Veteran Australian coach Garrath Mcpherson will handle the Philippine national men’s under-23 team’s coming campaign in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The 42-year-old Mcpherson, a former assistant coach of the Philippine national women’s football team, took over the coaching chores of the young squad last week and unveiled the composition of the 23-member roster on Friday.
“This week, this team has been very hard at work on their training. Our goal is to provide them with an environment where they can be at their best,” said Mcpherson during the team’s sendoff at the Studio 300 in Pasig City.
Since leaving the Brisbane Roar in 2023, plus a couple of several exploits in the professional Liberty A-League Women competitions, Mcpherson headed to the Philippines to become assistant mentor of the Filipinas.
After spending 19 months as Mark Torcaso’s deputy, Mcpherson, who has also served as an assistant coach and head technical analyst for the men’s national football team, also started work with the national under-23 squad on Monday last week.
The Philippine men’s team memorable run in the semifinals of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup compelled officials of the Philippine Football Federation to let him handle bigger roles.
Mcpherson and his team left for Indonesia on Sunday for the ASEAN U-23 Mandiri Cup 2025, which is the 5th edition of the ASEAN U-23 Championship, slated from July 15 to 29.
Vietnam is the two-time defending champion, having won the 2022 and 2023 editions.
Members of the team include Edgardo Aban Jr., Karl Absalon, Andres Aldeguer, Kamil Amirul, Fil-American Out Banatao, Jian Caraig, Dov Carino, Uriel Dulapo, Jethro Flores, Gian Galsim, Juan Alfonso Gonzales and Fil-Japanese booter Nicholas Guimaraes.
Also in the squad are Theo Libarnes, Martin Merino, Gavin Muens, Harry Nunez, Jarred Pena, Jaime Rosquillo, Zachary Taningco and Bryan Villanueva.
The Philippines, which is in Group A, with host Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, begins its campaign on the 15th against the Malaysians at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
