The Philippine Women’s National Football Team concluded their Pinatar Cup campaign earlier today, February 22 (Manila time) with a tough 0-5 loss to Iceland.
The Filipinas were, unfortunately, unable to find their stride in Europe, conceding three losses throughout the Pinatar Cup.
The team opened the tournament by surviving a narrow 0-1 loss to Wales, which was then followed by a 1-2 loss to Scotland. Finally, to close their campaign at the Pinatar Cup, the Filipinas conceded five unanswered goals to Iceland, their highest-ranked competitor.
In their final match this morning (Manila time), Iceland, ranked 16th in the world, managed to score one goal in the first half.
The European side continued adding to their lead throughout the second half to end the match 5-0 in their favor.
Despite the struggles that the Filipinas may have faced throughout the tournament, the team definitely was able to put up an impressive fight, competing against these European giants for the first time.
In their first match, the Philippine side only conceded one penalty shot and kept Wales from penetrating their defense. Up against Scotland in their second game, Meryll Serrano was able to convert a late free kick to avoid a complete shutout by the 25th-ranked team in the world.
Sitting at 53rd in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, the Filipinas certainly played their hearts out as the underdogs in the Pinatar Cup.
As they come home with these matches as valuable experiences to add to their leadup to this year’s Women’s World Cup, the Filipinas will be now focusing their attention on the next tournament on the calendar: the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in April.
Banner image from Philippine WNT on Twitter.
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