Filipinas nip Indonesia, clinch historic AFC Women's Asian Cup quarters berth

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines qualified to the knockout stages of the AFC Women's Asian Cup for the first time ever after beating Indonesia, 6-0, at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Thursday.

The Philippines finished second in Group B with six points, behind Australia, which topped the group with nine points.

Skipper Tahnai Annis finished with a brace to lead all goal scorers for the Philippines.

But it was Katrina Guillou, in just her second game for the Philippines, who opened the scoring in the sixth minute to put the Filipinas ahead.

Sarina Bolden actually had a chance to score for the Philippines with a penalty kick some 30 seconds before.

But Bolden's shot hit the post while a Guillou try on a follow up went straight to the keepers hands.

In the 27th minute, Bolden made up for her missed penalty as she converted on a header to double the Philippines' lead.

Bolden soared highest on a Jessica Miclat cross from a free kick near the box to find the back of the net.

Annis scored her first goal of the game at the 56th minute as she fired a long ball from outside the box past the Indonesian goalkeeper, 3-0.

Miclat then converted on a penalty kick at the 74th minute to make it 4-nil.

Annis clinched her brace with a screamer from outside the box at the 82nd minute.

Malea Cesar, for her part, scored her first-ever goal for the Philippines in added time to conclude the romp with a tap in, 6-0.

As the knockout round looms, this stands to be the country's best performance at the Women's Asian Cup as this is the first time they've gone out of the group stage.

This is also the first time the Philippines has won more than one match in the tournament.

The Filipinas go up against Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals on Sunday, January 30 — a crucial match as the winner qualifies for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.