WELLINGTON, New Zealand – From making history by appearing in their first-ever Fifa Women’s World Cup, the Philippine team is now within striking distance of a place in the knockout stage.
The Filipinas on Tuesday captured their first win in the competition, a hard-earned 1-0 win over New Zealand, a match that saw Sarina Bolden score on a header in the 24th minute and Olivia McDaniel making key stops in the second half amid the aggressive attack of the co-host in the second half at the Wellington Regional Stadium.
The tournament has now come down to the final day of the group stage in Group A where the two remaining matches will determine which team will progress into the final 16.
How things stand
It has become a wide-open race for the top two spots in Group A with the match between Switzerland and Norway ending in a scoreless draw in Hamilton, New Zealand last Tuesday.
Switzerland though remains at first place in the group with four points after getting that 2-0 win over the Philippines last Friday. [For the uninitiated, a team gets three points with a win and one point with a draw.]
New Zealand and Philippines are in second place in the group with three points with their similar 1-0-1 win-draw-loss record. The tiebreaker will come to play with the goal difference [goals scored minus goals allowed] in all their games being considered. And despite its loss to the Philippines on Tuesday, New Zealand occupies the second spot due to a superior goal difference of zero after their 1-0 win over Norway last Thursday and the 0-1 defeat versus the Philippines.
The Filipinas are in third despite the landmark win due to a -1 goal difference by virtue of that two-goal loss to Switzerland and the one-goal victory against New Zealand.
Norway is in fourth with one point.

Group A standings (Win-Draw-Loss / Goal difference / Points)
Switzerland 1-0-1 / +2 goal difference / 4 points
New Zealand 1-0-1 / 0 goal difference / 3 points
Philippines 1-0-1 / -1 goal difference / 3 points
Norway 0-1-0 / -1 goal difference / 1 point
Remaining schedule
The final two matches in Group A will be held simultaneously with the Filipinas taking on Norway in Auckland, and Switzerland facing New Zealand in Dunedin. The matches kick off at 7 p.m. (4 p.m., Manila time).
How the Philippines can enter the Final 16
The Philippines only need to win against Norway on Sunday, and they are through to the knockout stage of the Fifa Women’s World Cup. There are other ways for the Filipinas to enter, but a win is the most uncomplicated of them all. The Filipinas can even top the group with a win and a draw between Switzerland and New Zealand.
A draw can still do it for the Filipinas but that will also depend on the result of the Switzerland-New Zealand contest.
For example, a Switzerland win will put the Philippines in the final 16, but a New Zealand win will send Switzerland and the Philippines in a tie for second with four points (1-1-1 win-draw-loss slate).
Once again, deadlocks will be broken first by goal difference, and Switzerland has a big advantage by its +2 goal difference over the Philippines’ -1. If both teams are still tied by goal difference, ties will be broken in six more ways beginning with the number of goals scored.
If both matches end in a draw, Switzerland and New Zealand will advance in the round-of-16.
Needless to say, a loss will oust the Philippines from contention in the knockout stage and will close its campaign in the Fifa Women’s World Cup. Despite its struggles in this year’s Fifa Women’s World Cup, Norway remains a formidable opponent for the Philippines, being ranked No. 12 in the world, but is faced with the prospect of missing their top striker Ada Hegerberg, the all-time leading scorer in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, reportedly due to a groin injury.
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