“Not the easiest group but not the hardest. Either way, we have to beat the best to be the best. Our girls will be ready come March,” said PFF President John Gutierrez.
The Philippine Women’s National Football Team, eyeing a return to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, has been drawn into a challenging Group A for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia. This marks their third consecutive appearance in the continental championship.
The official draw, held Tuesday evening in Sydney, Australia, placed the Philippines alongside tournament hosts Australia, Korea Republic, and IR Iran.
Head coach Mark Torcaso, who attended the draw, expressed his anticipation for the tournament, set to kick off next March. “Really excited by it, and I know that our players will be up for the challenge. Every team here that has qualified obviously deserves to be here and they’re all going to be difficult opponents. It didn’t really matter who we were going to play, every game is going to be tough, and every game we have to be extremely determined and focused to get an outcome,” he said.
Currently ranked 41st in the world, the Philippines will open their campaign against the 15th-ranked hosts, Australia, on Sunday, March 1, in Perth.
They will then travel to the Gold Coast for their subsequent matches. Their second fixture will be against 21st-ranked Korea Republic on Thursday, March 5, followed by their final group stage match against 68th-ranked IR Iran on Sunday, March 8.
Torcaso is optimistic about the team’s chances, especially with the memory of their historic qualification to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup fresh in their minds. “We’re really excited by this opportunity, playing against the host in front of a big crowd in the first game, along with South Korea and Iran in the group,” he added.
He emphasized the team’s determination to secure another World Cup berth. “We are going to do our absolute best to bring World Cup opportunities back to our players and back to our country. We’ll be extremely determined and excited by making sure that we make this happen and we’ll do everything possible over the next few windows to make sure that we’re as prepared as possible,” he said.
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup serves as the primary qualifying tournament for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with six direct berths available. To secure a direct qualification, teams must advance from the group stages by finishing as one of the top two teams in their group or as one of the two best third-placed teams across all three groups. The four semifinalists, along with two winners from playoff rounds among the losing quarterfinalists, will automatically qualify for Brazil 2027. Teams losing in the playoff rounds will still have a chance to qualify through an intercontinental playoff.
Torcaso also revealed that preparations are well underway for the crucial tournament. “This coming AFF tournament is a chance for us to see a lot of our young youth players play obviously with a closed FIFA window, we will give a lot of opportunity to our young players and see where they’re at in the level that they’re going to be hopefully to be ready for opportunities that come their way for the Asian Cup,” the Australian tactician shared, highlighting the focus on developing young talent ahead of the Asian Cup.
