From this current line-up, I think the following can be called-up for the SEAG... 1. Kaiya Jota 2. Chayse Ying (I actually hope she gets called up for the OQT so we can cap her at least 4 times) 3. Nat Oca 4. Kylie Yap Without those that won't be released by their clubs, I think we'll have our hands full at the SEAG as Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar will most likely have their core (and WWC line-up for Vietnam maybe) line-up since most of them I believe play domestically... BTW, the Women's A-League finishes I think on April 30... so we might have the services of our players playing Down Under... it would be a good warm up to have majority of the squad playing before the WWC...
Reina Bonta made her first appearance and start for renowned Brazilian top flight club Santos FC(which were already in the middle of their season) in a 0-1 loss today. As was expected her technical skills were called upon in this league and country where good technique is a necessity when playing in the top tier. It was also a very physical game with one of the players being carted of to an ambulance after an injury sustained in the field. She did well in her debut playing the entire game at centerback.
If the Aussie players in the A League will be available for the SEA Games that is good to hear. Hopefully Angela Beard would have decided by then whether to commit and switch to the PWNT or stay with the Matildas. She has been regularly included as one of the top XI in the weekly Best XI in that league as a left back and would shore up a weakness in our defence at that position. Regardless the SEA Games would be a good opportunity to provide experience to our younger players and give some of them like Chayse Ying another opportunity to make their case on making the final WWC roster.
Photos and videos of Reina Bonta's debut game in Santos FC provided by her father Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta of California. She looked solid and composed throughout the game getting many touches on the ball from the centerback position and making the right decisions with it. https://www.facebook.com/RobABonta/ "Reina Bonta debuted in front of her Santos FC home fans today! Played a 90 and looked sharp and competitive throughout. She was the only American in the starting lineup with all Brazilian teammates." Fil Am Atty. Rob Bonta is a rising star in Democratic Party politics and is someone to look for in the future in the US political/judicial landscape. He was also a competitive soccer player in college playing varsity at Yale University where many US Presidents and Supreme Court Justices have disproportionately graduated from. Here he is coaching Reina's team in grade school. He is one proud father.
Actually Bonta played left back in a 3 back defensive formation and initiated a few attacks from her position. She looked solid and composed throughout the game getting many touches on the ball and making the right decisions with it while playing left back in a back 3 formation. That is pretty impressive considering she just joined a top flight Brazilian team that was already in midseason form. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1235048117407601 https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2454327201392418
It is amazing how many good defenders were part of the Philippine youth ID camps back in 2013 when they were only 14 y.o. who went on to be really good players and starters on top flight clubs from all over the world including Sam Hiatt(OL Reign in the NWSL US), Jessica Cowart(IFK Kalmar Sweden) and Reina Bonta (Santos FC Brazil). The tallest of the 3, 5'10" Sam Hiatt went on to represent and captain the US U17 and U20 national women's teams but has still not been capped for the senior USWNT and is therefore still eligible to play for the Philippines if she decides to make the switch. We still have a pretty deep potential centerback pool though even without Sam including regular starter and co captain Hali Long(named among the top 11 international players of the week last February by Total Football Analysis), Dominic Randle(who also plays in the top flight in Iceland) and 5'10" Maya Alcantara who was voted by ESPN among the top defenders in the NCAA last year while playing for nationally ranked Georgetown U. Obviously not all these defenders will make the final World Cup roster but the competition is intense as they continue to sign contracts with top flight clubs to help keep them in shape for the WWC in July. With Randle, Cowart, Bonta and potentially Long(who just signed with an agency to help achieve that goal) signing pro contracts abroad with top flight clubs that leaves Alcantara as more of a long shot while she remains largely inactive soccer wise while pursuing her grad degree at Georgetown U. The inclusions of many of these players into the PWNT has helped them sign contracts abroad which is demonstrated by the fact that only 2 or 3 players on the national women's team were playing with clubs abroad back in January 2022 in the Asian Cup when they first qualified for the Women's World Cup which have since then grown to 19 players signed abroad since then many for top flight professional clubs in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Australia and Brazil.
