Filipinas aim to surpass Hangzhou performance

The national women’s football team will treat the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya as more than just another international tournament.

With their place in the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup already secured, Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso said the team is determined to improve its quarterfinal finish in the 2023 Hangzhou Asiad while using the tournament to further build its pool for the World Cup.

“We want to try and be better than we were in the last Asian Games, where we reached the quarterfinals,” said Torcaso, whose wards will open its campaign against Uzbekistan on Monday at the Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium.

“But we also understand that it’s outside the FIFA (International Football Federation) window. We have a lot of players unavailable, and we’re going to test a lot of our young players and new players to be ready for the ultimate goal, which is the World Cup.”

The tournament also marks a full-circle moment for Torcaso, whose first stint with the national team came at the 2023 Asian Games shortly after the Filipinas’ historic World Cup campaign in New Zealand.

Nearly three years later, he returns to Nagoya with a deeper understanding of the program and a different set of objectives.

“This is a little bit different from when I first started because, for me, it was new,” said Torcaso, who took over after Alen Stajcic resigned as head coach.

“I think now that I’ve been here for almost three years and understand what Filipino football is about and what the players are about, this is a different Asian Games for us.”

The Filipinas will be without several experienced players because of club commitments and other circumstances, including Angie Beard, who suffered a minor injury last week and has withdrawn from the squad.

But rather than dwell on the absences, Torcaso sees the situation as an opportunity to expand his player pool ahead of the World Cup.

“It provides an opportunity for some young players,” Torcaso said.

“My aim is to give everyone a chance to be ready for the World Cup and if that means 50 players get a chance to come into camp over the next couple of camps for us to pick the best 26, that’s what it will take.”