Three new players were included in the Philippine national women’s team headed for Phnom Penh, Cambodia for the 2026 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.
The Filipinas will fly to Cambodia with U20 national team star Chayse Ying and fellow teenager Megan Murray and 22-year-old Julianna Barker.
The 20-year-old Ying is a sophomore, who plays for the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Indiana, while Murray is a 19-year-old forward from Marquette University and was named to Summit League All-Newcomer Team in Denver, Colorado.
Barker plays for Oregon State University.
The three will have their international debuts when the Filipinas kick off their campaign on June 29 against newcomer Saudi Arabia.
They had their baptism of fire when the Filipinas played against world no. 42 Chinese Taipei, who handed them a 0-1 beating in a friendly match on Tuesday evening at the Rizal Memorial pitch.
“It’s not the result obviously that we would want because we want to win every single game, but it’s a good preparation game for our Asian Cup qualifiers,” said Filipinas’ coach Mark Torcaso.
After facing Saudi Arabia, the Filipinas will next battle host Cambodia on July 2 and conclude the tournament against familiar foe Hong Kong on July 5.
Murray said the team is adjusting to a new rotation.
“I feel like we’re still moving around with a new team, trying to find out our rotation. But I think that once we did find it up top, we were really dangerous. So I think we just need to [capitalize] on that and keep working on that for Cambodia,” said Murray.
The game, according to Torcaso, underscored the team’s ongoing development and the pivotal challenges they are facing in their bid for Asian Cup qualification.