WITH a ticket to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia next year sealed and delivered, Filipinas coach Mark Torcaso is now setting his sights on their two remaining tournaments this year, starting with the MSIG Serenity Cup next month in Thailand.
“We will bring a lot of our good young players to the (MISG Serenity Cup),” said Torcaso of the competition formerly known as the AFF Women’s Championship, where the Filipinas will try to retain the crown they won three years ago on home ground.
The Nationals are bracketed in Group B together with Myanmar, the Australian Under-23 squad and Timor Leste. Matches will be held at the 20,000-seat Viet Tri Stadium in the Vietnamese provincial capital of Phu To.
They open their campaign against the Timorese on Aug. 7.
Torcaso said that some of the veteran Filipinas won’t be able to see action in Vietnam since the competition doesn’t fall within the FIFA window, but added that “this will be a chance for us to see some of the players who have not played in the past. Some of our good young players will come.”
The Australian tactician said that this will allow more exposure to the younger players, such as Alexa Pino, Isabella Passion and Chayse Ying so they could gain more experience before getting the chance to suit up for the Women’s Asian Cup next year.
He said the departure of deputy and compatriot Andrew Durante, who has signed as assistant coach of A League club Melbourne Victory, would not hamper the team’s preparations for the next tournaments.
“The plan for Dura (Durante’s nickname) was to come in and help us get to the Asian Cup and he did that, and he’ll be sorely missed, but unfortunately, he couldn’t carry,” Torcaso explained.
While retaining the MSIG Serenity Cup championship trophy and capturing the women’s football team gold medal in the 33rd Thailand Southeast Asian Games in December were major targets, Torcaso’s return to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil in 2027 was the ultimate goal.
“That’s the ultimate goal,” he said. “These are the small steps and stages that we need to take to get to the World Cup.” We want to make sure that we give every player the chance to show us their talent.”
