PH women’s football team stuns Nepal in Asian Cup qualifiers

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Philippines Women’s National Football Team rallied from 0-1 down and beat Nepal, 2-1, during the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers.

Magical goals from Tahnai Annis and Camille Wilson in the last five minutes of the match propelled the PH Malditas in one of their most emotional wins on the international stage.

With nothing going on in their offensive sets, it took the PH Malditas 89 minutes of playing time to generate their equalizer when Annis got past Nepal’s last line of defense.

“In the second half, our adjustment was we’re putting four forwards, three attacking midfielders, one defensive midfielder, and two central defenders because Nepal just sent one forward up front. So by doing that, we’re able to score two goals in the last five minutes,” said head coach Marlon Maro.

After the Annis offensive attack, substitute attacker Wilson also came to the rescue and found the back of the net in the first minute of stoppage time.

Wilson’s clutch goal was her third total for the country while Annis recorded her first-ever as a member of the PH Malditas.

PH’s win gave them an automatic three points in their group and will have the chance to go up 2-0 in the standings when they take on the mighty Hong Kong team next week in Group F.