MANILA – Host Australia is looking forward to its opening game against the Philippines in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asia Cup next year.

The world's No. 15 Australia and the Philippines, ranked 41st, have been drawn in Group A along with South Korea (21) and Iran (68).

“Any draw is tricky in a tournament. We have 12 top teams and it can go either way. Tournament football is on the day and we have to approach each game as it comes," said Australia head coach Joe Montemurro in a news report on the AFC's official website on Wednesday.

“Look, I never like to predict further than the next game. We got the Philippines as the opening game and that's going to be amazing at Perth. We're just looking forward to that one and will take each moment as it comes. We have to take those moments, that is tournament football. We're looking forward to it all," added Montemurro, who served as head coach of Italy's Juventus F.C. Women team from 2021-24.

Also thrilled to meet the Filipinas is player Tameka Yallop.

“I’m excited for the first game. We’ve played Philippines before in Perth. It’s nice to have the draw done and to know who we’re coming up against," said the 34-year-old midfielder.

“We’re in a tournament, so we can’t be too overconfident and it’s not in our nature to do so anyways. There will be a lot of focus on our group stage games and that will be our priority until we crack that, then we move on from there," added Yallop, who plays for Brisbane Roar in the Australian A-League.

The results of the draw made it more difficult for the Philippines to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

“Even before the draw, we knew it was going to be tough whoever we got. It’s going to be exciting to play against the host nation in the first game with a good crowd. Every team will be difficult here, we just need to be ready from our perspective," commented Philippines head coach Mark Torcaso.

“To get out of the group, we have to make sure to stick to our processes as a team and not worry too much about the opponents. If we can do that, I think we can advance," he said.

South Korea's coach Shin Sang-woo described their three opponents in the group as excellent teams.

"I’m really looking forward to the match against Australia. We want to advance as the best team in the group and to do that, we will need to beat Australia which I believe to be possible. We played them in April and that will be a good tool to help us achieve a good result," he said.

Defending champion China, North Korea, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan are in Group B while Japan, which defeated the Philippines for the bronze medal in 2022, is in Group C along with India, Chinese Taipei and Vietnam.

Tournament format calls for the Top 2 teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinal round where they will be joined by the two third placers across the three brackets.

The four semifinalists will earn World Cup berths. The losers in the quarterfinals will move to the play-in round to determine which teams get the two remaining WC slots. (PNA)