Philippines thumped by North Korea in AFC U17 Women's Asian Cup

BALI, INDONESIA — The Philippine U17 Women’s team was dealt a footballing lesson as the young Filipinas fell 6-0 in the hands of North Korea in the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup.

Coming off a dominant 6-1 win over hosts Indonesia and buoyed by a throng of cheering fans and family in the stands, the young Filipinas were in a feisty mood right from kickoff. 

Alexa Pino and Nat Collins, heroines from the first game, started on the bench with Nina Mathelus leading the attack.

It would be North Korea, however, who would threaten in the early goings. The Philippines’ U17 team is more than a match for most teams physically, but North Korea proved equal to the task, winning the 50-50 balls and using speed and guile to test the Philippines’ defense.

After a series of last-ditch tackles, the Philippines' resistance would finally be broken in the 17th minute with a goal from a set piece from Jon Il Chong.

The speed in transition and the technical ability of the North Koreans, coupled with brilliant interplay meant that the Filipinas were chasing shadows all throughout the first half, and it would only be a matter of time before North Korea raced to a 4-0 halftime lead.

Things improved substantially in the second half for the Filipinas, limiting North Korea to a solitary goal – a fortunate goal off the upright direct from a corner – before a defensive error in the 93rd minute condemned the Philippines to a 6-0 defeat.

Getting a result was going to be very difficult against three-time champions North Korea, but a slew of unforced errors did not help the cause and effectively ended the young Filipinas’ already slim chances.

“The result is something we are not worried (about). We probably are more worried how we (wanted) to implement what we wanted to do," coach Sinisa Cohadzic said after the match. 

“We always knew this is gonna be a hard task for us.”

While preparing for North Korea, the coaching staff already had an eye towards the last group stage match, something Coach Sinisa hinted himself.

“By the lineup, you can see we didn't play the best players there, so ultimately it was about how can we lower the damage.”

“With the way we setup today, it was always going to be that we would have to defend, and can we actually lose by less than South Korea and see what they do.

“They ultimately are a class team as you can see, the quality, the speed of the players, there’s no weaknesses in that team. They’re able to technically execute the actions veery well and they’re clinical. When they get their chances, they finish.”

Fortunately, the Filipinas live to fight another day and will look forward to the final group stage match against South Korea.

South Korea, with a superior goal difference after thumping hosts Indonesia by a whopping score of 12-0, will only be needing a draw against the Philippines in the final match day.

However, for the young Filipinas, the mission is clear: only a victory against South Korea will be enough to secure a place in the semifinals.

“We always knew that it was going to come to that (South Korea game),” said Sinisa. “That’s the do-or-die game for us.”

The hopes of the U17 Filipinas of qualifying to the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup rests precisely on getting a win in the last matchday.

With a two-day break to lick their wounds, the girls need to recover and focus on the job ahead.

While challenging, winning against South Korea is by no means impossible, but they will have to keep their concentration for the full 90 minutes as well as being clinical when given the chance. Then, a place in the semi-finals await.

The Philippines will play their last group stage match against South Korea on May 12.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News