Filipinas tangle with C. Taipei

MANILA, Philippines —  On the heels of milestones in the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Asian Games, the Filipinas continue their history-making efforts, this time with the Paris Olympics on their sights.

The Pinay booters, who scored a breakthrough 1-0 victory over host New Zealand in the WC in July and a historic Asiad quarterfinal stint last month, look to sustain this momentum as they compete in Round 2 of the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Perth, Australia beginning today.

First up for the Filipinas is Chinese Taipei, a familiar foe they hope to reassert their mastery on to get a head start in the race for No. 1 Group A and a sure ticket to the third round of the qualifiers.

Ranked 44th in the world, the Filipinas hold a psychological edge against the No. 38 Taiwanese. Last year, the Pinay booters beat the Taiwanese on penalties, 4-3, in an epic Asian Women’s Cup quarterfinal win that clinched for them a WC seat.

“I know there’s a little history and for the players, they’re extremely motivated with that game that they won to get to the World Cup,” said coach Marc Torcaso, who came on board after Alen Stajcic’s departure post-WC. “I know for them, we want to win this match in another setting and show what we’re about, show that we’re deserving to be in the World Cup.”

The match is set at 4 p.m. at the Perth Rectangular Stadium and Filipinas supporters can watch it on Cignal on One Sports, Pilipinas Live and One Sports+.

After the Taiwanese, the Filipinas go up against host Australia on Sunday then Iran on Wednesday. Goal is to top the group or emerge as the best-ranked runner-up across the three groups to qualify for Round 3, where slots to Paris await the winners of the two home-and-away duels.

“We want to progress and come out of the group and give our nation an opportunity to try and get to the Olympics. And we also want to challenge ourselves against these three different opponents,” said Torcaso.
The Australian mentor assembled 22 players with experience from the World Cup or Asiad or both, led by strikers Sarina Bolden and Katrina Guillou, goalkeeper Oliia McDaniel, defender Angie Beard and midfielder Sara Eggesvik.

“We got a really good squad with a lot of depth,” said Torcaso.