Filipinas soar in rankings

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine women’s football team, better known as Filipinas, soared to a new all-time high of 38th in the newest FIFA world rankings released yesterday.

From 44th last August, the Filipinas jumped six spots and emerged as one of the biggest movers in the quarterly rankings.

The Pinay booters closed in on Vietnam (37th) in the virtual ranking race among Southeast Asians. In all of Asia, they sat at seventh.

The record-high position in the global pecking order serves as a sweetener for the Filipinas’ history-filled run in 2023.

Last July, they made their long-awaited debut in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and made more history by chalking up a 1-0 upset of the host Kiwis in Wellington.

This they followed up with a milestone quarterfinal qualification in their Asian Games debut in September in Hangzhou, China.