The Philippine women's national under-17 squad couldn't sustain a fine start and absorbed a 6-2 loss to Australia in the 2024 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup qualification tournament on Wednesday night in Vietnam.

Despite a brace from Nina Mathelus, the Young Filipinas got whipped by the Young Matildas in the second half of the match.

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Mathelus opened the scoring for the Philippines via a penalty kick, in the 14th then doubled the lead three minutes later.

But the Young Matildas regrouped with Grace Kuilamu and Ruby Cuthbert knotting the scores 2-all by firing goals in the 30th and 42nd minutes.

Shelby McMahon then put Australia at the driver's seat with a goal in the 46th minute. This opened a three-goal scoring spree for the Aussies.

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With the loss, the Philippines fell to the bottom of Group B without a win and a -4 goal difference.

The Young Matildas improved to 3 points and a +4 goal difference.

The Philippines returns to action on September 22 against Bangladesh before wrapping up the group round against Vietnam on September 24. Only the top two teams in each group will qualify for next year's finals.

Already assured of a place in the U-17 Women's Asian Cup are hosts Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, and China.