Slight error. Acc. to this article it is more like from initially 4 players to 19 players signing with clubs abroad now in the span of a year most of those in Australia. https://www.rappler.com/sports/football/more-women-philippine-team-sign-international-clubs/ "From just four national team members playing for international clubs a little over a year ago, the PWNFT will now have 19 players attached to commercial clubs in Europe, South America, and Australia." The PWNT has been traveling and playing abroad in practically every continent (except Africa and Antarctica) so they have gained a lot of exposure helping them get contracts signed in various clubs abroad.
I agree about Olivia Chandler's performance. She looked a bit rusty at the Pinatar Cup. Now that backup goaltender Kiara Fontanilla is playing regularly for the Central Coast Mariners in Australia and doing well(named to the Best XI Team of the Week for that club this week a list that includes the club's women's and youth teams), she might start challenging for the top spot (if Olivia continues to underperform). 5'10" Kaiya Jota has a really promising future as our #1 goalkeeper but she is only a 17 y.o. high schooler at the moment so I don't think Coach Staj would consider her as a possible starter in the WWC in July. Kylie's father said that an MRI was taken on her knee yesterday and they are now awaiting results. Hopefully the tests are negative for anything serious. It looked like Kylie, Chayse and the rest of the team were having fun off the field though as they bonded at the U20 qualifiers as demonstrated by a vlog by one of their teammates. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpxGB-QDmIS/
Arrarte proud of Filipinas U20 performances Philippine Women’s Under-20 National Team head coach Nahuel Arrarte believes growing the talent pool through development programs will help the country sustain its progress in international women’s football. Speaking after the Filipinas U20 team’s second place finish in the group phase of AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualification in Vientiane, Laos, Arrarte said the competition “highlighted the importance of making sure that we continue to grow development programs in the Philippines to increase the talent pool.” The team was only formed a few weeks ago and underwent camp for a week in Manila before flying to Laos a week before the first match. Unseeded for the tournament, the Filipinas U20 also ended up in a tough group that included powerhouse China. Still, they finished with four points and delivered encouraging performances particularly in the last two games. “It was a great experience for the players to see what’s required to compete at this level,” said Arrarte. The Australian coach was proud at the way his players responded to the challenge that the competition brought. “This group of players adapted and implemented a fighting spirit that sometimes takes years to achieve,” said Arrarte. “Within two weeks they competed and beat a team that has been together for several months and has a long history of good youth programs.” Arrarte actually serves as an assistant to Philippine Women’s National Team coach Alen Stajcic, who will be leading the Filipinas to a historic FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in New Zealand in July this year. “We don’t want to just compete in tournaments, we want to get to a point where we are winning tournaments, we want to beat higher ranked nations and make youth World Cups,” said Arrarte. With adequate time, a collective approach and support we truly believe it can be achieved.” https://pff.org.ph/2023/03/13/arrarte-proud-of-filipinas-u20-performances/
Injury Update: Kylie's dad has said that unfortunately her MRI test showed a partial MCL/ACL tear so she won't be able to play for awhile including for the SEA Games in May or the U19 AFF Championship in July. Get well soon Kylie and have a speedy recovery!
After her impressive performance in her debut, it seems that Reina Bonta has won the starting position at left back at Santos FC in Brazil. What is notable is that she was the only non Brazilian fielded on the team(which also includes Argentinians, Americans and Spaniards under contract) last week and was chosen ahead of 2 Argentinian national team defenders, Adriana Sachs and Eliana Stabile the latter of which plays the same position at left back.
I'm still looking for a confirmation on that U19 AFF Women's Championship... based on this calendar that I saw... it's not listed... and the AFF just had the U18 Women's Championship last year (with Kylie, Bella, Chantelle)... so I doubt if we will have an AFF Women's U19 this year...
