Filipinas will have a tough camp leading to the SEAG preparation

AS they watched Australia Under-23 claim the throne in the Asean Women’s Championship that used to be theirs, the Filipinas are already plotting their redemption drive in the next big battle, the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG).

Coach Mark Torcaso said high-level training camps and friendlies in the next FIFA windows in October and November are on the horizon for his squad ahead of the SEAG in December in Thailand.

Mr. Torcaso, who fielded a youth-laden crew that failed to retain the crown and missed out on the semis in the Asean meet in Vietnam, expects a nearly full-strength side for the biennial SEA Games.

“We’ll have a really tough camp leading to the SEA Games preparation. Our goal is to play a maximum of five games in the tournament (until the gold medal match),” the Australian mentor said on the team’s Facebook page.

“And I believe we’ll have almost every player available for the SEA Games, which for me is telling us that we need to win and we’re going to go into the tournament with an absolute focus on winning,” he added.

Mr. Torcaso didn’t have the luxury of having several veterans like Sara Eggesvik for the Asean title defense in Vietnam due to either club commitments or injuries. The squad beat lightweight Timor Leste, 7-0, then lost to the Aussies, 1-0 and drew with Myanmar, 1-1, to bow out of the semis race in Group B. The Young Matildas went all the way to take the vacant crown with a 1-nil disposal of Myanmar in Tuesday’s finale.

With a lot of the FIFA Women’s World Cuppers expected to be back, the Filipinas take a more optimistic outlook in the SEA Games. They also fell short of a podium finish in 2023 in Cambodia, giving the Pinay booters extra motivation for vengeance in Thailand.

“We’re really looking forward to playing in that really tough competition,” said Mr. Torcaso. — Olmin Leyba