Gold Coast, Queensland— The Philippine national women’s team has what it takes to take on a dominant team like South Korea.
Coach Mark Torcaso said this right before the Korean Taeguk Ladies marched to a 3-0 win triumph of Iran on Monday in their Asian Football Confederation Women’s Asian Cup 2026 match at the Cbus Super Stadium here.
“The one thing that this team’s got is their fight and determination, and they don’t stop. And we saw this in the last World Cup,” said Torcaso, referring to the time when the Filipinas made it to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Torcaso discussed their ongoing effort, which is supported by the Philippine Football Federation and the Philippine Sports Commission.
While, host Australia and South Korea now lead their bracket, the Filipinas are set to clash with the Taeguk Ladies on Thursday.
The Filipinas will be needing a win which would allow them to bounce back from their 0-1 loss to the Matildas.
In their first match, the Taeguk Ladies got their goals from Choe Yu-ri’s first-half strike in the 37th minute.
Two more came from Kim Hye-ri and Ko Yoo-jin in the second half, and in the 59th and 75th minutes.
Taeguk Ladies coach Shin Sang-woo said his squad won’t be as nervous in the clash with the Filipinas, not like when they faced Iran
“I’d like to thank all my players as we achieved victory, but we need to be more clinical, and I am a bit disappointed today. Our players were quite nervous (in the opening stages), because this was our first match,” said Shin.
What will make the Taeguk Ladies a dangerous squad against the Filipinas is their high level of experience and technical skill.
During the match, South Korea maintained 79 percent possession and allowed only 3 shots from Iran, limiting their offensive threats.