The Filipinas U17 team celebrates during one of their matches in the 2024 AFC U-17 Asian Cup. | Photo from the PFF
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) praised the valiant efforts of the Philippine Women’s National Football Team’s U17 squad in their campaign in the 2024 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup in Bali, Indonesia.
The U17 Filipinas exited the tournament after settling a draw against South Korea, 1-1, last Sunday, May 12.
Filipinas’ co-captain Ariana Markey gave hopes to her team by scoring the first goal in the 38th minute, but the South Koreans scored an equalizer in the second half to end with the 1-1 draw.
READ: Filipinas’ U17 squad bow down to North Korea
That resulted to the Filipinas being eliminated in Group A as only the top two teams will advance to the next round of the tournament. Also eliminated was the host team, Indonesia.
READ: PH’s U17 girls squad starts AFC campaign in Bali
South and North Korea advances to the next round.
PFF President John Gutierrez lifted the spirit of the Filipinas U17 team which he described as an emerging contender in the Asian continent.
READ: Filipinas’ U-17 squad bows to England in MIMA Cup
“The u17 Filipinas’ performance showed that the team is an emerging contender in women’s Asian football. It was unfortunate that a no call on the 74th minute prevented the team from advancing but the Filipinas held their ground and fought hard. Moreover, the draw vs South Korea showed that the Filipina footballer can be at par with the best in the world. We hope that this will encourage many more young girls to work hard as they aspire to represent the country someday. I thank and congratulate the players, Coach Siniza and his staff and the management team led by Mr. Jeff Cheng for their perseverance and dedication.” Gutierrez said in a statement.
“We narrowly won against ASEAN powerhouse Vietnam to qualify to the U17 Asian Cup for the first time. A former world champion has forced a draw on us. We may have exited the Asian Cup, but we did not lose against a world powerhouse,” he added.
The Filipinas U17 team only lost once in Group A, against North Korea, 0-6, but they demolished the Indonesians, 6-1, in one of their matches.