’s powerful offense was powered by their overwhelming possession game, where they had the ball 85 percent of the time.
Japan had 44 shots, with 16 of them on target.
The Filipinas, who rested key players like Olivia McDaniel, Katrina Guillou, and Carleigh Frilles, now shift their attention to Uzbekistan in the play-in match for a spot in the World Cup.
The Filipinas play against Uzbekistan on Thursday, March 19, in Gold Coast.
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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.