The Philippine women’s football team salvaged a 1-1 draw against Uzbekistan after Natalie Kirsten Collins struck late in their Asian Games Group G match on Monday at Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium in Japan.
Collins found the equalizer in the 89th minute, rescuing a point for the Filipinas after Uzbekistan had taken the lead through Mehribon Egamberdieva conversion in the 81st minute.
The Filipinas recorded six shots on target from six attempts, while Uzbekistan registered eight shots on target from 18 attempts.
Uzbekistan enjoyed 61 percent possession and earned six corners, compared to the Philippines’ 39 percent possession and one corner.
Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso stressed that the quadrennial meet is a key building block toward the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“We want to try and be better than we were at the last Asian Games, which was quarterfinalist, but we also understand it’s out of the FIFA window, we have a lot of players unavailable, and we’re going to test a lot of our young players and new players,” Torcaso said.
“We’re really using the Asian Games as an opportunity for our team to grow, to be ready for the World Cup,” he added.
The draw leaves both teams with one point in the group standings as the Filipinas continue their campaign in the Asian Games women’s football competition against Hong Kong on September 17 and powerhouse China on September 21.
Following the Asian Games, the Filipinas will head to a training camp in Peru in October, which Torcaso described as a critical stretch in the team’s World Cup preparations.
“For us it’s about the next block of four to five weeks,” he said. “It’s almost like what a World Cup campaign could be like if we’re playing three, four, five, six games in a tournament. Peru is going to be a fantastic opportunity because the altitude is going to be extremely high, and it tests us potentially like what Brazil could be like.” (Adrian Co)
