Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
Team captain and longtime defender Hali Long marks her 90th cap for the Philippine women’s football team in a loss to Chinese Taipei
MANILA, Philippines – Heading into the international friendly against the “very tough” Chinese Taipei squad, Hali Long had no idea she was on the verge of notching a 90th cap for the Philippine women’s football team.
It was only until 20 seconds before the match that Long was notified by Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso of her incredible milestone with the team.
“Every cap is an honor, I don’t take them for granted — friendly, qualifier — I just set the best example I can for my teammates,” said the 30-year-old center back.
However, the achievement was overshadowed by the Filipinas’ 1-0 loss to the visiting Taiwanese, a team ranked one notch lower at 42nd in the latest FIFA Women’s World Ranking.
Long described the defeat as “unfortunate” since the Filipinas have not played at home after their title-winning run in the AFF Women’s Championship three years ago.
“Tough loss, but we win as a team, we lose as a team, so we’ll cop it as a team, and luckily, it’s just a friendly,” said the team captain.
Despite a “bittersweet” 90th cap, Long is already looking for a quick turnaround as she and the team prepare for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 qualifying tournament.
The Filipinas are bunched in Group G with Hong Kong, Cambodia, and Saudi Arabia — teams which are ranked way below them.
“We don’t take any team lightly, even in our inner squads and our small set of games get really intense so hopefully we could keep the momentum going into Cambodia and make up for this loss,” said Long.
The Filipinas will begin their Asian Cup qualifying campaign on June 29 versus the 156th-ranked Saudi Arabia.
Near-decade service
In 2017, Long recorded a rare hat-trick against Tajikistan and helped the women’s team clinch an appearance in the 2018 edition of the Asian Cup.
Long, who currently plays club football for Kaya FC-Iloilo, continued to make national team selections for multiple major tournaments including the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023.
She was named co-captain for their World Cup campaign and started all three matches against Switzerland, New Zealand, and Norway.
She officially registered her first Philippines senior call-up in 2016 as Long was part of the 20-player team that participated in the AFF Women’s Championship.
Also included in that squad were current Filipinas goalkeeper Inna Palacios and midfielder Sara Castañeda. – Rappler.com
