The Filipinas clarified Maz Pacheco's role during the Pink Ladies Week, when the Philippine women's national football team will take on Jordan and Kenya.
Philippine football fans were wide-eyed reading the name Mayumi Pacheco in the Pink Ladies Week squad list of the Filipinas released October 12.
Though it was followed by frustration as it turns out that Pacheco is only participating in the training camp in Turkey, but will not be playing in the friendlies against Jordan and Kenya on October 26 and 30, respectively.
[ALSO READ: Aston Villa's Maz Pacheco included in Filipinas squad list for Pink Ladies Cup in Turkiye]According to the Filipinas management, Pacheco has yet to receive her Philippine passport but calls her participation in the camp a sign of her commitment to the Filipinas.
[ALSO READ: Filipinas coach filled with excitement as Aston Villa’s Maz Pacheco joins helm]“Maz Pacheco has shown her commitment to the Philippines by joining the team's camp here in Turkey,” the statement read. “She's settling in very well and already contributing to the squad.”
“Her passport is still being processed, though, which means she won't be available yet for selection for the upcoming matches against Jordan and Kenya.”
The casual fans might be wondering: what is special about Pacheco that has the more hardcore following excited?
The first reason is simply her pedigree as a player plying her trade in England’s Women’s Super League (WSL).
Pacheco would be coming in as a player who has made it in one of the most competitive leagues in the world.
The 26-year old has over 150 appearances for Liverpool, Doncaster Rovers Belles, Reading, West Ham United, and Aston Villa since 2016 and has more than 30 caps for the England youth teams.
The second reason is that Pacheco would upgrade the depth the team has on the left-hand side.
The assumption is that Pacheco will slot in her favored left back position upon joining the Filipinas, which has been manned by either Angie Beard and Sofia Harrison in recent games.
Most likely, we will see Beard pushed into the left center back position. This shouldn’t be a problem for the former Australian international, after being utilized at the heart of defense for more than half of her games for the Filipinas.
So what does Pacheco potentially bring to the Filipinas?
In statistics compiled by wyscout following Pacheco’s 2023/24 season with Aston Villa, we see the profile of a solid defensive player that could help secure the left hand side.
For the Villans, Pacheco faced the 9th most duels amongst left-backs in the WSL with a success rate of 60.31%, while ranking 18th in recovering possession.
In terms of ball retention, Pacheco is comfortable in possession and favors tidy short passes at 78.53% accuracy with an average pass length of only 14.67 meters.
While it is unfair to compare the stats of Pacheco, Beard, and Harrison due to the gap in quality of their domestic competitions in particular.
A brief glance at their defensive numbers show that Pacheco is the best amongst the three in terms of aerial duels in games this past calendar year. Pacheco posted 20 percentage points higher than both Beard and Harrison in that department.
With the caveat that Pacheco plays in one of the best competitions in the world and both Beard and Harrison play in objectively weaker leagues, we could see her dominance amplified going against lesser competition.
It will be interesting to see how Torcaso will utilize Pacheco moving forward, considering her lack of success crossing the ball in the past season.
For left-backs, Pacheco tallied only 0.63 crosses per 90 minutes throughout the season with a 22% percent success rate.
This could explain the two assists and only six shot attempts in 18 appearances for Aston Villa in the WSL last season.
Looking at their body of work, Angie Beard might still be the most dangerous option of the three with the ball at her feet in terms of dribbling and playing forward passes.
Though with Mark Torcaso now adapting the Freddie Gonzalez mandated style of attacking football that the men’s side uses, it will be interesting to see how the left-back position will be utilized.
The Pink Ladies Week sees the Philippines take on some of its lowest ranked opponents in recent times, with Jordan ranked 74 and Kenya at 151.
To put it in context, when the Filipinas played then 67th ranked Fiji in 2022 for a pair of friendlies. The Philippines posted wins to the tune of 8-0 in the first meeting and 7-2 in the second.
In 2023 when the Filipinas took on Hong Kong (79), Tajikistan (154), and Pakistan (158), they won 4-0, 8-0, and 4-0, respectively.
While FIFA rankings are not usually an accurate measure of how good a team is, against this type of opposition the Philippines is expected to showcase attacking football that should give us a clearer picture on how the team intends to play moving forward.
Then we will have a better idea on how a player like Pacheco, who on a week-to-week basis takes on some of the best in the world, would fit in this new era of Filipinas football.
The Pink Ladies Week will be shown live on the Pilipinas Live App and One Sports +, with a delayed airing on One Sports.