FRESH off a historic qualification run, the Philippine national women’s football team is setting its sights on the next step — building momentum for the 2026 Asian Games as part of its long-term preparation for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Filipinas midfielder Alessandrea Carpio said the Asian Games is the only confirmed tournament on their schedule following their successful campaign in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers in Australia.
“The Asian Games is the only confirmed tournament that we’ll join after the Asian Cup. They’re still figuring out what other tournaments we will be joining,” said Carpio.
Carpio shared the team’s plans alongside Philippine Football Federation official Ingrid Mendoza during the weekly forum of the Philippine Sportswriters Association held at the Philippine Sports Commission conference room in Vito Cruz, Manila.
The Filipinas are coming off a packed 2025 campaign, highlighted by a historic gold-medal finish at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games last December.
To manage fatigue, the team will skip the upcoming FIFA April window—a series of international friendlies involving 48 teams across six confederations.
“The April window, we will have no tournaments. We want to focus on rest. We were heavy on activities in 2025,” Carpio explained, referring to the squad under coach Mark Torcaso.
That demanding buildup paid off in the Asian Cup, where the Filipinas secured qualification to their second straight FIFA Women’s World Cup, making them the first Southeast Asian nation to achieve back-to-back appearances on football’s biggest stage.
