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Japan handily beats the Philippines to advance to the semifinals of the 2026 AFC Girls’s Asian Cup and qualify for the 2027 FIFA Girls’s World Cup
MANILA, Philippines – For over 40 minutes, the Filipinas’ protection held towards mighty Japan.
But it surely was only a matter of time earlier than the Japanese hit their stride as they handily beat the Philippines, 7-0, to advance to the semifinals of the 2026 AFC Girls’s Asian Cup and qualify for the 2027 FIFA Girls’s World Cup on Sunday, March 15.
A header by Mina Tanaka on the forty fifth minute following a scramble within the field opened the floodgates for two-time Asian Cup champion Japan, which posted its second-most lopsided win of this version subsequent to its 11-0 thrashing of India to protect its streak of World Cup appearances.
World No. 8 Japan has performed in each World Cup for the reason that inaugural match in 1991.
Three minutes after teammate Tanaka broke the scoring ice, Toko Koga doubled Japan’s lead earlier than halftime with a header off a Honoka Hayashi help, then discovered the again of the web once more as certainly one of 5 Japanese scorers within the second half.
Remina Chiba and Manaka Matsukubo pushed Japan’s result in 5-0 with objectives on the sixty fifth and 67th minutes, Koga completed his brace on the 76th minute, earlier than Momoko Tanikawa and Riko Ueki punctuated the blowout with conversions on the 86th and ninetieth minutes.
Whereas the Filipinas didn’t earn a World Cup berth in the identical method as they did within the 2022 version of the Asian Cup the place they reached the semifinals after outlasting Chinese language Taipei in a penalty shootout, they will nonetheless qualify for the worldwide showdown by a play-in match towards Uzbekistan on Thursday, March 19, on the Gold Coast Stadium in Queensland, Australia.
Uzbekistan misplaced 6-0 to South Korea within the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 14.
The Philippines has received only one recreation on this Asian Cup — a 2-0 victory over Iran within the group stage — but it surely hopes to finish its run on a excessive word and with a World Cup spot secured. – Rappler.com
