The national women’s football team has high hopes it can do well in the AFC Asian Cup from 1 to 21 March in Perth, Australia.

Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso said the girls’ one-month camp in Manila and Balesin has been doing wonders for them in line with their bid to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

“I believe we got a talented group mixed with experience, mixed with young players like the SEA (Southeast Asian) Games and I truly believe we’ve got an opportunity at another World Cup,” Torcaso said.

“Our goal is to get out of the group and to achieve another World Cup position. We know it’s going to be challenging, we do have a lot of young players on our team... We’ll definitely see them feature in this Asian Cup.”

The Filipinas will kick off its Asian Cup campaign against the Australians on 1 March at Perth Stadium.

Torcaso said choosing the final roster for the Asian Cup has been a good problem for him and the coaching staff as it has a mix of World Cup and SEA Games veterans.

“All the girls have been excellent so it’s created a really big headache for us to pick the best 26 for this Asian Cup,” Torcaso said.

“Everyone is coming along really good. We had a chance to push them really hard, so we had a long camp since February 1st. They’ve all been on program since the SEA Games so it’s been really good to see them all come in really good shape and fitness levels.”

Goalkeepers Olivia McDaniel, Leah Bradley and Nina Meollo have been providing depth and competition between the posts.

Defenders Hali Long, Angela Beard, Jessika Cowart, Kaya Hawkinson and Sofia Wünsch, are in charge to back up the keepers on the pitch.

Jourdyn Curran, Sara Eggesvik, Isabella Pasion, and Jessika Sawicki will dictate the tempo for the Filipnas in the midfield.

Anicka Castañeda, Katrina Guillou, Chandler McDaniel, Paige McSwigan, Alexa Pino and Mallie Ramirez, will provide scoring opportunities for the squad.