A new historic chapter in Philippine football was once again written, as the Philippine under-17 women’s national football team eliminated Vietnam on their home turf with a hard-earned 1-0 victory on Sunday evening in Hanoi.

Midfielder Isabella Preston sank a seamless volley off a 35-yard free kick from the right flank that went straight to the goal in the 56th minute.

“I cannot know that I can score from long distance range so I just trust myself that I can get through it,” Preston said after the game.

“And then when it went in, I was in complete awe. . . It was an amazing effort from all the girls and we made history,” she recalled.

“Such a big result in such a big stage. The Filipinas should be all proud for these girls and let’s go to the next step,” head coach Sinisha Cohadzic remarked.

With the win, the teen Filipinas booked a ticket in the 2024 AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup in Indonesia with six points in Group B of the qualifiers.

It will also be the first time for a national team of any gender to enter an age-group finals in the AFC Asian Cup, as the teen Filipinas earlier drubbed Bangladesh, 3-1, and scored two goals via a Nina Mathelus brace in a 2-6 loss to Australia to start the second round of the qualifiers.

Joining the Philippines next April are hosts Indonesia, defending champions Japan, 2019 podium finishers North Korea and China, and qualifying group topnotchers South Korea, Thailand, and Australia.

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