There was to be no fairytale debut for the Philippines as they fell to a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland in their Women's World Cup opener.
The squad wrote a piece of footballing history, as it is the first time in either men's or women's football that a team from the Philippines has reached the World Cup.
The tournament minnows thought they had taken the lead in the first half in the New Zealand city of Dunedin but the goal was ruled out for off-side.
If that was the correct call by the officials, the VAR decision which gave the Swiss a penalty on the stroke of half-time was more contentious.
Ramona Bachmann was nevertheless unerring from the spot, sending goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel the wrong way.
The Swiss, ranked 20th in the world to their opponent's 46th, were good value for their lead and doubled it in the 64th minute when Seraina Piubel slammed in a rebound from close range.
“Together, they made it really difficult to find solutions to get in front of the goal, so, yeah, it was a tough game. We knew that we had to be patient." said Swiss defender Luana Buhler.
On the penalty that led to Switzerland's first goal, Philippines head coach Alen Stajcic said: “It’s just a moment in the game. There are hundreds of moments that happen in the game, and that just happened to be in the penalty box. [The Swiss] had luck in that moment. But they made their own luck with good play.”
A crowd of 13,711 spectators watched the match but there were plenty of empty seats in the 30,000-capacity stadium on Friday, despite Fifa giving away 20,000 free tickets for games in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin amid concerns about the slow pace of sales in New Zealand.
Switzerland top Group A on goal difference ahead of co-hosts New Zealand, who upset Norway 1-0 on Thursday.
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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The biog
Born: High Wycombe, England
Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels
Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.
Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.
Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Rating: 4/5
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A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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