DESPITE that heart-breaking loss to Australia, head coach Mark Torcaso’s confidence on the Filipinas title-defense is unwavering as the Philippines takes on Myanmar on Aug. 13, 2025, needing a win against the Group B leaders to make it out of the Group Stage.
Myanmar leads Group B with 6 points, while both Australia and the Philippines have three points on a win and a loss. Timor Leste is last after losing its first two games.
“I’m extremely proud of our players. We’ve brought in a very, very young group, we’ve got two 16-year-olds who have played for our country today, that came on against an under-23 age group team,” said Torcaso.
The Philippines conceded a late injury time goal in the first half to Australia, with Alana Jancevski getting past World Cup veteran Olivia McDaniel.
A win against Myanmar would see the Philippines finishing the group on top by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreak.
Meanwhile, Philippine Football Federation president John Gutierrez also lauded the Filipinas’ fighting spirit as they kept their title defense alive.
“Our young squad, with an average of 22.6 years, fought hard against powerhouse Australia and we commend their performance. We are confident that these are the best players for this competition and they will keep pushing towards defending our title,” said Gutierrez.