"That was probably our most complete performance," said head coach Alen Stajcic after the match, which saw the Filipinas end Vietnam's 26-match unbeaten streak against Southeast Asian opponents.
MATCH RECAP: Filipinas overwhelm Vietnam to advance to AFF finals
Entering the tournament, Vietnam had ruled the last three regional competitions -- the 2019 AFF Women's Championship, the 30th SEA Games in Manila, and the 31st SEA Games at home soil in Hanoi. In the group stages, they won all their games comfortably: Vietnam did not give up a single goal while scoring 18 over four matches.
That all changed against the Philippines in the semifinal. The Filipinas were the more aggressive team right from the start, and they were rewarded in the 30th when veteran defender Hali Long thumped in a bullet header off a corner kick by skipper Tahnai Annis.
There was no let up from the Filipinas in the second half. Annis doubled the lead in the 51st, converting a penalty off a Vietnam handball. She got her second assist of the match just 10 minutes later, when Sarina Bolden converted a header off another Annis corner kick.
The final goal from the Filipinas was a beauty, and showed how much they had the Vietnam defense rattled. After Carleigh Frilles hit the crossbar on a long range attempt, Quinley Quezada was able to keep the ball in play, beating Vietnam 'keeper Trần Thị Kim Thanh to the possession.
She chipped the ball over to Bolden, who was virtually unmarked at the back post. The in-form striker headed the ball into the empty net for her seventh goal of the competition.
Players in action during the semi-finals match between the Philippines and Vietnam for the ASEAN Football Federation Championship held at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila on July 15, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News
"I've only been watching the Philippine women's team play for the last three or four years, but that was probably the best that this team has ever played," said Stajcic.
What made the performance all the more impressive is that it came against Vietnam -- the squad that Stajcic still considers as the benchmark in the Southeast Asian region.
"It's a great performance, it's a laymark in terms of beating probably the best team in Southeast Asia," the coach said. "I still think they're the best team, even though we beat them tonight. We still got a long way to go to overtake them. You don't beat them once and you think you're the best."
"But tonight I think we fully deserved the win. To be honest, I thought we could've beaten them by a few more," he admitted.
Indeed, the Filipinas could have gone into the halftime break up by a bigger margin, as Bolden and Katrina Guillou were off target in their attempts in the first half. Early on in the second, Isabella Flanigan misfired on a couple of close-range attempts.
But Annis' penalty, taken with great composure by the captain, settled the Filipinas' nerves and sent them on their way to the smashing victory.
"To be able to get not one but two goals against a really formidable opponent is really great. But again, I couldn't do that without my teammates working their literal butts off until they dropped to the ground," said Bolden.
"So that was a collective team [effort]. Yeah, I scored two goals, but T [Tahnai Annis] was the one who really catapulted those goals. That happened with her PK. She doesn't score that PK, who knows what happens," she added.
Beating Vietnam -- a team ranked 32nd in the world -- sent the Filipinas to the final where No. 43 Thailand awaits. Asked for his sentiments about the championship match, Stajcic opted to keep his cards close to his chest while also stressing that they will first relish another historic achievement in a year that's been full of them.
"Let's just enjoy the moment tonight," said Stajcic, who has steered the Filipinas to the semifinals of every tournament they joined since taking charge of the team in October 2021.
"It's a special moment, a historic moment. First of all, to beat Vietnam, and second of all, to make the first final ever in history. It's a massive occasion," he added.
