Philippines' coach upbeat on AFF Women’s Futsal Championships campaign

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Football Federation unveiled the lineup for the Philippine women’s futsal national team that will be competing in the upcoming Asean Football Federation Women’s Futsal Championship, which will be held from November 16-21 at the PhilSports Arena.

Named to the squad are Mykaella Abeto, Samantha Hughes, Kayla Santiago, Vrendelle Nuera, Cathrine Graversen, Princess Cristobas, Lanie Ortillo, Claire Lubetania, Agot Danton, Jada Bicierro, Althea Rebosura, Hazel Lustan, Louraine Evangelista, Alisha del Ocampo, Isabella Bandoja and Angelica Teves.

The nationals are coached by futsal coaching legend Vic Hermans, who has been with the squad since 2022.

Regarding the squad and not wanting to give anything away, Hermans said that players were selected based on their ability to quickly transition from defense to offense and vice versa. 

“Everybody starts from a certain formation and they bring their own skills to the team. In futsal, they must be adept at defending and attacking,” said the Dutchman. “The last three years have been exciting for me as we discovered a lot of talent that we brought together for this competition.”

The AFF Women’s Futsal Championship features top-rated squads from Southeast Asia in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar. And Hermans made no bones about the mountains to climb for the Philippine team. “We have four strong opponents, but in spite of that, we hope to make it to the finals.”

Despite the challenges, Hermans is confident about the Philippine team’s showing: “I am 100% in my belief of a good showing by our national team in this tournament.”