The Filipinas have done it again and qualified again for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year. The Filipinas defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 with second-half goals to Beard and Sawicki in their final Asian Cup match on the Gold Coast.
The match started at a lively pace with both teams looking for an attacking edge. In the first half, the Uzbekistanis had several good opportunities on the Filipinas goal but were wasteful in their finishing. The best chance of the first half fell to the Filipinas in the 37th minute when Beard found herself unmarked at the edge of Uzbekistan’s goal, where the ball landed fortuitously towards her left foot. A bit shocked at the delivery, Beard miskicked the ball and the ball was easily saved by the Uzbekistan keeper, with both sides heading to halftime goalless.
The second half started very differently, with the Filipinas spreading the Uzbekistan defence by playing wider on both sides of the field. This eventually led to the Filipinas’ first goal in the 47th minute, where a beautiful cross was whipped in by Guy with Beard again unmarked sprinting to the far post where she finished the most spectacular of mid-air volleys to crush the ball on the underside of the cross bar and into the goal.
The goal celebrations were wild with Beard embracing her teammates as they knew they were one step closer to World Cup qualification.
The Filipinas didn’t have to wait long for the next goal as it came in the 52nd minute from Sawicki. The Filipinas manufactured another attacking raid down the right-hand side of the field, with another delightful cross delivered by Guy and Sawicki leaping above her defender to loop the ball past the goalkeeper into the top corner of the net. Again, the bench and team went wild with celebrations as the Filipinas extended their lead to 2-0.
The match saw the Filipinas comfortably repel any attacking raids by the Uzbekistan team for the remainder of the second half to see the match finish 2-0. The full time scenes were of pure joy and celebration as many of the team and coaching staff were experiencing the feeling of a FIFA World Cup qualification for the first time.
In the post-match press conference Head Coach Torcaso acknowledged that this team was “very young with an average age of 23 or 24” and that he was “very proud of every single player as they stuck together as a group”.
The Filipinas became only the fifth team to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, to be played in June and July 2027. It’s an exciting time ahead for the Filipinas and the country as preparations begin now for what is already one of the most highly anticipated Women’s World Cup tournaments ever.
