Upstart Malditas annihilate Iran

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Women’s National Football Team, popularly known as the Malditas, kicked off their Asian Cup dream with a resounding 6-0 win against higher ranked Iran in the 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifying tournament on Tuesday, May 21.

Fielding, arguably, the fittest and most talented squad yet for the women’s national booters, the Philippines underlined its seriousness in carving out its mark in women’s football in the international stage.

And what better way to showcase this than beating a team ranked almost 30 places higher by a convincing margin.

The Philippines is ranked 83rd in the current FIFA rankings for women while Iran is ranked 52nd.

Early explosion

The Malditas were raring from the opening whistle as ace striker Heather Cooke and standouts Megan Jurado and Jesse Shugg added to the tally in the first 5 minutes of the game to boost the national squad to a comfortable 3-0 lead in the early proceedings of the match.

The Iranian national team looked to have settled in their game after the early lead set by the Malditas but an own goal in the 34th minute buried the Middle Eastern XI deeper into the hole.

Taking advantage of the tactical meltdown of Iran, Malditas’ Joana Houplin joined the scoring fray just before halftime to further extend the lead.

Just as the final whistle was about to be blown, Shugg scored her second for a brace in extra time and bag the game away in the 92nd minute. 

The Philippines is currently at the second spot of Group B next to powerhouse Thailand in terms of goal difference. Thailand beat Bangladesh, 9-0, in the other qualifying match.

The Malditas will meet the Thai women booters, ranked 29th, on May 23, before meeting host Bangladesh, ranked 108th, on May 25. – Rappler.com