MANILA – The Philippine Women’s National Football Team got a tough reality check. They suffered a 6-0 defeat to Norway in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Sunday at the Eden Park Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.
Sophie Roman Haug was the thorn on the side of the Filipinas. She scored a hat trick to send the No. 12 ranked Norway to the round-of-16 of the competition with four points, on one win, one draw and a loss.
On the part of the Filipinas, they saw their first-ever World Cup stint, highlighted with a classic 1-0 triumph over host New Zealand, come to an end. They finished with three points, on one win and two losses.
Haug opened the floodgates for the 1995 FIFA World Cup titlist Norway. She scored from a tight angle past the defense of Filipinas’ star goal keeper Olivia McDaniel at the sixth minute.
Haug doubled her side’s advantage with a header in the 22nd minute before Caroline Graham Hansen connected on a strike nine minutes later to give Norway a 3-0 advantage heading into the break.
Woes further compounded on the Filipinas’ side in the second half as Alicia Barker accidentally put the ball in her own net in the 48th minute while trying to clear the danger.
A few possessions later, Norwegian midfielder Guro Reiten was brought down in the Filipinas’ box that resulted in a penalty kick for her, which widened their advantage to 5-0.
Adding to the Filipinas’ bad luck is they were down to 10 players in the 67th minute after defender Sofia Harrison was given a straight red card for a bad tackle on Norway’s Thea Bjelde.
Haug then completed her hattrick and Norway’s onslaught on the Filipinas as she connected on a header past McDaniel five minutes into the extension time.
Meanwhile, Switzerland got the other round-of-16 ticket in Group A after holding host New Zealand to a scoreless draw over at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand./PN
