MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine women’s football team begins the road to a potential second straight Fifa World Cup appearance when it takes on Saudi Arabia in the opener of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers on Sunday in Cambodia.

Coach Mark Torcaso’s squad will look to hurdle the newly-formed Saudi squad in the 5 p.m. match at National Sports Complex of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. The Filipinas will need to top Group G to reach the Asian Cup slated March 2026 in Australia.

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Also in the group are host Cambodia and Hong Kong, which the Filipinas are going to face on July 2 and 5, respectively.

It will only be the first major competition for the Philippines since the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2023 before settling on friendlies and the departure of Jeff Cheng as team manager last year.

But the Filipinas are eager to launch their World Cup bid, even without their familiar players up front in Sarina Bolden and Katrina Guillou.

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Hali Long, Olivia McDaniel, Quinley Quezada, Sara Eggesvik, Jaclyn Sawicki, Jessika Cowart, Sofia Wunsch, Janae DeFazio, Alexa Pino and Angela Beard lead the squad for the competition.

Also part of the squad are Gabrielle Baker, Nina Meollo, Inna Palacios, Malea Cesar, Rhea Chan, Katana Norman, Kaya Hawkinson, Charisa Lemoran, Isabella Pasion, Ava Villapando, Carleigh Frilles, Nina Mathelus, Meryll Serrano, Dionesa Tolentin and Chayse Ying.

The Filipinas appeared in their first World Cup in 2023 after their road began in the Asian Cup Qualifiers in 2021 with wins over Hong Kong and Nepal in Uzbekistan.