Olympic Qualification: Australia cruise to victory over the Philippines | OneFootball

With only two teams able to qualify from the Asian Football Confederation, Australia hosted the Philippines in a bid for Olympic qualification.

The Matildas headed into the tie after beating Iran on Thursday in a 2-0 victory. Meanwhile, the visitors enjoyed a resounding 4-1 win over Chinese Taipei in their first game of the international break.

Starting lineups

Australia: Arnold; Cooney-Cross, Catley, Foord, Fowler, Kennedy, Hunt, Raso, Gorry, Kerr, Carpenter

Philippines: McDaniel; Randle, Cowart, Sawicki, Long, Bolden, Eggesvik, Bonta, Beard, Quezada, Guillou

How it went

Just a quarter of an hour into the tie, the hosts took the early lead through Mary Fowler. The Matildas had dominated the early possession before the Manchester City star curled the ball home from six yards out.

Barely four minutes later, Sam Kerr doubled the hosts’ lead. The Matildas’ top scorer fired the ball home from inside the area to put her side comfortably ahead. A brace inside four minutes from Caitlin Foord saw the hosts sitting on a comfortable four-goal lead. Kerr’s second of the afternoon saw Australia go in five goals up at the break.

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The second half saw Kerr bag her hat trick less than a minute after play resumed. Foord got her third of the afternoon just ten minutes later. Clare Wheeler capped off the scoring for the Matildas as she snatched their seventh of the afternoon in the 72nd minute.

Despite trailing by a significant deficit, the Philippines grew into the game throughout the second half. Registering their first shot on Mackenzie Arnold’s goal shortly after the break, the visitors began closing their opponents’ chances as the game ended.

Up next

Australia will face Chinese Taipei on Wednesday, November 1. The Matildas go into the clash with an unbeaten record so far in the Olympic qualification stage.

Also on Wednesday, the Philippines will face an away game against Iran in their bid to secure qualification. The Filipinas head into the tie with three points from a possible six.

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