Philippines eliminated in the World Cup 2023 after a big loss
The Philippines' dream of becoming the first Southeast Asian representative to qualify for the World Cup group stage was shattered in a brutal way. They failed to score, conceded six times, including an own goal and received a red card. The Philippines fell to the bottom of the table and the only mark they left in this year's tournament was a 1-0 victory over host New Zealand.
Norway only had one point when losing 0-1 to New Zealand and drawing Switzerland 0-0. To progress, they must win the last match of the group stage. However, the Philippines did not choose to play stalking, waiting for the opponent to attack to counterattack, but actively pushed the team to attack. The representative of Southeast Asia seems to want to fight first, win to determine the ticket to continue without caring about the result of the match at the same time between Switzerland and New Zealand.
The rise of the squad caused the Philippines to reveal a lot of space behind, creating an opportunity for Norway to counterattack. The representative of Southeast Asia conceded a goal in the sixth minute when Sophie Houg picked the right spot, picked up a corner from Thea Bjelde, headed in from a tight angle to put the ball past the reach of goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel into the net.
The early goal made the Filipino player somewhat shocked. They could not control the ball and the game, were constantly pressed by the opponent. The Philippines squad consists of mostly players born and raised in Europe, with good physique, but still being exploited by Norway. The second goal for Southeast Asia's representative in the 17th minute was still a cross for Sophie Houg, the difference is that this time "22" finished with the left foot.
The Philippines' hopes of winning the next ticket completely disappeared in the first half with a third goal in the 31st minute. Caroline Hansen kicked the ball away from the opponent's clinging player, then turned, finished sinking left and broke into the far corner, causing goalie Olivia McDaniel, despite flying all the way, was unstoppable.
The second half was even worse with the Philippines. Four minutes into the break, Alicia Barke scored an own goal as he returned to try to block Frida Maanum's cross. And just a minute later, it was Jaclyn Sawicki's turn to make a mistake, dragging Guro Reiten down in the penalty area. After consulting VAR, the referee gave Norway a penalty kick and Guro Reiten successfully performed it to increase the score to 5-0.
Tragedy does not stop with the Philippines. Sophia Harrisson was introduced to the field at the beginning of the second half but played only 15 minutes. She entered the ball dangerously with Thea Bjelde, and after consulting the VAR, the referee showed a direct red card.
Lack of people, Filipino players quickly exhausted and seemed to just want to end the match soon. However, the match was compensated for 11 minutes and they had to concede more goals. Sophie Houg completed her hat-trick with a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The striker could have made a poker if she'd stepped up at high speed, her beautiful dribbler wasn't denied by the post at the last minute.
Defeating the Philippines 6-0, Norway rose to second in Group A with four points, winning tickets to the 1/8 round. In the match at the same time, Switzerland drew host New Zealand and topped the table with five points.
