The Philippine women's national football team ahead of their AFC Women's Asia Cup qualifier match against Saudi Arabia, June 29, 2025 at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Handout/PFF-PWNFT
(UPDATED) The Philippine women's national football team took care of business against Saudi Arabia, 3-0, for a winning start to their campaign in the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers.
Behind a superb performance from Meryll Serrano, the Filipinas dominated possession at the Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia against Saudi Arabia, a team that is participating in the qualifiers for the first time.
With the result, the Filipinas took an early lead in Group G. Only the winners of the eight groups in the qualifiers will secure tickets to next year's tournament that will be hosted by Australia.
The Filipinas enjoyed most of the possession in the early goings but couldn't find the breakthrough until the 16th minute, when Serrano found Jackie Sawicki inside the box. Sawicki's strike deflected off a Saudi Arabia player for a deserved 1-0 lead.
Saudi Arabia's defense held firm for the rest of the first half, however, despite increased pressure from the Filipinas. Chandler McDaniel and Alexa Pino had their chances, but Saudi Arabia goal-keeper Mona Alowais was up to the task.
The Philippines finally got their second goal some ten minutes after the restart, as McDaniel headed the ball into Serrano's path inside the box, and the latter made no mistake with a left-footed strike past Mona.
Pino was eventually rewarded for her tireless work in the 81st minute, as her superb curling effort sailed past the Saudi Arabia defense for a comfortable 3-0 lead.
It could have been 4-0 just eight minutes later after Angie Beard went for it with a long-range strike from a free kick, but Mona was just able to punch the ball out of harm's way.
On the other end, Olivia McDaniel was called to action late when Seba Tawfiq got the ball in open play, and Isabella Pasion missed a last second tackle. McDaniel got to the ball first but collided with Seba, who got a yellow card for the incident.
The Philippines will play again on Wednesday, July 2, taking on host nation Cambodia in search of a second win.