Filipinas to face Pakistan in first match of AFC Women’s Olympic qualifier
The Philippine Women’s National Football Team (PWNFT) Filipinas during the Pinatar Cup in Spain earlier this year. | Photo from the PWNFT Facebook page.
CEBU CITY, Philippines— The Philippine Women’s National Football Team (PWNFT) Filipinas will take on Pakistan in their first match of the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Wednesday, April 5, at the Hisor Central Stadium in Tajikistan.
This will be the first of three matches scheduled for the Philippine team in the first round of the Olympic qualifiers.
The Filipinas have plenty of motivation heading into this tournament after climbing to the No. 49 in the latest FIFA women’s football world rankings. It’s the highest FIFA ranking for the Filipinas in history.
Their match against Pakistan, which is ranked No. 161 in the world rankings, will kick off at 4 p.m. (7 p.m. Manila Time) tomorrow.
Their second match is against the Tajiks, ranked No. 114 in the world, on April 8, Black Saturday at 7 p.m. (10 p.m. Manila Time) at the same venue. Their last remaining match is against world-ranked No. 79 Hong Kong on April 11 at 4 p.m. (7 p.m. Manila Time).
The last time the Filipinas and Hong Kong faced each other on the field was in 2021 during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers. The Filipinas beat Hong Kong, 2-1, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The Filipinas will be comprised of Kiara Fontanilla, Olivia McDaniel, Inna Palacios, Maya Alcantara, Alicia Barker, Reina Bonta, Jessika Cowart, Malea Cesar, Sofia Harrison, Hali Long, Eva Madarang, Tahnai Annis, Anicka Castañeda, Sara Eggesvik, Bella Pasion, Jaclyn Sawicki, Meryll Serrano, Sarina Bolden, Carleigh Frilles, Katrina Guillou, Chandler McDaniel, and Quinley Quezada.
Their head coach is Alen Stajcic.
The first round of the Olympic qualifiers is one of the major tournaments the Filipinas will be competing in this year. It also includes the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in May in Cambodia and, most importantly, the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia in July.
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