The Philippine women's team brought half of the team playing abroad to Vietnam.

The Philippine women's team brought a strong force to Vietnam, determined to defend the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Championship.

Foreign-born players help the Philippine women's team "transform" - Photo: PFF

The reigning champions of the 2025 AFF Women's Championship, the Philippines, bring a very strong squad to the tournament. Their ambition is certainly to successfully defend the championship.

Coach Mark Torcaso brought to Vietnam 12/23 players who are playing abroad. Of these, 9 are playing in the US - the number 1 country of women's football with prominent names such as Isabella Alamo, Malea Cesar, and Aaliyah Schinaman.

Their strength is also enhanced by goalkeeper Nina Meollo who plays in England, Adelaide Wyrzynski (Australia).

Most of the above players were born and raised abroad but have Filipino roots, and chose to play for the Southeast Asian country.

Even some players playing for domestic clubs such as sisters Olivia and Chandler McDaniel (Stallion Laguna FC) or captain Hali Long (Kaya FC-Iloilo) are also American-born players.

The policy of naturalizing foreign-born players has been consistently pursued by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) for many years. This is the secret to the country's women's national team's remarkable progress.

Winning the 2022 Southeast Asian Women's Championship and especially winning a ticket to the 2023 World Cup is proof of the success of this country's women's football.

Speaking about the squad, coach Mark Torcaso declared: "We bring a young and strong squad - a good mix of experienced players and faces from the U17 and U20 teams."

The strategist also emphasized the long-term goal: "This is an exciting opportunity for young players to gain experience and compete at a high level. They have earned this opportunity, and we see this as an important part of our long-term plan to prepare for the 2026 Asian Cup."

List of 23 players of the Philippine women's team - Photo: PFF

With an outstanding squad and careful preparation, the Philippine women's team does not hide their goal of successfully defending the championship.

They will be a huge challenge for all opponents, including the host team Vietnam, on their journey to conquer the Southeast Asian title this year.

The Philippines women’s team is in Group B along with Myanmar, U23 Australia and Timor Leste. They will begin their title defence against Timor Leste on August 7, then face U23 Australia (August 10) and Myanmar (August 13).

THANH DINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tuyen-nu-philippines-mang-nua-doi-hinh-dang-choi-bong-o-nuoc-ngoai-den-viet-nam-20250805212156769.htm