THE Philippine women’s national team won’t have much time to rest after the FIFA World Cup as the Filipinas will next turn their focus on the Hangzhou Asian Games.
Currently in strong contention for an unlikely berth in the knockout stage of the World Cup in New Zealand, the Filipinas will have the Asiad for their next stop where football competitions start on Sept. 25 in five different venues.
READ: Norway camp showing signs of turmoil ahead of Filipinas match
This marks another historic milestone for the women’s team as it competes in the quadrennial showcase for the very first time.
During the competition draw held in Hangzhou on Thursday, the Filipinas ended up being bunched with region powerhouse South Korea, Myanmar, and Hong Kong in Group E.
The Filipinas lost to South Korea, 2-0, in the semifinals of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup last year in India, while surrending a heartbreaker against Myanmar, 1-0, in their opening game in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, behind a late penalty kick that ultimately cost them a podium finish.
Against Hong Kong, the team scored a 4-0 win during the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taijikistan last April.
Group A will have three-time gold medalist China, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan, while Group B has Chinese Taipei, Thailand, and India.
In Group C are North Korea, Singapore, and Cambodia.
Defending champion Japan, the highest-ranked Asian country in the world at No. 11, leads Group D together with Vietnam, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
Filipinas, Japan in win column
Along with the Philippines, Japan, China, South Korea, and Vietnam are the Asian countries currently seeing action in the World Cup, with the Filipinas and the Japanese so far the only two to make it to the win column.
The top teams in each group and the three best second-placed teams across groups are going to the quarterfinals.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
