The Philippines stunned the world Tuesday as the Filipinas scored the first-ever–and winning– goal at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, shocking co-host New Zealand that only a few days earlier recorded a historic win in this biggest global sports spectacle.
A confident New Zealand team showed up in Wellington, almost certain they could duplicate their win over former World Cup champion Norway against a debutante Philippine side, which lost to Switzerland, 0-2, and are 20 world ranks below the Kiwis at 46th.
If statistics were the only bases of winning in these World Cup co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, then the Kiwis would have won the game handily, dominating as they were in almost all the facets of the game except defense. Philippine goalkeeper Olivia Davies-McDaniel anchored a strong and stingy defensive line drawn up by head coach Alen Stajcic that New Zealand tried mightily to penetrate.
Then forward Sarina Bolden had her chance to realize what she, all other members of the Filipinas squad, and the Philippine football fans around the world had mind—even the match up against New Zealand and score a historic victory.
On 24th minute, Bolden rushed inside New Zealand’s penalty area, ignoring the three Kiwi defenders surrounding her, jumped just high enough to head the ball chipped by Sara Eggesvik, sending it above the shoulders of goalie Victoria Esson, who desperately tried to prevent the ball from breaching the crossbar but couldn’t.
It was a celebration to behold.
Bolden, wearing the Philippines’ white jersey number 7, sprinted towards her teammates, screaming her heart out before jumping to their warm embrace at the chilly Te Whanganui-a-Tara Regional Stadium. Hundreds of Filipino fans in the stadium and around the world cheered. In the stadium, red-white-blue Philippine flags with their three stars and a Sun were waved joyously in the stands.
Stajcic stood was beside the team, stoic, refusing to join the celebration, probably pondering his next strategy or still awed by World Cup goal that came so swiftly by almost any standard—less than two years since he took over the program.
New Zealand tried to find the back of the net several times and nearly equalized in with a goal headed by Jacqui Hand from a cross pass by Hannah Wilkinson, who had scored the lone goal in the Kiwis match against Norway. But after a video-assisted review of a play, the referee ruled that Wilkinson was offside when she received the ball and nullified the score.
The win gave the Philippines a fighting chance at advancing to the Round of 16 as it left Group A wide open, with three teams each with 3 points. The game between Norway and Switzerland ended in a nil-nil draw.
The Filipinas will close their Group A campaign in Auckland on Sunday against Norway, with an ecstatic Davies-McDaniel telling a social media post that the team is aiming for more.
In a post game interview, Stajcic tried to grasp the enormity of his and his wards triumph in Wellington.
“I don’t know if there’s been a bigger win for Philippines’ sport,” Stajcic was quoted by BBC as saying after the win. “It has to be one of the biggest wins in the history of the country.”
Stajic, trying to capture the winning moment, explained: “It was very emotional out on the pitch, seeing just about everyone crying. It’s unbelievable. When you hear stories of other teams needing so long to win World Cup matches…We have done it in our second match in our first World Cup.”
