Is the Philippine women's team a tough opponent for coach Mai Duc Chung and his team?

Ahead of the 33rd SEA Games, President of the Philippine Football Federation, John Gutierrez, declared that "the Philippine women's football team is currently the strongest, with the core of players who played in the 2023 Women's World Cup such as strikers Meryll Serrano and Chandler McDaniel and captain defender Hali Long, alongside midfielder Jaclyn Sawicki, number one goalkeeper Olivia McDanie and defender Angela Beard".

“I believe this is the best team we have ever had to participate in the SEA Games,” he affirmed.

Australian coach Mark Torcaso also revealed that to prepare for the 33rd SEA Games, the Philippine women's team has undergone many months of intensive training. "Our players have been training hard over the past few months to prepare very thoroughly," he said. "We know we will face very strong opponents in the group, but the goal of the Philippine women's team is nothing other than the Gold medal, to become the best team."

At SEA Games 33, the goal of the Philippine women's team is nothing other than the Gold medal.

However, the Philippine women’s team’s morale was doused with cold water after their opening defeat to Myanmar. They conceded a goal early on and struggled for an hour to equalize, then conceded another goal in the final minute. After being eliminated from the 32nd SEA Games in the group stage, the Philippine women’s team is facing that danger once again.

There was a time when the Philippines women's team felt like a dominant force. They won the 2022 Women's World Cup, qualified for the 2023 Women's World Cup and became the first Southeast Asian team to win a world tournament. Importantly, they twice defeated the Vietnam women's team, who had been the number one team in the region for many years.

However, looking back now, it seems that the success of the Philippine women's team was only temporary. As we know, they could not even pass the group stage of the 32nd SEA Games (2023) and in the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship, they continued to stop at the group stage.

The Philippine women's team started their gold medal campaign with a defeat against Myanmar.

We know that the Philippines has been very successful in recruiting players born outside its borders, and it is these “African diaspora” talents that have made them so successful. However, the lack of a homegrown foundation is a problem, which can lead to a generational breakdown.

The Philippines are currently a team divided into two parts, with one half experienced and the other half not. Of the 23 players participating in the 33rd SEA Games under coach Torcaso, 12 have played more than 20 matches for the national team and 11 others have less than 10. Their squad is also very young, with 10 players under the age of 23.

This can lead to a gap between the main players and the rest, and then to dependence. Coach Torcaso tries to overcome this problem by being tactically creative. At the AFF Women's Championship, he alternated between 3-4-2-1 and 4-4-2 formations.

Big ambitions, but the Philippines has had its share of disappointments.

Not only that, Torcaso went even further by arranging players in completely new positions and roles.

For example, Aaliyah Schinaman plays left-back in one game but right-back in another, while Janae DeFazio moves from right-back to centre-back, or Dionesa Tolentin is pushed to the right of midfield despite excelling in the number 10 role.

The turmoil in the Philippines contrasts with the stability of the Vietnamese women's team. They are a squad of players who have been together for many years, play a familiar style of play and are led by the person who understands them best, Coach Mai Duc Chung.

Vietnam women's team defeated Malaysia 7-0 in the opening match.

After two defeats against the Philippines, the Vietnamese women’s team must have learned their lessons and come up with appropriate countermeasures. What Myanmar did, including counter-attacks, in their victory a few days ago will also be carefully studied.

With an aging squad (12 players are over 30), the Vietnamese women's team faces many questions about their future. But for now, we are still good enough to dominate Southeast Asia once again.

As for the Philippines, they are not in a hurry to think about the future and still aim to become SEA Games champions immediately. However, things may turn out like at the 2025 Southeast Asian Women's Football Championship, instead of being crowned, the main lesson that the Filipino girls bring home is something that makes them extremely disappointed.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/dt-nu-philippines-co-phai-doi-thu-kho-nhan-voi-thay-tro-hlv-mai-duc-chung-post1802666.tpo