The Matildas blitzed the Philippines in front of a sold-out Optus Stadium crowd, taking a dominant 5-0 lead at halftime of their Olympic qualifying clash, before Sam Kerr completed her hat-trick just after the break.
The winner will take control of Group A with a spot in the final stage of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Games on the line.
MATCH CENTRE: Matildas vs Philippines live commentary, score and more
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GAME PREVIEW
Australia’s Matildas face the most critical test of this stage of Olympic qualifying as they battle the Philippines in a historic match at a sold-out Optus Stadium.
A capacity crowd in the west will see the Aussies attempt to put themselves in pole position to escape Group A and advance directly into the third round of qualifying for the 2024 Paris Games.
The Matildas currently sit second in the group due to their 2-0 win over a resolute Iran, while the Philippines blasted past Taiwan 4-1.
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The Philippines are expected to try and stonewall their fancied opponents to ensure they have a greater goal difference heading into the final round of games on Wednesday. In the process they could qualify top of the group and face a more favourable match-up in the third stage, where only two of four teams will qualify.
If the Matildas finish second in their group they must ensure they’re the best-performing runner-up amongst the three groups to qualify – this is likely, but not certain.
They would also then face a much tougher third-round opponent, likely South Korea or Japan, in February’s home-and-away playoffs.
The Matildas made a whopping 10 changes from the win over Iran, effectively swapping the entire bench for the starting line-up.
“It’s a very well-organised team, and they work extremely hard and don’t hesitate to tackle either,” Gustavsson said of the Philippines.
“There’s some physicality there that really impresses me, and you can see they have a very, very clear idea of what they wanted to do.
“There’s some impressive character in that team. Down 1-0 as well (against Taiwan), and then that was a key game for them. They’re good on set plays, so we know that will be a tough challenge.
“And when we played them last time it was nil-nil at half-time, if you remember at the Asian Cup, and we struggled to create something. Then finally we open up the deadlock with a corner and 1-0, and they open up a little bit and end up 4-0. So we know this is going to be a very, very tough challenge.”
The match gets underway at 6:10pm AEDT from a sold-out Optus Stadium.
You can watch the game on Channel 10.
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