THE Filipinas are currently vying for a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics through the Olympic qualifying tournament in Perth that is being run by the Asian Football Confederation.
But their Olympic bid hit a major stumbling block after a horror 8-0 loss to Australia's Matildas on Sunday in the second round of the OQT.
READ: Filipinas suffer 8-0 beating at hands of Matildas
The Philippine women’s football team remains in the hunt heading to their final second-round match against Iran on Wednesday, but a lot has to happen for the Filipinas to advance to the third and final round.
Scenarios
The second round of qualifiers has three groups of four teams, with the Philippines in Group A with Australia, Iran, and Chinese Taipei. The top teams in each of the three groups as well as the best second placer will move to the third round.
The top two sides in the four-team final round goes to the Paris Olympics.
With Chinese Taipei as its remaining opponent, Australia looks already locked for that No. 1 spot in Group A, which means the Philippines will be vying for the “best second placer” tier for the fourth and final spot in the third round.
How to capture that ‘best second placer’ spot? It’s complicated.
First, the Philippines must beat Iran handily in order to overcome that -5 goal difference it had accumulated after their blowout loss to Australia and the 4-1 win over Chinese-Taipei.
Then, the stars must align.
Japan, Nokor, China, Uzbekistan in the hunt
At the moment, North Korea is the best second placer with four points and a +1 goal difference after a 2-1 win over China and a draw over South Korea in Group B with a game to play against winless Thailand.
Vietnam is second in Group C with three points and a +1 goal difference, but will go up against top team Japan.
Meanwhile, China in Group B, and Uzbekistan in Group C are also in the hunt for second place in their respective groups with three points, with a +2 and -1 goal difference. China and Uzbekistan have South Korea and India, respectively, for their final assignments.
Odds are definitely stacked against the Filipinas in the race for that Olympic berth.
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