Filipinas to use breakthrough SEA Games gold as booster for Worlds berth

December 26 ------ The Philippine women’s football team is hoping that its breakthrough gold medal win in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games could be used as a springboard to put together a stirring performance in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in March.

The continental tournament set to be played in Australia will serve as a qualifier for the 2027 Fifa Women’s World Cup, and coach Mark Torcaso is confident the Filipinas can get themselves in a good position to qualify, given their recent success. “We want to use the [SEA Games] as an opportunity to prepare against good teams,” said Torcaso.

Six World Cup slots are at stake in the Asian Cup, with the Filipinas facing a big mountain to climb from the group stage onwards. The Filipinas were drawn in Group A alongside host Australia, South Korea and Iran. The top two teams in each of the three groups advance to the knockout stage along with the two best third placers. “We saw how disciplined the girls can be against good teams [in the SEA Games], and I truly believe we can do that against Australia, South Korea and Iran.”

The Philippines overcame a last-gasp defeat to Myanmar to reach the SEA Games semis by way of defeating Vietnam and Malaysia. In the semis, the Filipinas eliminated host Thailand through penalties, before doing it again against Vietnam in the final courtesy of Olivia McDaniel’s save in the sixth shootout attempt. “We always said at the start, I feel something’s special with this group in these SEA Games, and we got a feeling that we gonna win this gold,” he added.

Source: inquirer.net