Filipinas, Taiwanese square off in friendly

The Philippine national women’s football team takes on Chinese Taipei in a friendly match today at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Kick-off starts at 7 p.m. as the Filipinas test their mettle against the Taiwanese in preparation for tough international tournaments ahead.

The Philippines is coming off a one-week training camp and Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso said they are building the best team possible for the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers in Cambodia starting 29 June.

"This camp, we wanted to work on a stronger team and we know Chinese Taipei is a very strong team. We wanted to come up against a tough team that would help challenge us for the Asian Cup qualifiers,” Torcaso said.

"So the expectations are for us to continue to build the playing style. We're getting there, we got to a point where we're comfortable with it. But this camp will provide us, hopefully, an opportunity to be really good defensively.”

Strikers and FIFA Women’s World Cup veterans Sarina Bolden and Quinley Quezada won’t be in this match due to injuries while Katrina Guillou wasn’t called up.

Still, the Filipinas have the likes of Chandler McDaniel, Bella Pasion, Jaclyn Sawicki, Sara Eggesvik, Hali Long, Angie Beard, Jessika Cowart and Olivia McDaniel.

Apart from preparing for the Asian Cup qualifiers, the Filipinas are also aiming to defend their title in the ASEAN MSIG Serenity Cup in Vietnam from 6 to 19 August.