Brazil-bound: Filipinas secure 2027 World Cup berth

It’s off to Brazil for the mighty Filipinas.

Proving that their historic breakthrough appearance in the FIFA Women’s World Cup four years ago was no fluke, the Philippine booters booked a return trip to the global stage next year as the lone Southeast Asian qualifier.

The Filipinas secured their World Cup berth after winning over Uzbekistan, 2-0, in the play-in of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Thursday at the Robina Stadium in Robina, Australia.

After a scoreless halftime, Angie Beard and Jacklyn Sawicki slotted in goals five minutes apart before holding off the Uzbeks for the right to travel with Australia, Japan, China, South Korea and the winner between Chinese Taipei and North Korea to the South American nation next year.

“We were confident in the players from the start of this Asian Cup. We knew every game would be challenging because there are no weak teams here,” head coach Mark Torcaso said.

“At halftime, it was 0-0, and we told the players that we were still in the game. The message was simple: keep doing what we’re doing, and we’ll get the outcome we want.”

True enough, the Filipinas picked up the slack in the second half with Beard scoring from a left-foot volley in the 47th minute to gain an early lead.

Sawicki doubled the lead for the Philippines after converting a header off a cross from Jael-Marie Guy five minutes later.

“Angie is very aggressive in the front third. She starts our defense from the front and brings quality when we want to win the ball high,” said the 44-year-old Torcaso, who has worked with Beard before when he was calling the shots for the Western United FC in the A-League Women three years ago.

“I’ve had a long journey working with Angie, both at club level and now here, so I know her “qualities very well. She can play anywhere on the pitch — she’d probably even say she can play goalkeeper,” he added.

“Before the game, I told her, ‘This is your game to score.’ Having that familiarity with her allowed us to make that decision as a coaching staff.”

With the World Cup berth secured, the Philippines will have a full year to prepare and build the best squad possible to surpass its previous record of one win and two losses in 2023.

Star striker Sarina Bolden, who is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, is expected to get back in top shape by the time the World Cup starts on 24 June.

The Filipinas pulled off the win despite coming off a 0-7 loss to Japan last Sunday in the quarterfinal.