THE Philippines is fielding a “new-look” side in its title defense of the Asean Women’s Football Championship from Aug. 7 to 19 in Vietnam.

With the competitions taking place outside the FIFA international window, only a handful of veterans are available, forcing Filipinas coach Mark Torcaso to tap several youngsters.

Olivia McDaniel and Inna Palacios, midfielder Quinley Quezada and forward Chandler McDaniel are there to provide the experience to the youth-laden squad tasked with bringing back the crown the Filipinas famously won at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in 2022.

Isabella Pasion, 19, and Alex Carpio, 22, headline the young guns in Mr. Torcaso’s Final 23 that’s up for battles against Timor Leste, the Australian Under-23 team and Myanmar in Group B action.

The girls expressed readiness to take on the tough challenge without their big sisters from the FIFA World Cup group.

“We may not have many familiar faces but I think all of the girls on this team are very capable of bringing the same fire, no matter who’s wearing the jersey,” said Ms. Carpio during the send-off hosted by the Philippine Football Federation on Saturday night.

“We got a lot of young players here, a lot of new players who haven’t been in camp before. It’s a good chance for us to test them, see where they’re at,” said Mr. Torcaso, who elevated seven members of the youth team for this back-to-back bid.

“We’re going with the intention to win because we want to defend the title. But also we have to consider we have a lot of young players whom we want to give the opportunity to play at senior level in preparation for the Asian Cup (next year).”

The Filipinas arrived in Vietnam on Sunday ahead of their opening match against Timor Leste on Thursday at the VieTri Stadium on Phu Tho. — Olmin Leyba