Filipinas collide with dangerous Matildas

The Philippines finds itself on a collision course with the Australia U23 squad as the ASEAN Women’s Championship kicks off Thursday in Vietnam.

Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso said the match against the U23 Matildas will be a good test for the Filipinas for next year’s AFC Asian Cup.

The Philippines and Australia are in Group B with Myanmar and Timor Leste.

“I'd anticipate that some of the girls that are in the U23 Australian team would probably be eligible or be available for the Asian Cup team in March. It's a good gauge for them, but it's also a really good gauge for us,” Torcaso said.

“I think we'll have a younger team than the Australian team actually will. I'm really excited by that game because it's going to showcase where we're at and where our national team players are, particularly our youth players, and I'm really excited about it.”

The Filipinas had contrasting results against the Matildas.

The Philippines defeated the U23 Australian side, 1-0, in the 2022 ASEAN Women’s Championship in Manila.

However, the Matildas, led by Sam Kerr of Chelsea and Caitlin Foord of Arsenal, battered the Filipinas 8-0 in the AFC Olympic Qualifiers at Perth Stadium last year.

Torcaso expects veterans such as Hali Long, Olivia McDaniel, Quinley Quezada and Inna Palacios to be the leaders of the squad and share their wisdom with the rest of the squad.

“There's no doubt that they'll have open arms in talking to the young girls, and I'm sure that our young girls will be very, very accepting of the information they take. That's going to be a really good time to have our young girls working with our senior national team players that have been to major tournaments,” Torcaso said.