In the late afternoon of July 30, 2023, Beijing time, the Women's World Cup is heating up, with a Group A showdown between Switzerland and hosts New Zealand, and a simultaneous match between Norway and the Philippines.
In the first round of matches, Switzerland leads the way with four points, followed by New Zealand with three, while the Philippines is third on goal difference. Norway, the former World Cup champions, on the other hand, are unlucky to be at the bottom.
In the final round, all four teams had the possibility of advancing or being eliminated, but the match between Norway and the Philippines was lost early on. Norway took a three-goal lead just 31 minutes into the match.
At the start of the second half, the Philippines conceded two more goals and the situation became more and more untenable.
In the end, the Philippines' group stage journey ended with a 0-6 loss to Norway.
Nonetheless, the Philippine women's soccer team made history in this year's World Cup with their first win over New Zealand, making the whole team proud. However, this team has also faced controversy.
Since 2018, the Philippine women's soccer team has never been ranked in the top 70 in the world, but five years later, they jumped up to 46th and made their first World Cup appearance.
However, the Philippine team's naturalization strategy has sparked widespread discussion. Only one player in the 23-man roster for this World Cup was born in the Philippines.
For Philippine soccer, mass naturalization may help it reach the World Cup finals, but the Philippine Football Association (PFA) will need to put in more effort to achieve a bigger breakthrough.
