AFC Women's Asian Cup
Having fallen short against Australia and Korea Republic in two difficult matches, Torcaso hailed his players’ performance in a result that kept alive their hopes of advancing as one of the two best third-placed teams.
#WAC2026 | Group A: IR Iran 0-2 Philippines
“The girls fought really hard today again after the last couple of days, with recovery and obviously the travel still in the bones a little bit since (playing Australia in) Perth,” he said. “I never, ever doubt these girls. These girls are outstanding, their professionalism.
"They are so proud to represent the country, and I did not doubt at all that we could win this game… we truly believe that this group was one of the toughest groups in this competition, and for the girls to continue fighting right into the last game of the fixture… I am extremely proud and I hope everyone from all around the world, all our fans, all the Filipino fans around the world, are proud of the girls as well.”
"They are so proud to represent the country, and I did not doubt at all that we could win this game… we truly believe that this group was one of the toughest groups in this competition, and for the girls to continue fighting right into the last game of the fixture… I am extremely proud and I hope everyone from all around the world, all our fans, all the Filipino fans around the world, are proud of the girls as well.”
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Despite having to await the results from the final round of fixtures from the other groups, Torcaso remained optimistic that the Southeast Asians have done enough to secure their place in the knockout stage, even as he admitted that a larger winning margin would have been more beneficial in an encounter where they had 23 shots, 14 of which were on target.
“We had a lot of chances in the first half that we needed to be a lot more clinical (with) but we are praying and hoping that the two goals are enough so we can get out of the group,” the 44-year-old said.
“I know that the girls have done so much, and they deserve this opportunity again to go to another World Cup. So we just want to get into that final eight, because then we believe we will give ourselves every chance to go again.”
“We had a lot of chances in the first half that we needed to be a lot more clinical (with) but we are praying and hoping that the two goals are enough so we can get out of the group,” the 44-year-old said.
“I know that the girls have done so much, and they deserve this opportunity again to go to another World Cup. So we just want to get into that final eight, because then we believe we will give ourselves every chance to go again.”
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For Marziyeh Jafari, defeat was Iran’s third in as many matches as they were eliminated, leaving the Central Asians still searching for both their first goal and point in tournament history after making their debut in 2022.
Team Melli Banovan did create some good openings throughout the group stage and could not be faulted for lack of effort, which Jafari was encouraged by.
Team Melli Banovan did create some good openings throughout the group stage and could not be faulted for lack of effort, which Jafari was encouraged by.
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“I believe that the game was very nice as both teams competed with each other to get the result because both wanted to qualify,” the 43-year-old said. “We had some opportunities in the first half to score… in the second half, because of some errors, we received (conceded) two goals.
“Our team participated in a great tournament. We had so many young players who were playing for the first time at this level of competition, and we also had some experienced players, I think they have done their best and played very nice football, especially for this game, and they could gain so much good experience against these top teams (that will benefit us in future).”
“Our team participated in a great tournament. We had so many young players who were playing for the first time at this level of competition, and we also had some experienced players, I think they have done their best and played very nice football, especially for this game, and they could gain so much good experience against these top teams (that will benefit us in future).”
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