The Philippine Women’s National Football team is ready to take on the challenge of competing against Uzbekistan, Hong Kong, and powerhouse China in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, from September 14 to October 2.
PFF President John Gutierrez emphasized the team’s dedication en route to a second straight Asian Games and World Cup stint.
“The Filipinas have put in the hard work to give themselves another competitive campaign at the Asian Games, and we are hopeful they can push for a deep run once again,” Gutierrez said.
“We thank all the players—in the active roster and the reserve list—who participated in the camp, the coaching staff, the government led by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, our corporate sponsors GoTyme Bank, Adidas, AIA, 2GO, Studio 300, Sip, and Sip+ for providing the Filipinas the best preparation possible, and of course, the loyal fans who braved today’s rain to cheer for our Filipinas as they embark in this journey to Asia’s grandest sporting stage,” Gutierrez continued.
The Filipinas made their Asian Games debut at the 19th edition in Hangzhou, China in 2023, reaching the quarterfinals in their first appearance in the continental multi-sport event.
Bhebhe Lemoran (left) and Katrina Guillou (right) chase the ball.
Head coach Mark Torcaso said the send-off match gave the squad a strong final tune-up before departure.
“This game was prepared obviously just as a farewell and obviously for us to come here and see the fans and see you guys and talk to you guys,” Torcaso said. “The girls have been fantastic [during the camp], so we are looking forward to tomorrow and getting to Japan.”
For Torcaso, the tournament also marks a full-circle moment, as his first assignment with the national team came at the previous Asian Games.
“I think this is a little bit different from when I first started because for me it was new for the team to have a new coach,” he said. “Now that I’ve been here for three years understanding what Filipino football is about, the players are about, this is a different Asian Games for us.”
Torcaso stressed that the tournament is part of a broader build toward the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, with several regular starters unavailable due to the games falling outside the FIFA international window.
“We want to try and be better than we were at the last Asian Games, which was quarterfinalist, but we also understand it’s out of the FIFA window, we have a lot of players unavailable, and we’re going to test a lot of our young players and new players,” he said. “We’re really using the Asian Games as an opportunity for our team to grow, to be ready for the World Cup.”
Filipinas newcomer Camryn Penn (front) eludes the defense of Maye Mendaño.
Following the Asian Games, the Filipinas will head to a training camp in Peru in October, which Torcaso described as a critical stretch in the team’s World Cup preparations.
“For us it’s about the next block of four to five weeks,” he said. “It’s almost like what a World Cup campaign could be like if we’re playing three, four, five, six games in a tournament. Peru is going to be a fantastic opportunity because the altitude is going to be extremely high, and it tests us potentially like what Brazil could be like.”
The Filipinas open their campaign against Uzbekistan on September 14 at 1:00 p.m., before facing Hong Kong on September 17 at 6:00 p.m. and China on September 21 at 3:00 p.m. All matches will be played at the Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium, with kickoff times reflected in Philippine Standard Time.
