Filipina booters' World Cup berth-clinching victory seen to inspire achievement

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine women’s football team punched a first-ever ticket to the FIFA Women’s World Cup with a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout win against Taiwan to. 

It is an incredible and historic win, and Philstar.com reached out to former women’s national player Marielle Benitez (as PFF officials as have not commented as of posting time) on her thoughts about the impact of this win.

“This is huge. This is a dream that these girls and all who have played in college and on the national team have had and is now a reality,” said Benitez, who started out in the national training pool in 1999 and played her last cap in 2013 during the AFC World Cup Qualifiers in Bangladesh. “This achievement has barely started to sink in. It’s that incredible.”

Benitez believes that this qualification for the FIFA World Cup will open up possibilities for women’s football in the Philippines. 

“This will open up opportunities for players to develop, for leagues to be organized, for sponsors to provide assistance in growing the game, and more,” shared Benitez. 

“Honestly, I believed the women’s team would make it ahead of the men’s team. It was just a matter of time,” she added.  “Adding two more slots in the women’s playoffs gave us a chance. After that draw last year we were discussing with the Philippine Women’s Football Association how this is perhaps the closest we will get to clinching a spot and we did.”

Benitez also pointed out that young girls will look to some of the youth players who went up through the system to earn a slot on the senior national team. 

The players Benitez was referring to include midfielder Keanne Alamo, who was a part of 2018-19 squad that qualified for the second round of the Asian U16 tournament, and Carleigh Frilles, who was a part of the AFC Under-14 squad that bagged the silver medal in Laos in 2016. 

“The achievement of the women’s national team will no doubt continue to inspire achievement for the women’s game as well as Philippine football.”