The Philippine women’s football team aims to retain its core for the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Thailand from 9 to 20 December.

Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso is thrilled to have more options as they look to build the best squad possible for the biennial meet and other international tournaments.

“Obviously, the tough campaigns that we have in a lot of our tournaments aren’t always in FIFA (International Football Federation) windows. But we’re pretty excited because we do have a lot of our players available for December, including the girls that are in the top colleges as well,” said Torcaso after the Filipinas settled for a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan last Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

“So, players that are playing here, that are playing abroad, everyone is up for selection and we’re using every opportunity to pick the best possible side to get a medal in those games.”

The Philippines will be competing in the SEA Games in Group B with Vietnam, Myanmar and Malaysia.