That is the Asian, Olympic and WC schedule. Here is the AFF scheduie: AFF COMPETITIONS CALENDER 2023 The competition board of the Southeast Asian Football Federation (AFF) has announced the provisional schedule of tournaments organized by AFF in 2023. Tournaments to be held in 2023: • AFF U19 Women's Championship : 1-19 July • AFF U16 Girl's Championship : 1-19 August • AFF Women's Championship : 18/9 - 8/10 • AFF Futsal Championship : 2-13/10 • AFF Club Championship : 27/9/2023-15/5/2024 The PFF has announced that the AFF has asked them to host the AFF Women's Championship again later this year and PFF Sec Gen Gastanes mentioned changing the schedule tentatively to late November instead of the one listed above I think to make it easier for our team to call up our pros at the end of their season. You also have to add the SEA Games in May which is administered by the SEAG Olympic organizations and is scheduled outside the FIFA calendar making it likely that most of our pros will not be released therefore necessitating callups from our national youth team players. Because of the cancellations of AFF tournaments during the COVID pandemic, they have been trying to catch up with their schedule to fit the worldwide football calendar so don't be surprised that tournaments are placed ahead of schedule this year and next year. The Thai and Vietnamese FA also wanted to add AFF tournaments at the U15/U16 level(for the boys) but those have not been approved yet. The last men's U15/U16 AFF Championship was in 2022 and is usually held annually.
Reina Bonta at practice (2nd player in the drill). It seems she can speak a bit of Portuguese(which I also noticed from another video) which is probably one of the reasons she was signed in Brazil. Boa! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/ySPbU48orO— Sereias da Vila (@SereiasDaVila) March 16, 2023
I would add starting attacking mid Sabine Ramos and Isabella Pasion to that list. Ramos was our designated free kick specialist same as Tahnai Annis or Sara Eggesvik on the senior team and played the role of attacking mid very well. Her perfectly weighted assist helped Kylie Yap get her header on goal. Pasion's long range goal which she garnered after creating space for herself after eluding a defender on the run was superb.
Jessika Cowart also has been doing well for her top flight club in Sweden IFK Kalmar scoring a goal each for the past 2 games from the centerback position. She has lived up to how IFK Kalmar described her after signing her up: "IFK Kalmar continues to recruit ahead of the 2023 season. Now it is clear that the 23-year-old Filipino WC defender Jessika Cowart is ready for the women's Swedish team, the team writes on its website. Cowart will start the season in IFK Kalmar in the spring and then play in the World Cup for the Philippines later this summer. The 23-year-old will complement Patricia Fischerova in the centre-back lock during the season and is described as a technical and offensive centre-back with an extremely fine understanding of the game."
Thank you for this. I wasn't able to find this schedule, and the AFF website was also of no help. Looking forward to catching our U19 team competing again this year... they have a lot of promise... too bad on Kylie's injury though as she's also one of my favorites... If its any consolation, I think the Women's A-League will have their last game on April 30, the Grand Finals... So barring any injuries, we may have our players from the A-League available... at least hoping we could get Jackie and Sarina... I'm also hoping for a senior team call up for Chayse Ying and she gets to play for all 3 OQT matches... so we can cap her for at least 4 A matches (btw, are the SEAG/AFF matches considered International A matches?) at the senior international level, making her fully capped to the Philippines even if she's below 21...
Reina Bonta is Santos FC's most recent signing but they are already headlining her in articles after her impressive debut. She was the only non Brazilian among the foreign signings from Argentina, Spain and the US to play in the game last week some of whom were national team players from their respective countries. https://www.diariodopeixe.com.br/no...confronto-das-sereias-contra-o-real-brasilia/ Her responses to the interviews should endear her to the fans as she expressed gratitude at the opportunity and confidence they have shown her.
