Filipinas bounced from 0 – 3 loss to Republic of Korea ad won the game vs Iran with the final score at Iran 0 – Philippines 2.   This match was a crucial win for the Philippines in the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup group stage, to progress in the next state of the competition.
Both teams had good attempts of scoring early in the match.  Despite gaining corner shots twice, Iran failed to convert these to goals.  This was the same for Filipinas which also failed to score from free kicks.  Sara Eggsivik’s (player #8) experience and persistence paid off at 31 game time winning the first goal of the match for Filipinas.  This remained the half time score.

The aggressive play and signs of frustration by the Iran players were noticeable.  At 33:45 game time, Zahra Sarbali (player # 6) was issued a yellow card and 43:10 game time Fatemeh Makhdoumi (player #14).
Filipinas’ score could have been easily 0 – 5 with a number of shots at close range at goal being belted over the bar.  These included shots shot following corner.  Four minutes were added to the first half.
It was Chandler McDaniel (player #10) who subbed Mallie Ramirez who scored the second goal for Filipinas at 82 game time.  She scored again from a pass from Alessandrea Carpio (player #19) who was deemed offside by the Video Assisted Referee (VAR) and disallowed the goal.   Six minutes were added to the second half.
Filipinas Player of the Match was Sara Eggesvik.
Congratulations to Coach Mark Torcaso and the valiant Filipinas on the much-needed win to finish 3rd in their group.  Games still to be played (Monday and Tuesday) will determine which 2 best placed teams out of the 3 that finish 3rd in their group will progress to the next quarter final games.
Like the previous game, it was lovely to see the Filipinas go to the sideline to thank their fans, to autograph items thrown to them over the fence and even take photos of the fans.  The rapport between the players and their supporters is truly special.

(Source Photo Posters - PWNFT FB Page).