(2nd UPDATE) The Philippine women’s national football team broke the hearts of the host nation on Sunday night, when they stunned Thailand in the semifinal of the 2025 Southeast Asian Games at the Chonburi Stadium in Chonburi.
The Filipinas defeated Thailand 4-2 in penalties, after 120 minutes were not enough to settle the score between the two squads.
All four players who stepped up for the Filipinas converted their penalties, with skipper Hali Long — making her 100th appearance for the Philippines — burying the shot that made it 4-2.
Waeengoen Orapin needed to beat Olivia McDaniel to keep Thailand alive, but she sent her attempt way over the crossbar to seal the win for the Filipinas.
“There’s been a lot of doubt for some of our players and what they’ve been able to prove in the last couple of months and they’ve got themselves into a gold medal match and I couldn’t be prouder,” head coach Mark Torcaso said afterward.
“They haven’t stopped fighting this whole competition. Even after a loss in the first game, we were absolutely determined to make sure we made the gold medal match after that loss against Myanmar and we’re here now and as I said, it’s very emotional,” he added.
The team spilled onto the field to celebrate with McDaniel, as they once again wrote history by advancing to the gold medal match for the first time ever.
There, they will play defending champion Vietnam, which routed Indonesia 5-0 in the other semifinal. The Filipinas had stunned Vietnam, 1-0, when they played in the group stage — a win that breathed new life into their SEA Games campaign.
The final is set on Wednesday at the Chonburi Stadium.
Thailand had struck first, with Jiraporn Mongkoldee punishing a defensive error by Long to power the ball past McDaniel in the 53rd minute.
But the Filipinas pressed on, and they were rewarded in the 87th minute when Thailand’s Jeertanapavibul Panittha was called for a handball just inside the box.
Jael Guy, who had come in as a sub for Alexa Pino shortly after the hour mark, coolly buried her attempt to equalize.
Neither side could find a breakthrough in the closing minutes and in extra time, though the Filipinas had a few good chances.
In the shootout, Guy again stepped up, converting the first penalty to put the Filipinas ahead. Thailand equalized, but Alessandrea Carpio also buried her own spot kick for a 2-1 lead.
Dangda Taneekarn fired a rocket past McDaniel to make it 2-2, but Sara Eggesvik was superb on her own attempt and Sontisawat Pluemjai hit the post afterward, giving the Philippines a crucial lead.
Long then squeezed her penalty past Sodchuen Thichanan, and Orapin’s own effort sailed over the bar moments later — triggering the celebration for the Philippines.
“Am I satisfied? Yes, because we’ve reached our goal of going to the final. Our goal was to win our final game, and we plan to do that,” said Long after marking a century of appearances with a victory.
“I’m at least at a 100 now. It’s an unreal feeling that I’ve come this far and watching this team grow, develop, change, shift, is something I wouldn’t trade for the world,” she added.
It has already been a historic campaign for the country’s football teams, with the men’s under-22 squad also making the semifinals and the Filipina5 — the women’s futsal team — advancing to the final four in their own tournament.
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