The Matildas were firing on all cylinders.
The Matildas of Australia left no doubt right in the first half that they were all business against the Filipinas of the Philippines. And by the time it was all over, the Australian side was already up, 5-0, against its history-seeking counterparts. The Matildas cruised from that point forward, coming away with an 8-0 victory in the second round of the Olympic qualifiers held at a jampacked Optus Stadium in Australia.
Sam Kerr, arguably one of Australia’s finest players ever, and teammate Caitlin Foord led the way for the Matildas, with each recording a seemingly effortless hat trick with plenty of time to spare.
Midfielder Mary Fowler opened the scoring for the Matildas at the 15th minute, while Kerr followed suit at the 19th minute to put the Filipinas on their heels early.
Back-to-back goals by Foord three minutes apart—first in the 30th minute and again at the 33rd minute—all but put the match nearly out of reach, before Kerr finished off the first half with another goal in extra time.
Kerr notched her hat trick at the opening minute of the second half to underscore Australia’s utter dominance, while Foord got hers at the 56th minute with a gorgeous individual attack at the box.
Clare Wheeler made it 8-0 at the 72nd minute with her first-ever international goal.
The Filipinas, who were coming off a rousing win versus Chinese Taipei, simply had no answers against the Matildas, who controlled possession over 70 percent of the time and attacked the Philippine side in droves.
With Australia likely the heavy favorite against Chinese Taipei, the Filipinas will need practically everything to go their way if they are to
stay in the hunt for that Olympic spot. And, first things first, they will need to play almost flawless football in their next match against Iran on November 1.