The Philippine National Women’s Football Team capped its camp in the United Arab Emirates with a 4-0 thrashing of the host team. Unlike the first game, where the Filipinas scored early, the hosts were able to hold the visiting team scoreless until Sara Eggesvik broke the scoreless spell in the 37th minute. Hali Long, Carleigh Frilles and Chandler McDaniel each added a goal to round up the scoring prowess of the squad. In the first game, the Filipinas dominated UAE with a 4-1 beatdown. Still, some say the team needs stronger and quality opponents to really gauge, where they are now, especially when an opportunity to play China, Zambi and Thailand didn’t materialize for several reasons.
The Designated Kit Man is hoping that aside from the Chinese Taipei, which the Filipinas will face in the May 26-June 3 FIFA windows, the team can still play quality opposition, but then again…
In the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, the Philippines is bunched with Cambodia, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia in Group G. On paper, the Filipinas have a strong chance of progressing to the next round. But being strong based on sentiments and stature alone don’t usually make any team an expected winner over the opposition. As of March 6, 2025, the Filipinas are currently ranked 41st, while Cambodia is at 118th. Saudi Arabia is at 166th and Hong Kong is ranked at 80th.
The Philippines will make its debut in the tournament by facing Saudi Arabia on June 29 and host Cambodia on July 2, before wrapping its group fixtures against Hong Kong three days later. All Group G action will be played in Phnom Penh.
Incidentally, Chinese Taipei is just a rung below the Philippines at 42nd.
Speaking of Asian Cup qualification, Freddy Gonzalez, team manager of the Philippine National Men’s Football Team (PNMFT), is quite happy how their campaign started on the right foot, so to speak.
He said he is quite impressed with Randy Schneider, who opened his account with the national team with a goal and an assist against Maldives. He also noticed the immediate impact of Schneider to the team which missed several high-profile players.
“When you have players like Randy (Schneider), who can play anywhere, you add versatility to the team so you can put him in a more attacking position, which the coach did and you saw the results of that in the game,” Gonzalez told The Designated Kit Man.
He also recognized the value of having a camp for at least several days before an actual game which could be the template for the rest of the qualifiers.
“The players and the staff have a good camp. They really absorbed everything coach Albert (Capellas) and the coaching staff drilled throughout the camp and it showed on the pitch. I’m happy with the ball movement, players movement off the ball and the finishing,” he explained.
But not everything was the ideal for the team formerly known as the Azkals. Gonzalez said there are things that the team needs to address before its game against Tajikistan on June 10 at home.
“We definitely need to work on not slowing down the tempo too much. There were times that we held on to the ball too long, which gave Maldives time to recover. We need to kill off games early and score more goals when we can because in these kinds of qualifiers, goal difference is really important. Credit to the boys though for being composed and adding two more goals so that was very positive,” Gonzalez said.
Due to mostly positive feedback on having the game against Maldives at the New Clark Stadium, Gonzalez said the PFF is aware of fans clamoring for accessibility to the venue come June 10.
“Everyone enjoyed NCC so it has become a viable option for us to host our home games moving forward. With longer and proper planning, we can make it easier for people to travel and watch the games,” he said.
Gonzalez said that having NCC and the soon refurbished Rizal Memorial Stadium give the PFF choices to host international games. Moreover, the PFF is eyeing another option.
“Bacolod is also being eyed for our October game and Negros Oriental Regional Football Association, along with the Governor, are interested in making that happen, but they have a lot of work to do before it can be an option for the PNMFT again,” Gonzalez added.
Again this is not to dampen the positive strides the Men’s team is currently having. It is equally important to also bring the Women’s team on the same flight. Yes, it is hard to maintain a national team, especially two national teams. This doesn’t mean, however, that we have to sacrifice one for the other. The coming days will be both busy and gruelling for the Men’s and Women’s squads. More than the competition, the immediate and more obvious challenge is how to take care of both on equal footing.
Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!
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