Filipinas fall to Japan but get another World Cup shot

The Philippines absorbed a 7-0 loss against powerhouse Japan in the quarterfinals of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 on Sunday at the Stadium Australia in Sydney, but will get another crack at qualifying for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

The Filipinas will play Uzbekistan in a playoff match on Thursday, March 19, with the winner qualifying for the global showpiece. A victory would mark the Philippines’ second consecutive appearance at the Women’s World Cup.

The result sent Japan — the highest-ranked team in the tournament at eighth in the world — into the semifinals, where they will face South Korea on Wednesday. The win also confirmed Japan’s 10th appearance at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The two-time champions won the global showpiece in 2011 and have now scored 24 goals in the tournament while conceding none.

Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso rotated his lineup, giving 21-year-old goalkeeper Nina Meollo the start between the sticks in place of Olivia McDaniel. Meollo held firm for most of the first half, repelling wave after wave of Japanese attacks.

Japan kept the Philippines backline under pressure from the outset, with Shimizu’s cross finding Kiko Seike in the center of the box as early as the second minute, but her effort went wide. Two minutes later, captain Yui Hasegawa forced Meollo into action with a close-range left-footer that the young goalkeeper punched away.

Meollo came to the rescue again in the 14th minute when Seike sent an aerial effort goalwards, only to see it safely collected by the Filipina custodian. Mina Tanaka’s header five minutes later was also dealt with, as was another Tanaka attempt shortly after when she tried to head home a perfectly delivered pass from Shimizu.

As the match approached the half-hour mark, Seike came dangerously close to scoring with a left-footed attempt from a tight angle on the left that Meollo blocked. The rebound fell to Hasegawa inside the box, but the Philippines keeper again managed to keep the effort at bay.

Japan’s relentless pressure finally paid off in the 45th minute when, following a chaotic barrage of attempts from Seike and Toko Koga, Tanaka managed to nod the ball into the net off a goalmouth scramble. Almost immediately after, Honoka Hayashi’s corner kick found Koga in a perfect position to head home three minutes into stoppage time, sending Japan coach Nils Nielsen’s side into the break with a 2-0 lead.

Japan poured it on in the second half. Remina Chiba, fresh off the bench, scored in the 63rd minute when Fujino’s delightful pass found her inside the box, allowing the substitute to calmly slide the ball into the net after earlier having efforts parried by Meollo and a header go astray.

Manaka Matsukubo extended the lead in the 67th minute, beating three defenders before sending a composed finish into the right corner of the net. Koga secured her brace in the 76th minute when Momoko Tanikawa’s corner was first met by Tanaka, but with the ball still alive in the crowded box, the Tottenham Hotspur defender avoided a throng of white shirts to score.

Tanikawa, assisted by Shimizu, sent the ball into the bottom right corner from the center of the box in the 86th minute for Japan’s sixth, before Riko Ueki made it 7-0 seconds after coming on as a substitute.

“They didn’t really challenge our defenders and we were in complete control,” said Japan coach Nielsen. “It’s always nice to score a lot of goals and for the players to show what they can do.”

Despite the lopsided result, Meollo said the Filipinas would regroup quickly for the Uzbekistan match.

“We turn over the page, we focus on the next match and that match is going to get us to the World Cup. So yeah, we’re going to regroup, stay together and we’ll focus on the next one,” Meollo said.

“I’m very proud. I’m very proud of every single one of us. Every single one of the girls, they put their body on the line. We fought for each other, we backed each other and you can really see with our performance that we gave everything that we can. I’m just beyond proud of them,” the goalkeeper said.