: Filipinas lose World Cup game vs Norway but future looks bright, next goal is qualifying for 2024 Olympics

SCREEN CAPTURE

Filipino fans flocked to the World Cup venues in New Zealand to cheer on the Filipinas.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Edited throughout for more clarity and details. - 2 p.m., July 30, 2023.

The final score was Norway 6, Philippines, 0, but the 23 Filipinas on the World Cup team have changed the sport of Philippines football. Soccer in the Philippines will never be the same.

The final score was not surprising as the 46th-ranked Filipinas were overmatched by the 12th-ranked Norway Grasshoppers, which was predicted to win the four-team Group A before the World Cup play began.

The 23 women on the Filipinas were playing on soccer's biggest stage, the FIFA World Cup, the first time a Philippines team -- men or women -- qualified. The  debutantes (a term used in soccer for first-time qualifiers) made history again by scoring a goal. They made another milestone by winning a game against favored New Zealand. The only one of the eight debutant teams to earn those accomplishments.

With their victory over the Philippines, Norway's Grasshoppers join Switzerland to move on to the Round of 16 in the World Cup tourney.

Although the Filipinas' scored only one victory at the World Cup, their story may be the biggest sports story in the Philippines this year.

Soccer, or as the rest of the world calls it "football," is not particularly popular in the Philippines. Basketball is the No. 1 sport, followed by boxing. Even volleyball is more popular. 

The nation's soccer advocates -- sponsors, coaches and players -- hope the Filipinas' historic run the World Cup is only the beginning and will help boost the sport's popularity in the Philippines.

TWITTER

Goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel, left, and Filipinas co-captain Hali Long console each other
after loss to Norway.

The impact of the women's historic run from can not be underestimated. The team could have the same impact in the Philippines as the US women's soccer team began winning games in the 1990s. The Philippines players want to inspire the Philippines' young girls and that legacy will move women’s soccer to the future.

When the Philippines upset co-host New Zealand last earlier this week, cheers went up in Manila shopping malls, the Internet went wild, #LabanFilipinas trended in social media and Filipinos scattered around the world began tuning in, waving flags and marching in the streets chanting "Fi-li-pi-nas! Fi-li-pi-nas!"

TV networks in the Philippines were caught flat-footed on World Game coverage but as audiences grew, they quickly made arrangements to broadcast the Filipinas' games.

FILIPINO HEART & SOUL

At the beginning of the current team's formation two years ago, complaints arose that there were too many "foreigners" on the team. Eighteen of the 23 Filipinas were born in the US, only one player was born in the Philippines. The international composition of the Filipinas was the result of an intensive search by Filipino American soccer fans and coaches.

Those critics were drowned out by the "Fi-li-pi-nas!" changes Sarina Bolden scored her header against New Zealand, the first historicPhilippine goal in World Cup play which turned out to be enough to score an upset. That win set up the game against Norway.

By the third game, Group A, dubbed the Chaos Group by broadcasters because all four teams -- including underdog Filipinas -- had a chance to move on to the next round.

By the end of the Norway game, the Filipinas' meteoric rise from an underdog team most football followers didn't know existed to not just playng in the World Cup but  showing their mettle against the world's best, was the stuff sports journalists love to write about. The mixed racial heritage of the players was forgotten as new fans joined the bandwagon.

“Honestly, can’t tell you where everyone was born and for me it’s irrelevant," manager Alan Stajcic told the Inquirer. "They all play for the Philippine) flag, they all play for the country and they all play for the people of the Philippines, wherever they reside,” 

“We’ve traveled the world last year, traversed the whole planet and the amount of fans we have across the world regardless of where, whether it’s Europe, Central America, South America, North America, Australia is just amazing to have, that support from the diaspora all around the world," he said at a media conference.

“So, I don’t really care. I just know that this team has Filipino heart and blood and courage and spirit and that’s only the criteria regardless of their birth,” added Stajcic.

Falling to 12-ranked Norway is no reason to be ashamed, says Stajcic.

"I'm proud of the heart and spirit of our team. They fought to the end, they fought to the death. And from that perspective, it's been an amazing World Cup," he said in a post-game media meet.

"The players have punched so far above their weight. They've delivered an amazing memory, and history to Philippines football, and one that will go down into the annals of Philippine sporting history."

The Filipinas acknowledge their fans after beating New Zealand.

Prior to the New Zealand game, Filipino fans marched through the streets of Wellington to the stadium. Dressed in bright colours, banging drums and singing, they made the venues sound like home games in Manila, cheering every Filipinas possession.

ARE THE OLYMPICS NEXT?

Laguna Beach-born goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel was disappointed with the loss but admitted Norway was the better team -- this year. The national team will learn from this and get better, she insists.

"We're definitely going to try to get back here in the next four years. This is not the end for the Filipinas. There's a lot more in us. We (have]) a lot of tournaments this year so it's not the end. We're excited to keep going," said McDaniel, whose goaltending skills have attracted interest from pro-team scouts.

For a team that has played together for less than two years, with players moving in and out of the lineup, the international experience will only help them get better.

“Four years is a long time from now, but the process starts now and how we can get better, how can we grow from this, learn from this,” said Sarina Bolden, whose goal against New Zealand has made her one of the most recognizable stars to emerge from the Filipinas. “And I have no doubt in my mind that we’ll be able to be a better team for it.”

“I’m ready for the next World Cup,” said striker Bolden, who learned the sport while growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The players know that they are playing for the future of the sport, especially proviting inspiration for young girls. They know that thousands will see them and want to be them.

“I just want all the little girls in the Philippines to know that this is a dream that can be attainable. They can do this,” McDaniel said after the game, patiently answering reporters' questions.

Co-captain Hali Long, who grew up in Missouri, added: “The little girls I see waving and cheering, they deserve to be here. And I want them to know that it's possible for them.

“But we have to make it possible for them,” she continued. “Through investment, through funding.” And that, she knows, is the difficult part.

Long gave credit to prominent businessman Jefferson Cheng who helped fund the Filipinas the last couple of years.

“Jefferson Cheng and the PFF took a really big chance to give us anything and everything we could to prepare, to even qualify for the World Cup,” Long said. “And to bet on the unknown is a risk — in business, in life.”

But it’s a worthwhile risk, she argued. “It's the utmost honor to bring ‘Lupang Hinirang’ (the Filipino anthem) here, to bring the Philippine flag here for the first time,” she said. “And to be on the pitch to do that — definite highlight of my life."

“These players have really left their mark and left a legacy for future generations. I can't ask any more. They gave everything," said Stajcic.

For the immediate future, the Filipinas will focus on the Hangzhou Asian Games in September and in October, the second round of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament which they they are grouped with host nation Australia, Iran and Taiwan.

Meanwhile, in Long Beach, California, 11-year old Filipino American Avery Rivas watched all the Filipinas' World Cup games. "Watching them play makes me proud to be Filipina,"

She tells Spectrum News, "I would love to play for them if I get the opportunity."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.