By Gil Moriones
MANILA—The Filipinas gave a rude welcome to Saudi Arabia and opened their first win in the 2026 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers with a 3-0 full-time score on Sunday afternoon at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
A convincing 3-0 scoreline was recorded, with two Filipinas scoring their first international goals, including Jaclyn Sawicki and Alexa Pino, respectively.
The Filipinas opened their scoring groove as a result of a crucial defensive mistake by a Saudi defender.
The ball was merely touched by Meryll Serrano and found the running Sawicki, who scored for the Nationals in the 16th minute.
This was the first international goal for Sawicki in her 35 overall caps since her debut in their friendly versus Tonga in 2022.
Even though they are newcomers in this qualifying tournament since their establishment last year, Saudi Arabia contained the Filipinas and maintained their one-goal deficit as the first half closed.
Almost 10 minutes into the second half, Serrano took an opportunity to score and double the lead for the Filipinas, thanks to an assist chip from Chandler McDaniel.
Serrano successfully dribbled past her defenders and scored her sixth international goal in the 54th minute.
A goal and an assist were recorded by Serrano in this opening match.
The 81st minute was a highlight for Alexa Pino, who came from the U17 squad. She made a driving run and launched her attempt, putting the ball in the top corner with her left foot.
Mona Alowais failed to tap it, allowing Pino to score not just the seal-the-deal goal (3-0), but also her first international goal for the Filipinas.
They will face the group qualifiers' host, Cambodia, on Wednesday night.
Currently, the Filipinas is the Group G leaders while Hong Kong, China and Cambodia both shared points after their 1-1 draw, Sunday night.
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