Filipinas exit Serenity Cup title defense after draw vs Myanmar

The Philippine women’s national football team Filipinas crashed out of its title defense bid in the 2025 AFF Women’s Championship (MSIG Serenity Cup) on Wednesday night in Vietnam.

The world No. 39 Filipinas settled for a draw with Myanmar, 1-1, ending their campaign in the regional meet as they could not bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Australia U23 last Sunday.

The Mark Torcaso-mentored squad finished in third place of Group B with four points and a +6 goal difference (GD), while Myanmar and Australia will advance to the semifinals against the top two teams of Group A which are Vietnam and Thailand.

The Filipinas opened the tournament with a blazing 7-0 win against Timor-Leste, which ended up scoreless and dead-last in the standings, but faltered at the hands of the Young Matildas.

It was the first time in their seven meetings that the Philippines couldn’t come away with a convincing victory against Myanmar as the draw proved to be enough for the Burmese to claim the top seed with seven points and a +4 GD.

Myanmar captain Win Theingi Tun converted a penalty which was awarded following her collision with Filipinas keeper Olivia McDaniel inside the box at the 33rd minute.

Despite the Philippines’ fightback in the succeeding possessions, Myanmar held on to its advantage like there was no tomorrow.

The slugfest continued in the second half before the Filipinas pulled level with Nina Mathelus firing a close-range left-footed shot after connecting with Adelaide Wyrzynski at the 71st minute.

Two minutes later, the Burmese nearly reclaimed the lead with another shot on target that was saved by McDaniel.

However, it won’t be the last display of McDaniel’s steady hands as she went on to make another last-minute save along with Azumi Oka, but all the efforts that followed went for naught as the final whistle came on.

The 56th FIFA-ranked Myanmar will proceed to the top four round against Thailand on Saturday.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News