Again Reina is the only non Brazilian in the starting lineup. Only Argentinian national team defender Stabile who also plays left back is listed as a possible sub. The other foreign signings did not make the lineup. Many Brazilian players only go by one name once they gain notoriety on the field. I wonder if Reina will be one of those too. Certainly that is what the commentator called her during the live broadcast last week, just plain Reina(Queen) all game long.
Live telecast of Reina Bonta's game FT Santos FC 4-0 Real Brazilia Reina played the full 90' again at left back and was solid and composed on defence.
Our multi-talented player 23 y.o. Reina Bonta is preparing and securing a spot for the Women's World Cup this year by playing professionally for Santos FC after a year devoted to film making. Last year, Reina said she was busy producing a narrative feature film called “Characters Disappearing”, which centers on the IWK (the less visible Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) counterpart to the Black Panthers and Young Lords who were instrumental to the 1970s Yellow Power Movement), and was primed for production in New York’s Chinatown in November of last year. “As for my own directorial pursuits, I am exploring the concept of expanding “LAHI” into a feature,” she adds. LAHI(race or legacy in Tagalog) was an award winning short feature film(20 minutes) released last year about a Fil Am discovering her Filipina roots in the US(somewhat of an autobiography but with a totally fictional story and characters) which she wants to expand to a full feature. That is probably on hold while she concentrates on her football career.
Reina's highlights from last weekend's games provided by her dad Rob https://www.facebook.com/RobABonta/...StMVgjC5C2rVvG6GyU8DvWCcZ4UZeANMkMq6DYrXUp2Ul
CONVOCADA! 🇵🇭⚪️⚫️A zagueira Reina Bonta irá representar o Santos na #SeleçãoFilipina durante a data FIFA de abril. Os compromissos serão entre os dias 3 a 11 de abril contra o Paquistão, Tajiquistão e Hong Kong. Pra cima delas, minha zagueira! 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/aARS983J4t— Sereias da Vila (@SereiasDaVila) March 20, 2023 Santos FC announces that Reina has been called up for the Olympic qualifiers in April. The interesting thing is that non Brazilian Santos FC players Luciana Ortega(Panama), Adriana Sachs(Argentina), Eliana Stabile(Argentina) was also announced by Santos FC as being called up by their respective national teams for games in April but none of them have been fielded so far by Santos FC. Only Stabile even made the subs list but still haven't played yet as they couldn't beat their Brazilian counterparts in training!
Coach Kleiton Lima evaluated the debut of defender Reina Bonta in the defeat of the Sirens to Ferroviária by 1-0, in Vila Belmiro, for the third round of the Brazilian Championship on Sunday (12). The American was the last reinforcement to be announced by Santos, was regularized in the BID during the week and made her first game with the shirt 22. "Really after a result like this we have few things to rejoice, but we have to score the positives. Our first line was somehow very demanding and within what we worked this week, it had a good assimilation. Little interaction, Reina does not even speak Portuguese and had the difficulty of the language, of the soccer culture in Brazil. Since she arrived we have been talking to her a lot, she had been training and one of the reasons we brought her is because she has this quality with the ball at her feet and in the construction. She's a builder and fast in coverage, she has that sense of coverage and I think for the first game it was a good, decent performance. She can improve a lot with the other teammates and not only with those who will play on her side", analyzed the coach. "Today the option was for Reina and Kaká for being faster defenders. Perhaps with less experience in the group, Tayla and Camila are more experienced. We have Kelly who came with more experience. In addition to Ortega that we did not put in the game and Adriana Sachs because he came in the last practices acting more as a full-back. The choice for the duo was the game model of the opponent who plays from the edges and needed coverage, they are physically faster, "he explained. https://www.diariodopeixe.com.br/no...explica-opcao-pela-zaga-contra-a-ferroviaria/ I like the fact that Coach Lima is encouraging Reina to be creative and move forward and play her game. She is quite comfortable with the ball at her feet and her speed has allowed her to provide good coverage defensively while still being allowed to participate in the buildup offensively.