The Filipinas are looking to replicate their success from the World Cup.
A new chapter of the Philippine women’s national football team is set to unfold as they begin their Asian Games campaign.
Expectations for the Filipinas are sky-high after their memorable FIFA Women’s World Cup run last July.
That’s why newly-appointed Filipinas coach Mark Torcaso has already set his own expectations for the team come the Asiad.
“My expectations are we be as competitive as possible, but also acknowledge that it's a new team for me and for our staff, so it's just a matter of us finding our feet with the players,” Torcasso said in a press conference.
"It's more about a way for us to really see how these players can play in a competitive competition, but [we] definitely wanna go as deep and as far in the competition as we can to hopefully finish on a podium or win the whole thing if possible," he added.
The Filipinas recently announced their 21-member roster for the tournament, with Eva Madarang returning to the national team after missing the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Being no stranger to the team, Madarang said that the pressure to do well in the tournament has been eased due to their support for one another.
“I feel like the team chemistry is pretty good. I feel like because we're like family, we support each other and I feel like the pressure is a little bit lifted,” said Madarang.
The Asian Games is expected to be a tournament full of adjustments and getting to know for the Filipinas. This is after all their first official tournament with Torcaso, who recently replaced coach World Cup coach Alen Stajcic.
First up for the 44th-ranked Filipinas will be their match versus Hong Kong tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.
In April, the Filipinas defeated Hong Kong, 4-0, in the first round of the 2024 AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Despite the dominant result, Torcaso is making sure that they have all the bases covered.
“I'm anticipating a great game, but as I said before, every opponent regardless of results that we've had in the past, you have to treat them with respect because you just don't know what they're doing and how they're preparing also,” said Torcaso.
“We feel that we're ready to give them [Hong Kong] what we need and prepare ourselves the right way,” he added.
(GM)