The Philippines Women’s National Football Team, affectionately known as the “Filipinas” have secured another international trophy by winning the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand. This is their first trophy since the historic 2022 ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) championship win in Manila.
Ably led by inspirational captain Hali Long, the Filipinas worked tirelessly throughout the tournament to grind out wins over their Southeast Asian opponents.
During the early stages of the tournament, the Filipinas struggled for fluency in their overall play. There was an early 2-1 defeat to Myanmar, with many thinking this would be the end of the Filipinas’ chances of winning the tournament.
A last-minute 1-0 win against Vietnam in their second pool match, and then a 7-0 thumping of Malaysia in their third match, secured passage into the semi-finals as the second-highest qualifier in the group. The semi-final was played against the host nation, Thailand, who were expected to account for the Filipinas, considering their home support and undefeated status coming into this match. The Filipinas, with their defensive mindset, managed to finish the game 1-1 through an 87th-minute penalty and push the match to both extra time and a penalty shootout. Here, the Filipina’s resilience shone through, winning the penalty shootout 4-2 to advance to the final against Vietnam.
Going into the final, the Filipinas were confident of victory, considering they had defeated Vietnam 1-0 in the group stages. Once again, the Filipinas showed a defensive mindset that ensured the game ended in a 0-0 draw at both full time and extra time.
Both teams went goal for goal in the penalty shootout and with the sixth penalty goal, the Filipinas went 6-5 ahead. It came down to sudden death with the Filipinas’ World Cup goalkeeping hero Olivia McDaniel correctly moving to her left and saving the ball from crashing into the top left-hand corner of the goal.
As soon as the ball was saved, the players and coaching staff all ran towards McDaniel to celebrate the Philippines’ first-ever SEA Games gold medal in women’s football.
This victory continues a run of great success in the last few years for the Filipinas. This success has included the Philippines’ first-ever Football World Cup qualification (both men and women); their first-ever goal scored at the World Cup; their first-ever win at a World Cup, the AFF Championship and now the SEA Games title.
The Filipinas have a strong Australian connection with their current coach, former Western United A-League Women’s coach Marc Torcaso, who has been head coach for over 2 years since the departure of former coach Alen Stajcic.
There is also Angie Beard, who starred in the SEA Games and is an integral part of the Filipinas’ team. Beard grew up in Brisbane and is eligible to play for the Filipinas as her mother is from Cebu.
