The Philippine women’s national football team clinched its place in the second round of the 2024 AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament after beating Hong Kong with a 4-0 win on Tuesday at the Hisor Central Stadium in Tajikistan.
The Filipinas are currently on top of Group E on goal differential, having won their first two games against Pakistan and Tajikistan while Hong Kong won their first two matches against the same squads, but have scored five goals to the Philippines’ 12.
Sarina Bolden, tne 26-year-old forward, opened the scoring for the Philippines at the 5th minute.
The Filipinas’ latest win sees them advance to the second round of the Asian qualifiers as they finish on top of Group E with 9 points and an impressive +16 goal difference.
Hong Kong remains at second with 6 points, while Pakistan and Tajikistan, both teams who are winless, battle later on the day to cap off the final match day in Group E.
Hong Kong is ranked 79th in the world while the Filipinas are 49th.
The two teams last played against each other in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers in September 2021, where the Filipinas snatched a 2-1 triumph thanks to a late goal from Chandler McDaniel.
The second round of the Asian qualifiers will commence in October this year where the 7 group winners in the first round will join Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, and North Korea.
All 12 teams will then be divided into 3 groups for another single-round robin format and only the best four teams will proceed to the third and final round of the Asian qualifiers.
The two eventual winners of the third and final round will book their respective slots in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
All 12 teams will then be divided into 3 groups for another single-round robin format and only the best four teams will proceed to the third and final round of the Asian qualifiers.
Only the top team in the group will advance to the second round of the qualifiers, where they will join already seeded teams in Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, and North Korea.
Ten different players have scored for the Filipinas in the qualifiers, with the comebacking Chandler McDaniel accounting for three goals in two matches. The striker came in as a second half substitute in their games against Pakistan and Tajikistan.
