The Philippine women's national football team will face Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and Cambodia in the 2026 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.
Coming off their historic FIFA Women’s World Cup debut in 2023, the Philippine Women’s National Football Team will now set its sights on another major milestone—the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.
The Filipinas have been drawn into Group G of the Asian Cup Qualifiers, where they will face Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, and host Cambodia from June 29 to July 5 in Phnom Penh.
Only the group winner will punch a ticket to Australia, making this a high-stakes battle for regional supremacy.
On paper, the 41st-ranked Philippines enter the qualifiers as their group's top seed and clear favorite. However, head coach Mark Torcaso is not taking anything for granted.
“Every team will be pushing hard to get to Australia,” said Torcaso. “There will be no easy games, and every team will present their own challenges. We will prepare the best way possible heading into the qualifiers and continue to push ourselves over the coming months to ensure we arrive in Phnom Penh firing on all cylinders.”
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Before the crucial June tournament, the Filipinas will have two international windows to fine-tune their squad and tactics.
This includes two friendlies against United Arab Emirates from March 31 to April 8, before hosting Chinese Taipei in the May 26 to June 3 window.
“These next two windows will give Mark and the coaching staff a platform to really drill down on their way of playing and to instill confidence in the squad heading into the qualifiers,” said Freddy Gonzalez, Director of Senior National Teams.
“We need to be in Australia in 2026 to earn our chance of making it to the World Cup in 2027. These qualifiers are the first important step to achieving those goals.”