THE Philippines will play in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup next year after its 1-0 victory over Hong Kong on Saturday during the final day of the qualifiers at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
An early goal by Chandler McDaniel in the fourth minute proved to be enough for the Filipinas to clinch a berth in the Asia Cup by sweeping all three matches in Group G of the qualifiers.
With the result, the Philippines is slated to play in the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia in 2026 where they will once again vie for a spot in the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Filipinas also played in the Asian Cup in 2022 in India, securing a berth in the Women’s World Cup by beating Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals.
The Filipinas got on the board quickly with McDaniel receiving a short pass from Alexa Pino inside the penalty box, knocking the ball in at the bottom left corner of the net.
Filipinas deserve to be in Australia
The Philippines held on to the lead for the rest of the match. Olivia McDaniel parried a shot by Cheung Wai Ki from the right side of the penalty box during the 20th minute, the closest Hong Kong got to equalize the match.
“The team had a goal and it’s to win all three games, and do the best we absolutely could,” said Chandler McDaniel.
“I think that’s exactly what our team did. Three games in six days is always hard but we showed a lot of heart. We showed a lot of heart and we came out and showed that.”
“We deserve to go back to qualifiers [World Cup] again this year,” McDaniel added.
The Philippines began the qualifiers with a 3-0 win over Saudi Arabia last June 29. The
Filipinas picked up a 6-0 victory over Cambodia last July 2 for their second victory putting them within at least a draw of making it back to the Asian Cup entering Saturday’s contest against Hong Kong.
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