MANILA, Philippines — Hosts Philippines will be dealing with a lot of familiarity in their group stage matches in the AFF Women's Championship set to unfurl in July.
In the draw conducted on Saturday, the Philippine women's national football team ended up in Group A with regional foes like Thailand, Indonesia and Australia.
The Filipinas just played Thailand in the recently concluded 31st Southeast Asian Games where they were edged by the latter in the semifinals.
But they also met in the AFC Women's Asian Cup last January, where they also faced Indonesia and Australia.
In the tournament where they qualified for their first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup, the Filipinas eked out wins over Thailand and Indonesia, while also standing their ground against powerhouse Australia.
The team is also coming off of a 37-year drought ending run at the SEA Games where they claimed bronze at the expense of Myanmar who were placed in Group B.
Wrapping up Group A for the competition to be held in Biñan and Imus are Singapore and Malaysia.
In Group B with Myanmar are reigning SEA Games champions Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Cambodia and Laos.
The AFF Women's Championship is one of a couple of tournaments set for the Filipinas in preparation for the World Cup next year.