The national women’s football team continues to grind it out in the United States a month before plunging into action in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Coach Marlon Maro’s side has been in Irvine, California since early this month, starting off with tryouts attended by 40 players based in the Philippines and in the US.
Changes in the continental qualifiers’ schedule were also made during the camp, with the Uzbek capital set to host all Group F matches instead of Kathmandu, Nepal.
The Philippines will play Nepal on Sept. 18 and Hong Kong six days later, needing to top the group in order to qualify for the Women’s Asian Cup in Mumbai, India.
Both matches are going to be the first for the Philippines since late-2019 when it placed fourth in the Southeast Asian Games.
No matches were played following the SEA Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but still climbed to 65th, the country’s highest ranking ever, by the end of 2020.
The women’s squad is currently ranked 68th in the recent FIFA rankings.