WHILE given a favorable draw, Australian coach Mark Torcaso won’t be pulling any punches as the Filipinas plunge into action in Group G of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers scheduled June 29 to July 5 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
“Every team will be pushing hard to get to Australia. There will be no easy games and every team will present their own challenges,” noted Torcaso shortly after the draw last week that saw the Nationals bracketed with Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and host Cambodia.
Based on the FIFA women’s ratings, the Filipinas are the highest ranked squad in the group at No. 41, followed by Hong Kong (No. 80), Cambodia (No. 118) and Saudia Arabia (No. 166), respectively, with the group topnotcher advancing to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup next year in Australia.
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup is the continental qualifying competition for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup that will be held in Brazil.
“We will prepare the best way heading into the qualifiers and continue to push ourselves over the coming months to ensure we arrive in Phnom Penh firing on all cylinders,” Torcaso stressed.
Bannered by Women’s World Cup veterans Olivia McDaniel, Hali Long, Sara Eggesvik and Katrina Guillou, the Filipinas left over the weekend for their first overseas training camp scheduled March 31 to April 8 in the United Arab Emirates.
The outing will be highlighted with a pair of friendlies against the UAE national women’s side, currently ranked No. 112 in the world.
Also named to the 24-player squad were goalies Nina Meollo and Inna Palacios, defenders Madison Ayson, Angela Bear, Jessika Cowart, Janae Defazo, Sofia Wunsch, Mayumi Pacheco and Aliana Weibel, who plays a freshman for Kent State University and is a native of Springboro, Ohio.
The other midfielders besides Eggesvik are Sara Castañeda, Kaya Hawkinson, Natalie Oca, Isabella Pasion, Alex Pino, Camille Sahirul and Paige McSwigan, who plays varsity for the University of North Florida Ospreys.
Up front other than Guillou are strikers Alessandrea Carpio, Carleigh Frilles, Chandler McDaniel, goalkeeper Olivia’s younger sibling, and Meryl Serrano.
Absent from the roster due to injuries are ace striker Sarina Bolden and veteran midfielder Quinley Quezada, according to Torcaso.
“These next two windows will give Mark and the coaching staff a platform to really drill down on their way of playing and to instill confidence in the squad heading into the qualifiers,” said Philippine Football Federation national team director Freddy Gonzalez.
“We need to be in Australia in 2026 to earn our chance of making it (back) to the World Cup in 2027. These qualifiers are the first important step to achieving those goals,” Gonzales pointed out.”
“We’ve been drawn into a good group. I’m excited to see what new levels of performance we can unlock in the lead up to the Group G qualifying competition in Phnom Penh,” he said.
