Filipinas grouped with defending champion Vietnam in Cambodia SEA Games

The Philippine women's football team will immediately be up for a tough challenge in the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games this May in Phnom Phen, Cambodia.

The Filipinas have been drawn in Group A, where they will go up against no less than three-time defending champion Vietnam, which has won the gold medal each time since since 2017.

Aside from Vietnam, the Philippines will also be bunched with Myanmar, Malaysia, and Indonesia in the group stage. Over at Group B, host Cambodia will be pitted against Thailand, Singapore, and Laos as per the draw held Wednesday afternoon in Cambodia.

The FIlipinas are looking to surpass their bronze medal finish in the previous edition, where they finished second in the group stage behind Vietnam with a 1-0-1 win-draw-loss card. They lost to Thailand in the semifinals before eking out a 2-1 victory against Myanmar in the battle for third to clinch a medal.

Since then, the Filipinas have gotten even better results, particularly in winning the AFF Women's Championship in Manila last July, where they defeated powerhouse Vietnam in the semis and Thailand in the championship round.

The Filipinas, who recently moved up to no. 49 in the world rankings, have also qualified to the 2023 FIFA World Cup for the first time ever in history.

The 2023 SEA Games is slated from May 5 to 17.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News