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The Philippine Women's National Football team plays a friendly match at the newly-opened MOA Football Pitch in Pasay City on February 25, 2025. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA -- While they are missing some key contributors due to injury or unavailability, the Philippine women's national football team is still bringing a quality squad to the AFC Women's Asia Cup qualifiers next week.
Mark Torcaso called up 26 players to the roster, led by veterans who played for the country in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 such as Hali Long, Sara Eggesvik, Olivia McDaniel, and Angie Beard.
However, the likes of Sarina Bolden, Katrina Guillou, and Reina Bonta were all left off the team "due to injury or unavailability," the team said in a statement on Saturday.
"We are confident in every player in our pool and we are excited by the 26 that will battle it out for us to get to the Asian Cup," Torcaso said.
"I believe it's well-balanced and provides quality in every are of the pitch," he added. "It's also great to see some of our strong young players that have progressed and developed over the years join some of our World Cup superstars."
While a bulk of the team is still composed of veterans, Torcaso also called up a handful of youth standouts including Nina Mathelus, Gabrielle Baker, Alexa Pino, Ava Villapando, and Chayse Ying.
"We are looking forward to Cambodia and we can't wait to get out there and perform for all our fans at home and abroad," Torcaso said.
The Philippines is in Group G of the qualifiers, along with world No. 80 Hong Kong, world No. 118 Cambodia, and world No. 165 Saudi Arabia. The Filipinas are the highest-rated team in their group, at No. 41 in the latest FIFA rankings.
They will play Saudi Arabia on June 29, followed by Cambodia on July 2, and Hong Kong on July 5.
Only the winners of the eight groups will advance to next year's Women's Asian Cup, where they will join hosts Australia, defending champions China, 2022 runners-up South Korea, and 2022 third-placer Japan.