PH men’s, women’s football squads up for tough battles this 2025

Things look promising for the Philippine men’s football team following its semifinal run in the Asean Championship. —MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

The Philippine men’s football team recently posted an art card on social media showing not just a picture of its jubilant players but also a team photo of counterparts from the women’s squad.

“Great things ahead this coming year for Philippine football,” part of the caption said.

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There’s reason to be optimistic in 2025 after the men’s team came so close to defeating powerhouse Thailand and securing a historic first appearance in the Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup just before 2024 ended.

With the Asian Cup Qualifiers set to begin in March, the Filipino side is keen on building on the gains of the recent competition, especially with those who couldn’t join the Asean Championship expected to reinforce coach Albert Capellas’ roster.

New players based abroad who are still in the process of securing their Philippine passports could be ready to don the national team shirt in time for the continental qualifiers opener in March.

Formidable group

Jane DeFazio is expected to figure prominently after making her debut for the Filipinas in 2024.

Five international windows during the year will pit the Philippines against Tajikistan, Maldives and Timor-Leste in a bid to top Group A and qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the Filipinas are going to have a busier year compared to 2024 when they followed a historic first Fifa Women’s World Cup stint with just a handful of friendlies and a shock management change that prompted Freddy Gonzalez, Philippine Football Federation’s (PFF) director for national teams, to replace Jeff Cheng and do double duties as team manager of both the men’s and women’s teams.

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The Filipinas, still under Aussie coach Mark Torcaso, will defend their Asean Football Federation (AFF) Women’s title while the qualifiers for the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup is in September, an event that also kicks off their quest to secure a return trip to the World Cup.

Captain retires

Only one win was produced by the Philippines in 2024, a 3-0 romp of Jordan in the Pink Ladies Week in Turkiye, as the Filipinas dropped the other six matches, including twice against South Korea and one against Kenya.

Captain Tahnai Annis, one of the key reasons for the Philippines’ qualification to the 2023 World Cup, has retired, but the team is looking ahead to having more young talent, particularly Jane DeFazio, while Aston Villa’s Maz Pacheco is still in the process of securing her Philippine passport.

The Philippines is also going to host the inaugural Fifa Women’s Futsal World Cup in November, but the makeup of the team remains uncertain at this point following reports of turmoil surrounding the PFF’s decision to hastily call for a training camp before the end of 2024.

The Pinay5 are set to play this month in the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Futsal Asian Cup Qualifiers in Uzbekistan as part of their preparations for the World Cup.

Dutch-born Vic Hermans coached the Isabella Bandoja-led squad last November in the AFF Women’s Futsal Championship at Philsports Arena in Pasig City, where they fell short of reaching the third-place match.