Young Filipinas dominate Lebanon; inches closer to 2024 AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup

Photo credits: Guam Football Association

An impressive performance throughout the match allowed the Filipinas U-17 to book a ticket to the next round of the 2024 AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup qualification and closed out the first round with a two-nil win over Lebanon to top their group.

The Young Filipinas didn't give Lebanon an inch of opportunity to tarnish their clean slate while blanking the opposition in the process. A massive 18 shots on goal against Lebanon's three proved that the Young Filipinas are destined for greatness. The Young Filipinas produced a lot of chances in the first half but sadly, none of them were converted to a goal.

While the girls in red showed their intent to get an early lead, Lebanon kept their defense intact and prevented the Young Filipinas earn an early lead. Both sides went into the break on level terms setting up a tough encounter in the second half.

The Filipinas U-17 went out guns blazing in the second half as they continued their push to book their tickets to the next round of the qualifiers and they did not disappoint. In the 68th minute, Nina Mathelus, who scored a hat-trick in her debut with the Philippines, setup the goal for Isabella Alamo from a counterattack. After receiving a long ball inside the box, Mathelus left it for Alamo who banged it past the keeper to open the scoring.

Alamo's goal allowed the Filipinas U-17 to gain momentum and close out the match on top. After continuous pressure from the girls in red, the Young Filipinas have earned another opportunity to score a goal, this time, from the penalty spot. During the dying minutes of the match, Mathelus was taken down inside the box that gave her the opportunity to extend her tally to four goals in the qualifiers.

Mathelus did not disappoint and scored the Filipinas U-17's second goal and her fourth in the qualifiers to end the match with a win, a perfect record in the first round, and a ticket to the next round of the qualifiers. They're now waiting with Vietnam for their next opponents where the best top two teams per group will progress to the main competition that will be held in Indonesia next year.