Filipinas face Wave in San Diego World Cup camp
SAN DIEGO — The Philippine women’s national football team will hold a high-intensity training camp in San Diego, California, this June, facing NWSL contender San Diego Wave on June 4 and NISA side Albion San Diego on June 9 as the Filipinas accelerate preparations for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The camp
By Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO — The Philippine women’s national football team will hold a high-intensity training camp in San Diego, California, this June, facing NWSL contender San Diego Wave on June 4 and NISA side Albion San Diego on June 9 as the Filipinas accelerate preparations for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The camp will include a talent identification program the week before the friendlies, with head coach Mark Torcaso and his staff screening about 50 players selected from more than 150 inquiries from across the United States and beyond.
The ID camp is aimed at under-20 prospects for a future Asian Cup qualifying pool and senior players who could strengthen the current national team panel.
The program continues a recruitment pipeline that has produced Filipinas standouts such as Sarina Bolden, Jael-Marie Guy, Alexa Pino and Ari Markey.
PFF President John Anthony Gutierrez said the federation is fully backing the team’s preparation program.
“PFF is committed not just to bringing the Filipinas to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but to sending them there ready to win games and bring joy to our kababayans — and that means giving Coach Torcaso and this team every resource they need to prepare at the highest possible level,” Gutierrez said. “The San Diego camp is exactly the kind of bold, purposeful preparation this team deserves.”
The camp at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, an Olympic-standard facility that has supported the national team’s development program in recent years, will be the Filipinas’ first assembly since clinching World Cup qualification through the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
The Filipinas booked their return to the World Cup with a 2-0 playoff win over Uzbekistan at the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, securing a second consecutive appearance in the global tournament.
The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be staged in Brazil from June 24 to July 25, 2027, with Brazil becoming the first South American host of the women’s tournament.
The camp follows a landmark six-month stretch in which the Filipinas won gold at the Southeast Asian Games and completed a demanding qualification campaign with distinction.
“Playing the powerhouse San Diego Wave is a great opportunity for a lot of our players who are playing against a top-level NWSL club,” said head coach Mark Torcaso. “It gives them an opportunity to test themselves against one of the best clubs in the USA, but also the potential of other people seeing them in this type of game and the opportunity that this may provide them.”
San Diego Wave will provide a major test for the Filipinas.
The Wave were third in the 2026 NWSL standings as of Friday, May 29, and feature international players including Canada’s Adriana Leon, Brazil’s Ludmila and France’s Kenza Dali.
Filipinas prospect Nya Harrison, whose Philippine citizenship application recently advanced to a congressional hearing, is also on the Wave roster, adding another storyline to the June 4 match.
The June 9 match against Albion San Diego offers a different type of challenge.
Torcaso’s staff intends to use the Albion fixture to emphasize ball retention, attacking transitions and control of the tempo.
Together, the two friendlies are designed to test the Filipinas’ defensive organization and offensive fluency while giving the coaching staff crucial data points for the broader World Cup buildup.
The Filipinas will field a 30-woman roster built around their 2023 World Cup core, including team captain Hali Long, goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel, Angie Beard, Jaclyn Sawicki, Katrina Guillou and Chandler McDaniel.
Rising players from the 2025 SEA Games and 2026 Women’s Asian Cup, including Alexa Pino, Jael-Marie Guy and Ariana Markey, are also in the team.
Returning to the Filipinas are 2023 World Cup defender Reina Bonta, 2025 FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup veteran Inday Tolentin and Katana Norman.
Chardonnay Curran, Camryn Penn, Keira Wagner and Kyra Murphy are the debuting Filipinas in the San Diego friendlies.
Here is the Filipinas’ squad list for the two San Diego friendlies:
GOALKEEPERS
MCDANIEL, Olivia Alexandra
MEOLLO, Nina Andrea
AKER, Gabrielle Lyn
FIELD PLAYERS
PASION, Isabella
SERRANO, Ma. Meryll Krysteen
FRILLES, Carleigh
SAWICKI, Jaclyn Katrina
WUNSCH, Sofia Nicole Harrison
BEARD, Angela Rachael
COWART, Jessika Rebecca
LONG, Hali Moriah (c)
HAWKINSON, Kaya
CARPIO, Alessandrea Casimere
MCDANIEL, Chandler Blue
GUILLOU, Katrina Jacqueline
RAMIREZ, Mary Louise
PINO, Alexa Marie
CURRAN, Jourdyn
OCA, Natalie Rae
OKA, Azumi
CESAR, Malea Louise
NORMAN, Katana Ameorfina
GUY, Jael-Marie
TOLENTIN, Dionesa
BONTA, Reina Gabriela
MARKEY, Ariana Isabella
CURRAN, Chardonnay
PENN, Camryn
WAGNER, Keira
MURPHY, Kyra
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