MANILA – Philippine Malditas’ World Cup bid came to an end after a 0-5 loss to South Korea in the battle-for-fifth place in the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Tuesday at the Amman International Stadium in Jordan.
Malditas had plenty of opportunities to punch a ticket to France next year since its 2-1 upset over Jordan but all went to the drain following their losses to China (0-3), Thailand (1-3) and South Korea.
The Koreans were aggressive early in the match with multiple attempts before finally scoring one in the 34th minute as Jang Sel-gi pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the box and curling it into the top corner.
Just before the halftime break, the Koreans doubled the advantage with Lee Mi-na took Ji So-yun’s lofted pass perfectly into her stride before easily draining it past Malditas’ Kearra Bastes-Jones.
The Koreans continued to pounce on Malditas’ defense in the second half as they net their third goal in the 56th minute with Lim Seon-joo tapping back a missed free kick by Jeon Ga-eul.
South Korea widened the lead further with Cho So-hyun converting a header 10 minutes later and Cho scoring from the penalty box with six minutes remaining in the contest.
The Philippine squad will head back to the drawing board and aim for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on 2022./PN
