The Philippine women’s national football team continued its impressive build-up to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup by holding higher-ranked Costa Rica to a 1-1 draw in an international friendly at the Estado Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica on Saturday morning Manila time.
Katrina Guillou provided the marginal goal with a close-range tap-in in the 93rd minute off a last-gasp long ball from keeper Olivia McDaniel that wasn’t cleared properly by a Costa Rican defender.
“I put it in any way possible and the ball just landed at my feet,” Guillou said after the match. “I think we just came out a lot better in the second half. We put them under more pressure. We were getting them behind. We gave them harder times to find their way out of the back. And we knew it was just a matter of time if we just kept pressing and they were getting a little tired. And we were there for that one last push and we were able to put it away.”
“I’m really proud of the spirit of the group and the hard work of the group. We’ve said many times how much harder we have to work especially with the ball.”
Priscilla Chinchilla opened up scoring for the 37th-ranked Costa Ricans by converting off a cross in the 57th minute. The Filipinas, ranked 53rd in the world, battled back in search of the equalizer before Guillou’s breakthrough goal.
Costa Rica, which has also qualified for next year’s World Cup, face the Filipinas again on Oct. 11.