KUALA LUMPUR – The Philippine under-17 women’s national football team will compete against reigning world champion Korea DPR, along with continental powers Korea Republic and Chinese Taipei, in Group C of the 2026 AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup this coming May in Suzhou, China.
Playing for a second straight Asian Cup, the Filipinas U17 earned their spot last October with a clean sweep of Syria (5-0), Tajikistan (2-0), and Malaysia (4-0) in the qualifying stage.
Citing former Filipinas U17 players, from veterans Inna Palacios and Camille Rodriguez to the 2024 squad leaders Alexa Pino, Ariana Markey, and Jael Guy, Philippine Football Federation (PFF) President John Anthony Gutierrez commended the Filipinas U17 program for “consistently showing how youth talent is integral in building a stronger senior national team.”
This effective pipeline from youth-to-senior continues with the 2025 qualifying squad, with goalkeeper Leah Bradley and last year’s team captain Aiselyn Sia currently part of the Filipinas senior training pool in its ongoing camp in Balesin in preparation for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia in March, which affirms the high quality of the 2025 squad.
“We firmly believe our young Filipinas are primed to face the best of Asia. Also the tough battles against North and South Korea in 2024 have given us a better understanding on how to face such strong opponents.” Gutierrez continued.
“They will be carrying these lessons, not only for a better fight this year, but to capacitate them when the senior team calls up. This is our reason for scaling up the development of our youth squads to be formidable international competitors and not as mere participants,” he added.
The two Koreas are indeed familiar foes for the young Filipinas, having met them in the 2024 edition in Bali.
Playing in their first Asian Cup then, the Philippines, then led by eventual SEA Games gold medalists Pino and Markey, impressed with a 6-1 win against Indonesia and a breakthrough 1-1 draw against 2010 World Cup champion South Korea.
Global powerhouse North Korea, who eventually won a record fourth U17 Women’s World Cup last year, dealt the young Filipinas their only loss at 6-0.
“DPR Korea represents the highest standard in this age group. For us, that’s not something to fear, it’s something to study,” said Filipinas U17 team manager Selu Lozano about this looming rematch.
Meanwhile, Chinese-Taipei has successfully qualified to the Asian Cup for the first time in 11 years, beating Jordan and Bangladesh in last year’s qualifiers. Their previous match with the Philippines was back in October 2014, winning 5-2 in the 2015 Asian Cup Qualifiers.
“We’re glad to be in this group. If our objective is to take the Philippines as far as possible, we have to measure ourselves against the very best,” said Lozano.
“When you clearly understand what the top level looks like, and you honestly understand where you are, that’s when real building begins,” Lozano stressed. “This program is not about one tournament. It’s about a 10-, 20-, even 30-year strategy to close the gap and raise our standard sustainably. In the short term, we compete to advance. In the long term, we build to belong.”
In conclusion, President Gutierrez praised the unity and hard work of every aspiring player who has participated in the recent training camps, and the team staff and management.
“We thank the management and coaches, who are now working hard in training the participants of the talent identification camps, the players who are working doubly hard to make it to the national team, and the ever-supportive parents for believing not only in their girls, but in our national program. Together, we are going to have a strong and competent squad in the Asian Cup in May,” Gutierrez concluded.
