As the Filipinas prepare for their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup opener against the Matildas this Sunday in Perth, there is the added expectation that a good performance in the tournament will also bring direct qualification to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
At the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India, the Filipinas shocked the footballing world by not only making the semi-finals of the tournament, but by doing so ensured direct qualification into the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. After the World Cup, the Filipinas were rightly hailed as national heroes. With their historic win over hosts New Zealand, they now carry the weight of expectation to qualify again in 2027.
The Philippine Football Federation believes the team has a great chance of success in both the tournament and FIFA World Cup qualification and has set up strong training camps in the lead up to the Asian Cup. The message has also been very clear from Philippine Head Coach Marc Torcaso that the team’s “goal and ambition is to be a competitive team in the Asian Cup, get out of the group and aim to go to another World Cup for all of our fans back home”.
The Filipinas have kept a strong core from the 2023 FIFA World Cup squad with experienced players such as McDaniel, Long, Heard, Sawicki and Eggesvik for the Asian Cup. But Torcaso has also added exciting new young players to the squad and noted that since the World Cup has both “given debuts to a number of players” and “been able to integrate them into the senior national team”. This succession and growth mindset has meant that many of the younger players have already been fortunate enough to play international football and also experience international success as gold medalists at 2025 South East Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand.
The Filipinas continue their journey for Asian Cup glory and World Cup qualification after their blockbuster opener in Perth on March 1, with two more matches on the Gold Coast against the Korea Republic on March 5 and Iran on March 8.
By Don Giron
