Philippines makes Women’s World Cup history with surprise victory

After a surprising debut round at the Women’s World Cup, where one of the hosts managed to triumph for the first time in the world cup, it was the turn of another selection to conquer a historic mark. In the early hours of this Tuesday (25), Philippines entered the field against New Zealand for the second round of Group A, at Sky Stadium, in Wellington. The confrontation was very important for the hosts, since they had the opportunity to forward their classification to the tournament’s knockout stage, but the surprise took over again, making the competition more memorable.

a historic goal

In a group already embroiled by the surprising victory against the favorites Norway, New Zealand had the chance to beat the Philippines, to guarantee the first position in the table and to qualify for the round of 16. However, despite having a good moment in the world cup and putting pressure on the visitors in the opening minutes of the match, it was the opponents who surprised this time. After recovering the ball in the attacking half, the cross from the bottom line found Sarina Bolden between two New Zealand scorers, who headed firmly to open the scoring, the first goal for the Asians in World Cups.

Pressure and nervousness

Unlike what was seen in the debut, the home team had to impose itself during the second stage and chase the tie. New Zealand’s pressure reached its peak in the 13th minute, when Wilkinson overcame the opposing goalkeeper at the top and narrowly missed scoring, the ball went over the crossbar, wasting the greatest opportunity created by the home team in the game. Five minutes later, the New Zealanders missed another important finish, hitting the post with Hand on the edge of the box. The intensity continued to increase and the home team even scored at 23, with the header of shirt number 16, but a millimetric impediment ended up annulling the goal.

All that motivation in search of the result plummeted after the disallowed goal, making New Zealand lose for the rest of the second half, giving way to nervousness for the World Cup host. Despite the situation, the hosts came back to attack in extra time, but goalkeeper McDaniel shone at the right time, defending Grace Jale’s finish inside the small area.

The historic result marked the first victory of the Philippines within the World Cups, right in its debut edition in the tournament. The situation in Group A completely changed, getting even more tangled, with Switzerland leading despite not having played the second round against last-placed Norway. On the other hand, New Zealanders and Asians are tied between the second and third position, deciding the vacancy in the last match, where the hosts face the Swiss and the Norwegians duel against the Philippine selection.

Featured Photo: Players of the Philippine national team celebrating after the match. Reproduction/Gettyimages