PFF credited for Filipinas success

After making it to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 with a perfect record in Group G, Philippine women’s football team head coach Mark Torcaso couldn’t ask for more moving forward seeking continued development.

Torcaso expressed immense satisfaction with the team’s performance during the qualifiers.

“We set out a goal and a target to qualify, to win all the games, but it was very important for us not just to win the games, it was also important that we didn’t concede and we wanted to score as many goals as possible,” Toracso said.

“We achieved that, and we not only achieved that by doing the targets we set, but we also played very well, particularly in the first two games.”

Torcaso said the support from the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) under president John Gutierrez has been a significant factor in the team’s recent successes.

Torcaso noted the positive atmosphere in camp, saying that “the girls have come into camp refreshed. They’ve also come into camp feeling really supported. We were able to obviously get our success from the support of everyone, and it’s been a really, really comfortable camp.”

The presence and encouragement of Gutierrez himself during the Cambodia qualifiers were particularly appreciated.

“It was good to have president John with us in Cambodia. He had a couple of words to say to the girls, which was really good prior to the camp, some introduction messages, and then he congratulated the girls and everything at the end of the camp,” Torcaso said.

Ultimately, the long-term vision remains clear: Making it to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil.

Torcaso also looked forward to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 in Australia, Asean MSIG Serenity Cup in Vietnam and the Southeast Asian Games in December.

“We will be bringing a lot of our good young players to the (ASEAN) tournament,” he explained, acknowledging that some senior players might be unavailable due to the tournament falling outside a FIFA window.

“This will be a chance for us to see some players that might not have played a lot in the last couple of camps, and some of our good young players will come,” added Torcaso, who also touched on the departure of assistant coach Andrew Durante.