By: Gil Moriones
MANILA — The Philippine Women’s National Futsal Team bowed out of the inaugural FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup after a heartbreaking 3–2 loss to African champions Morocco on Monday night at the PhilSports Arena.
The Atlas Lionesses completed a dramatic come-from-behind victory after trailing 2–0 in the first period.
The PhilSports Arena erupted when Dionesa “Inday” Tolentin fired a stunning free-kick at the 16:07 mark.
It was her maiden goal in international futsal—and the first-ever goal for the Philippines in the Women’s Futsal World Cup. The strike adds to her total of five international goals, including this tournament.
Tolentin’s historic opener was soon doubled when Catherine Graversen scored at the 13:00 mark.
The goal came from a well-worked sequence initiated by Samantha Hughe, who found Isabella Bandoja, and Bandoja quickly slipped the ball to a sprinting Graversen to make it 2–0 for the Filipina5.
Morocco launched its comeback shortly after. Nadia Laftha pulled one back at 12:59, escaping defender Katrina Guillou to finish off a precise cross—also marking Morocco’s first-ever goal in the Women’s Futsal World Cup.
Siiham Tadlaoui then equalized with a clinical finish off another cross at the 6:05 mark, leveling the score at 2–2.
Finally, Jasmine Demraoui completed the Moroccan comeback at the 3:04 mark, giving the African champions a 3–2 lead.
The hosts nearly forced another twist in the match. Guillou attempted a powerful strike at 17:48 of the second period, but it was denied by the Moroccan keeper, who also stopped Tolentin’s dangerous attempt at 11:25.
Despite the Philippines’ resilience, the roller-coaster battle ultimately swung in favor of the Atlas Lionesses, who secured their first Women’s Futsal World Cup win. Morocco will advance to the next stage only if they defeat Poland, which earlier dominated the Philippines 6–0 last Friday.
With the loss, the Filipina5 are officially eliminated from the tournament and will formally close their campaign against Argentina on Thursday.
