After suffering back-to-back setbacks, the Philippines shoot for a graceful exit when it faces powerhouse Argentina in the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup on Thursday at the Philsports Arena.
Action starts at 8:30 p.m. with the Filipina5 hoping to pull off a miraculous win against world No. 6 Argentines, who have yet to suffer a single loss in this prestigious 16-nation tournament.
But winning over powerhouse La Albiceleste, who are bannered by Agostina Chiesa, will not be easy.
Ranked No. 63 in the world, the Filipina5 are coming off a tough 0-6 loss to Poland to in the opener before suffering a 2-3 heartbreak of a setback to world No. 31 Morocco last Monday to fall to kiss their title hopes goodbye.
Inday Tolentin and Catherine Graversen scored the country’s first goals in the fourth and eighth minutes, respectively, but it wasn’t enough as Nadia Laftah (10th), Siiham Tadlaoui (14th) and Jasmine Demraoui (17th) retaliated for a hat-trick that lifted the Moroccans away from a shocking setback.
The come-from-behind decision enabled the reigning African titlists to tie Poland at the second spot with three points on one win against one loss, making their 6 p.m. faceoff a winner-take-all for the last available ticket to the knockout rounds.
Argentina clinched the first seat at six points with victories over Morocco, 6-0, and Poland, 3-2, ahead of its final group assignment against the home side.
Despite already bombing out of contention, Filipina5 head coach Rafa Merino of Spain said they are still determined to go all out to give the country its first win in the World Cup.
“The team is quite affected by that, but it cannot let us down because we still have one more game to play against Argentina,” Merino said.
“After this, we still have to find the strength to fight the next game.”