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Malditas get back into action

September 15, 2021 Theodore P. Jurado 383 views

NINE players from the Philippine Malditas that played in the 30th Southeast Asian Games were called up as they vie for a place in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup through the qualifiers which kicks off on Saturday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Goalkeeper Inna Palacios and defender Hali Long were named as the team captains for the Malditas in the qualifiers, where the country is placed in Group F. Palacios and Long were part of the Philippine squad which finished fourth in the SEA Games along with defenders Chelo Hodges, Tara Shelton and Patricia Tomanon, midfielders Sara Castañeda, Charisa Lemoran and Cam Rodriguez, and forward Alisha del Campo.

A total of 22 players were called up, with former youth national team standouts Arianna LePage and Isabelle Mapanao among the new additions to the squad.

Also making their first appearance with the national team are goalkeeper Olivia Davies McDaniel, midfielders Malea Cesar and Alyssa Ube, and forward Chandler McDaniel.

The Philippines, ranked 68th in the FIFA Rankings, will face Nepal (ranked 101st) on Saturday and Hong Kong (ranked 78th) on September 24 at the JAR Stadium in Tashkent.

Making a return to the Malditas are Tahnai Annis, Jessica Miclat and Ryley Bugay, who were part of the team that competed in the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Jordan.

In preparation for the qualifiers, the team had online training sessions beginning early this year before conducting a month-long training camp in Irvine, California.

The Malditas left for Uzbekistan last Sunday.

Marlon Maro is the head coach, with Michael Agbayani, Jose Maria Aberasturi, Marlon Piñero, Anthony Albao and Rose Ton Bariñan comrising the coaching staff.

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