Rex Neil Falogme 

Filipinas U17 team missed World Cup bus as they failed to clinch a semis slot in the 2024 AFC U17 Asian Cup after a 1-1 outing against South Korea in their final match of the group in Indonesia, last May 12.

Photo Courtesy of PFD / PWNT.

The youth national squad’s hopes of a world cup bid spoiled as they finished third in group A after tallying a total of four points from a win and a draw while SoKor clinched the second spot and will join North Korea in the semifinals.

Filipinas drew the first blood after a start-up goal from Ariana Markey in the 37th-minute of the first half.

But SoKor was able to answer a goal after Beom Ye-ju saw a clearance for an opportunistic attempt in the 74th-minute.

It was after Casey Phair of SoKor brought down her defender right in front of the goal that froze the Filipinas’ defense for a split second.

The referee counted the goal despite the contact which evens the game to 1-all.

Filipinas continued to look for an opportunity to score but failed to do so until the final whistle.

Regardless of the effort, the Filipinas fell short to move on to the semifinals with just four points in total, coming from a 6-1 win against the host Indonesia and a 1-1 draw versus SoKor.