Quinley Quezada (20) of the Philippines in action during their match against Malaysia for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on July 8, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News/File.
The Philippine women's national football team will take on South Korea in a crucial Group E match in the 19th Asian Games on Monday at Wenzhou Sports Center Stadium in Wenzhou, China.
The Filipinas labored to a 3-1 win over Hong Kong in their first game, with Sarina Bolden putting them ahead after eight minutes only for Hong Kong to equalize 30 minutes later through Cheung Wai Ki.
Late goals by Quinley Quezada and Katrina Guillou propelled the Filipinas to victory, giving Mark Torcaso a successful debut with the squad.
They anticipate an even tougher time against South Korea, a team ranked 20th in the world.
"There is no doubt South Korea is a top side," Torcaso acknowledged. "They are very good in possession. But there are small gaps that we can expose and if we do it right, we’ll get our chance. We also have to be very disciplined and be smart tactically."
The South Koreans won their opening match in Group E, blasting Myanmar 3-0 behind goals by Lee Eun-young, talismanic midfielder Ji So-yun, and Jeon Eun-ha.
The top team in each of the five groups will advance to the knockout stage of the Asian Games, along with the three best second-placed teams.
The last time that the two teams met was in the semifinals of the AFC Women's Asian Cup in India last year, with South Korea pulling off a 2-0 win.
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