Philippines secures favorable draw in AFC Women's Asian Cup

The AFC Women's Asian Cup logo, also revealed for the first time this past weekend.

The draw for the 19th edition of the AFC Women's Asian Cup took place this past weekend at the King Hussein bin Talal Convention Center, which lies along the eastern shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan.

With eight participating nations, the draw split them into two groups of four teams. FIFA rankings were used to determine the pots for which the draw will base the groups from, with the exception of Jordan. The hosts are paired with Japan in the first pot. The second had Australia and China, the third had Thailand and Korea Republic, and the fourth had Vietnam and the Philippines.

The Philippines will be making its return to the competition for the first time since 2003, doing so for the first time through qualifying. They accomplished that feat with a runner-up finish to Jordan in the Qualifiers held earlier this year in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, becoming the first Filipino side to earn participation in a top-tier national team competition in the continent.

The draw proceedings placed the Malditas in Group A, renewing acquaintances with Jordan and Thailand. Completing the quartet is China, the only team in the group ranked in the top 25 of the FIFA rankings.

In contrast, Group B has powerhouses Japan, Australia, and Korea Republic that are all within the top fifteen of the FIFA rankings, with 31st-ranked Vietnam completing that quartet.

The top two teams in each group will advance to the semifinals, and along with the fifth best team in this tournament, will secure access to the FIFA Women's World Cup set to take place in France this 2019.

The schedule for the Group Stage portion of the competition will be as follows:

April 6 Jordan vs Philippines / China vs Thailand
April 7 Japan vs Vietnam / Australia vs Korea Republic
April 9 Philippines vs China PR / Thailand vs Jordan
April 10 Vietnam vs Australia / Korea Republic vs Japan
April 12 Jordan vs China PR / Thailand vs Philippines
April 13 Japan vs Australia / Korea Republic vs Vietnam

The fifth place game between the two third-place teams to determine who secures the last Asian FIFA Women's World Cup slot will take place on April 16. The semifinals will take place the next day, with the winners facing off on April 20 to determine the champion.

Aside from the draw, the AFC also unveiled the tournament's official logo, which captures the female footballer as a superheroine, capturing the strength, agility, intelligence, and bravery in the women's game.

Local reactions to the draw came swiftly, with Technical Manager Ernie Nierras among those fervently praying for this exact grouping to emerge. Recent Corona camp participant Camille Rodriguez expressed excitement with how the draw turned out to be.

Philippine Football Federation President Mariano V. Araneta: "We are happy with the outcome of the draw and look forward to the opportunity to bring honor to our country. We call on all true supporters of Philippine Football to come together to help make the World Cup Qualification a reality. In 2010, the Miracle in Hanoi brought us all together to support the MNT. Now is the time for Women's football to take us to the next level." (Araneta is also directly overseeing the preparations for the Malditas as its overall head)

Co-Captain Patrice Impelido: "I just want to thank my teammates, the coaches and staff, without them we wouldn’t be in this position. Also thanks for all the support from everyone! I’m actually speechless! Thank you God for this draw. I’m excited! Please keep supporting us! LABAN FILIPINAS!"

Co-Captain Inna Palacios: "We see light and hope to make the next round. But again, it's not going to be an easy journey. It never will. Proper preparation is crucial here. We cannot wait!"

In addition, Jordan head coach Michael Dickey believes that the Malditas they faced in the qualifiers will be a dramatically improved side by April. He expects that the hosts will be facing a team that is ready to compete against them.

Meanwhile, Nierras shared that the next stage of preparations for the Malditas will take place on December 27 to January 10 in Corona, California. This camp is expected to include a select group of locally-based players, alongside those who participated in the November identification camp for the overseas-based participants.