Asian Games debutant Filipinas reach quarterfinals at Myanmar's expense

History-making continues for the Philippine women's national football team (PWNFT) as the determined Filipinas reached the knockout round of the 19th Asian Games in their maiden Asiad appearance.

The Philippines romped Myanmar, 3-0, at the Wenzhou Olympic Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China to arrange their quarterfinal clash against Japan on Thursday night, September 28.

Mark Torcaso's side finished as the third-best group runner-up behind the first-half goal of Sarina Bolden and Sara Eggesvik's brace.

Coming off a humiliating 5-1 defeat over South Korea that put them in a must-win situation versus the Burmese side, the Filipinas came aggressive to keep their podium hope alive.

Their efforts paid off early in the opening half as Bolden fished a foul inside the dangerous area, with the country's lone FIFA Women's World Cup goalscorer converting her penalty kick in the 19th minute.

Eggesvik delivered two quickfire goals in the 60th and 61st minutes to ensure Myanmar won't see any daylight.

"I'm glad to help the team going to the knockout stage…so I'm glad to get on the scoresheet, but it's always a team effort, and I'm glad the team did really well today," Eggesvik said.

For his part, Torcaso told in a video: "We set ourselves to score in this game and we scored very well and we were excellent…I'm grateful to be part of this opportunity and now we progress to the next stage, which is excellent."

An improbable task now awaits the Filipinas as they take on the Land of the Rising Sun's Nadeshiko, eight-ranked globally, with an upset propelling them to the semifinals.