The Philippine women”s national football team left Perth Stadium on Sunday with pride, despite suffering a close 1-0 defeat against the host nation, Australia, in their opening match of the AFC Women”s Asian Cup 2026.
Sam Kerr, captain of the Matildas, netted the only goal of the game in the 14th minute. However, the Filipinas held their ground for the majority of the match, with goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel making several crucial saves to keep her team in contention.
McDaniel expressed disappointment over the loss but emphasized the team”s determination and effort against a highly ranked opponent. “As well as I think we did, I think we”re still a bit unhappy with the result. I mean, a loss is a loss and we wanted to come away with something, whether it be a tie or a win,” she stated. “So we”re not happy with that, but I”m just really proud of all the hard work that the girls put in. I mean, the last 45 , we didn”t concede and that”s all I care about,” she added.
The Matildas created numerous opportunities in the second half, yet McDaniel was able to thwart them each time. Overall, Australia took 15 shots, with six on target, but only Kerr”s header found the net, much to the dismay of the home crowd.
McDaniel praised her teammates, saying, “I”m really happy with the girls, really proud of them. And we”re just going to look to get better and better each game.” Kerr also shared her thoughts on the victory, noting its special significance as she had missed a prior match due to injury. “To do it here at Perth, it”s extra special. And yeah, to do it in the Asian Cup was nice,” the Chelsea forward remarked, marking her 70th international goal and her first since 2023.
Despite the win, Kerr acknowledged the competitive nature of the tournament. “Everyone comes here to win. But we”re just taking it one game at a time. Today was a good start and there”s lots of belief within the team. But as you see today, there”s a lot of quality teams in the Asian Cup. So you have to take one game at a time,” she stated.
Looking ahead, the Filipinas are now focused on their next challenge against another strong team, South Korea, on Thursday. McDaniel concluded with determination, saying, “We”ve got to come away with some wins in the next couple of games so we can get ourselves out of the group. So I think we”re just going to put our heads down, you know, think about this game for tonight and then let it go, put in the review and then get going towards South Korea.”
