At A Glance
- The Philippine women's football team drew with Myanmar, 1-1, to end its title defense campaign in the 2025 ASEAN MSIG Serenity Cup at the Lach Tray Stadium in Hai Phong, Vietnam on Wednesday, Aug. 13.
Filipinas (PFF)
The Philippine women’s football team drew with Myanmar, 1-1, to end its title defense campaign in the 2025 ASEAN MSIG Serenity Cup at the Lach Tray Stadium in Hai Phong, Vietnam on Wednesday, Aug. 13.
Rising star Nina Mathelus struck in the 71st off a pass from Adelaide Wyrzynski to cancel out Win Theingi Tun’s first-half opener for Myanmar, but the Filipinas couldn’t find a winning goal for them to stay in the title hunt.
It also didn’t help that reigning champion Australia crushed Timor-Leste 9-0 to secure second place in Group B, leaving Myanmar needing to avoid a loss by more than one goal to reach the Final Four.
With the loss, the Mark Torcaso-led crew finished its campaign with a one win, one draw and one loss at third place in its bracket with four points.
Myanmar (2-1-0) and Australia U23 (2-0-1), for their parts, advance to the semis where they tangle with Thailand and Vietnam, respectively, this Saturday, Aug. 16.
It was a stinging loss for the Filipinas as their efforts to replicate their triumphant campaign in 2022 went down the drain.
Still, the future looks bright for the Philippine squad, with 16-year-old Mathelus and 19-year-old Wyrzynski proving they can perform under heavy pressure.
Prior to their defeat, the Filipinas blanked Timor Leste, 7-0, before falling to Australia U23, 1-0.
Myanmar struck early after Filipinas goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel committed a foul on Tun inside the box, leading to a penalty that the Burmese captain calmly converted just past the 30-minute mark.
But the Filipinas came roaring back, with Wyrzynski deflecting the ball and delivering a sharp cross from the right side of the box to Mathelus, who slotted it home from close range into the top left corner.
Several chances had been given to the Filipinas in the remaining minutes but they weren’t able to finish it off.