Filipinas prepared for 'challenging' World Cup road, says Torcaso
- Rodolfo Dacleson II
- Feb 26
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 29
Philippine women's national football team head coach Mark Torcaso expressed optimism that the Filipinas could qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.
He stressed that while this year's AFC Women's Asian Cup, which serves as a World Cup qualifier, is ”tougher” than four years ago, they are ready for the challenge.
“It's going to be tougher, but we're going to give ourselves absolutely every chance to get to the World Cup again for every one of you and all our fans around the Philippines and around the world,” said Torcaso, as quoted by One Sports.
The Filipinas will face host Australia, South Korea, and Iran in Group A this March. Only the top two teams will get an outright berth in the quarterfinals.
In 2022, the Filipina booters qualified for their first-ever World Cup after reaching the Asian Cup semifinals, also the country's best finish in the continental meet.
Their only losses, at that time, came from Australia and South Korea during the group stage and semifinals, respectively.
Up for the daunting task of bringing the Philippines back into the global showpiece is a mix of veterans and youth standouts.
“There's a lot of good young players coming through, and we'll definitely see them feature in this Asian Cup. I believe that we've got a talented group mixed with experience, mixed with young players like the SEA Games, and I truly believe that we've got an opportunity to go to another World Cup,” said the Australian mentor.
Hali Long, Olivia McDaniel, Angie Beard, Sara Eggesvik, Jessika Cowart, Sofia Wunsch, Carleigh Frilles, Jaclyn Sawicki, Katrina Guillou, Anicka Castañeda, Malea Cesar, and Chandler McDaniel, who represented the Philippines in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, will provide the experience for the country's 26-woman roster in the Asian Cup.
Joining them are Alexa Pino, Ariana Markey, Alessandra Carpio, and Mallie Ramirez, among the Filipinas' brightest youngsters, who helped the country capture its first football gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games last year.
The Filipinas will open their campaign against Australia at Perth Stadium on March 1 before facing South Korea on March 5. They'll wrap up the group stage against Iran at Gold Coast Stadium on March 8.
“Our goal is to get out of the group, and our goal is to try and achieve another World Cup position. We know it's going to be challenging. We do have a lot of young players currently in our team. The future for me is really bright for this country, in particular over the next five to 10 years,” said Torcaso.
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