Playing in the World Cup with heart, the Philippines women footballers make history with first victory

Sarina Bolden is excited after scoring the Philippines first World Cup goal

Santa Clara-born Sarina Bolden made history when she scored the Philippines Womens National Football Team 's first-ever goal in the FIFA World Cup tournament.

The Filipinas beat co-host New Zealand 1-0 Tuesday (Monday, PDT) marked the first victory for the Philippines national football team, men or women.

Bolden, who plays professional in the Australian league, scored in the 24th minute with a header with a pass from Norway-born Sara Eggesvik, who plays professionally in Norway. Bolden was bracketed by two New Zealand players but she rose up to headbutt the ball to the net after the Ferns' goalkeeper Victoria Esson mishandled the ball. 

"I think they showed true heart, bringing out their puso, which means heart in Tagalog,” said Philippine coach Alen Stajcic in an interview after the upset victory.

Eighteen of the 23-member Filipinas were born in the US. Only one player was born in the Philippines. Others came from Germany and Australia.

It was not an easy match. The Ferns held a two-to-one edge in possession over the Philippines. New Zealand had numerous almost scores with the ball bouncing off the goal post or going wide. The Ferns kept the Filipinas goalie, Olivia McDaniel, had 14 goal attempts compared to the three attempts by the Filipinas, with one finding the net.

The 25-year old Laguna Beach-born goalie made one spectacular save in stoppage time by diving at a net-bound ball knocking it wide of the boal.

One ball did get past McDaniel but an offside call nullified what could have been a game-tying goal.

The Filipinas depended on their defense to keep the Ferns at bay. The swarming strategy of manager Alen Stajcic was to keep constant pressure on the ball handler.

WATCH: The Philippines team's game against Norway is scheduled for July 30, New Zealand time. Because of the International Dateline, that would be midnight, July 29 PDT for US viewers. Watch the match on FS1 network.

In their first matches, the Filipinas lost against Switzerland 0-2 and New Zealand upset Norway 1-0.

The Philippines victory puts them in a three-way tie in the four-team Group A. The top two finishers will move on to the round of 16 with a Norway-Switzerland match still to be played. In order for the Filipinas to continue their history-making run, they would have to pull another upset over Norway in their final Group A game. Switzerland would have to beat the Norway later today and follow that up a win over the Ferns.

It's a tall order and the odds are against the Filipinas, but the Philippines team has already surprised the soccer world just by qualifying for the World Cup followed by the upset victory versus New Zealand. Could they manage another surprise?

"We had some luck, but we also earned our luck," Stajcic said in a post-game media event. "For team sports, it would have to be one of the best achievements in the history of the country," 

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.

Filipinas lose to Swiss but gain valuable experience in World Cup debut

The Philippines' goalkeeper (No. 1) just blocked two Swiss goal attempts when Seraina Piubel
 (No. 17) found the rebound and kicked in Switzerland's second goal.

It was not the Cinderella script that the Philippines Women's football team wanted. Instead, the Filipinas saw a reality show when they lost their first game, 0-2, at the FIFA World Cup games in New Zealand.

"Unfortunately, we got an unfortunate PK [penalty kick] and messed around in the box but I mean, things won't go our way sometimes and we just have to keep building off from that, learn from this time and get ready to go for the next one," the Filipinas' Olivia McDaniel told the Manila Times.

The seasoned team from Switzerland overwhelmed the scrappy and disciplined Filipinas, primarily made up of players born in the United States and one of the youngest teams at the World Games. It was the first time the Philippines, men or women, qualified for international football's premier tournament.

"There's no doubt they are the better team, and they should be," Philippines coach Alen Stajcic said after the match Thursday. "I was really proud of the spirit that our team showed. I think we showed that we can be competitive."

Switzerland had 17 goal attempts vs. 3 by the Filipinas. In the early going, the 46th-ranked Philippines team looked like they might be a match with the 20th-ranked Swiss even though the Europeans were bigger and used their size to their advantage in the one-on-one matchups.

In the 16th minute, it appeared like the Philippines scored with an attempt by Katrina Guillou, who was born in Washington D.C. Unfortunately, the goal was nullified by an offsides call. 

The near score seemed to wake up the Swiss offense as they began to dominate the game. Switzerland finally scored with a free kick on a controversial penalty with one minute to go in the first half.

If not for Philippines' goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel, the score could have been more lopsided. Constantly under pressure, she blocked 15 Swiss attempts. Switzerland  scored a second goal in the second half in a tussle right in front of the Philippines goal. McDaniel, born in Laguna Beach, Calif. McDaniel blocked two consecutive goal attempts but a Swiss player Seraina Piubel kicked the rebound into the net.

"For us to compete against a team like (Switzerland) is miraculous, really," said Stajcic. "You saw true spirit, true heart, a team that never gave up, proud of their jersey, proud of the flag, proud of the people they represent, and I think that's the most important thing."

"To come to this level and play against players from Europe, against a team like that is miraculous."

The opposing manager had nothing but praise for the inexperienced Filipinas, who proved to be no easy pushover. “Yes, they were a very disciplined team. A big compliment — they’re a dangerous team, and I think that they presented themselves well and displayed sportsmanship,” said Inka Grings in German after the match.

“I’m excited to see how their next two games will play out. I think that every single player and the country should be very proud.”

With the win, Switzerland will next face Norway with a place in the next round of 16 at stake. Only the top two teams in each four-team groups will advance. Favored Norway was upset by New Zealand in the World Cup opener, 0-1.

The Philippines next World Cup match will be against co-host New Zealand on July 25. (Because New Zealand is a day ahead of the US, the game can be viewed in the US on July 24, 10:30 p.m. PDT on the FS1 Network.) In a friendly match on Sept. 22, 2022, the New Zealand beat the Filipinas 2-1. 

It was an emotional moment for the 23-member team and the thousands of Filipinos in the stands at in Forsyth Barr Stadium when Lupang Hinirang, was played  before the game as it was the Philippine national anthem was played at the FIFA World Cup.

McDaniel said she's struggled to rein in her emotions after hearing the Philippine national anthem played on the biggest football stage for the very first time.

"It was a whole mix of emotions in me," said McDaniel, who has moved to the Philippines. "We all felt it — we were buzzing and ready to go. I mean, the scoreline, it didn't go our way but we were ready to go," said McDaniel,

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.