November 12, 2025

International Break In more ways than one, this is going to be bittersweet. There can be a (happy) problem of having too many away days and too little time to balance things out. I’m not prepared to complain that our club and its teams have punched well above our weights and smashed through glass ceilings. Hence I’m taking a break from travelling and going for neither of the historic group stages proper for the AWCL or the destiny decider that is the ACQ in Hong Kong. Sydney and Malacca were high points of my 2025 trips that have largely revolved around football, and I’m due to travel for a much needed non-football holiday soon. Granted, it will be the last time in at least a year before the WT get to go on to the continental stage again. Over to the likes of Albirex and Still Aerion as they aim to bring greater competitiveness in the league and motivate “the others” to take things just a little more seriously while aiming for a crack at the AWCL and showing that it isn’t just us who provides the highlights and the platform for local talents to aim high. As much as the party will eventually end before the new dawn, our final flourishes in this historic 2025 will be helpful with our rebuilding in 2026 as we look back and look forward to overcoming the blips that ended our hat trick title streak. Battleground: Saigon Thong Nhat Stadium has been a fortress for HCM City last campaign, despite match attendances being 10% of its 14000+ capacity. Being one of the three stadiums spread across the country that regularly host the WNT in its internationals, its inner city location is a short hop away from the international airport to its north. Team Profiles HCM City Ami Takeuchi played against the Vietnamese champions in the last half hour of their 2-0 win by Urawa Reds, and with our newly minted Japanese ace now given a starring role far bigger than the collective defensive effort from packing the midfield, this match would go a long way to decide our progress to the knockout stages. As much as the Vietnamese league seems to be a threadbare affair, with only 6 teams battling for both the championship and dwindling attention, the Vietnamese champions can call upon the services of quite a few experienced internationals who have grown together as a unit in the years when women’s football was still under the radar. With defensive veterans Chuong Thi Kieu and Tran Thi Thu Thao holding the fort admirably with goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh, and long serving captain Tran Thi Thuy Trang still evergreen at 37 years old (with her jersey number 88 to match), the stage is set for all time WNT top scorer Huynh Nhu to add to her 2 goals from last season and add gloss to her glittering career high 69 goals in 116 international matches. Meanwhile, American-born Pakistani WNT captain Maria Khan headlines the foreign contingent in HCM City, with Tunisian international leftback Samia Aouni being another eye-catching addition to the American quartet of Aubrey Goodwill, Sakura Yoshida, Tatiana Mason and Chloe Gorman. While not much is known about the latter four, it is likely that they will play some part in the closing stages while using their most experienced heads to counter the youthful energy that our squad will present in order to stamp their authority in the midfield battle. Stallion Laguna The Philippine outfit qualified via the competitive Women’s Cup, pipping league champions Kaya IloIlo to the valuable slot. With a heavy American influence, both through their imports and also players with Filipina blood who has chosen to represent their ancestral land in elevating their emerging power status within the AFC, this is going to be one of the toughest matches other than Melbourne City The McDaniel sisters Chandler (forward) and Olivia (goalkeeper) have not just excelled on opposite ends of the field, they have even helped influence their younger brother to take his football seriously enough to be called up for the Azkals. Olivia played for the legendary Brazilian club Santos after a brief splitting of ways with her Costa Rica-bound sister after a brief stint in Austria. With the reunion of the globetrotting Californians complete, they return to the Philippines looking to translate their national team form into club action. Kaya Hawkinson is a familiar face to the more senior Lionesses, having scored the first goal in a 7-0 rout of Singapore in the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship. Yet another Californian who has chosen to don Filipina colours, her lethal combination with Chandler McDaniel upfront will be one to watch for our defences. Meanwhile, Texas born Isabella Pasion will be one to watch for the future with 17 caps at the tender age of 19, while Malia Cerdon and Rhea Chan wait patiently for their time in the sun to feature for club and country. Charisa Lemoran is also expected to have some influence in midfield, as one of the rare native Filipino born players who could hold her own against the American influx. Melbourne City It is a testament to how strong the Australian Matildas are as a squad, that Holly McNamara remains City’s most recent call up (and one of only two locally based A League Women players called up for a high profile friendly against England). Also true is when former youth internationals from abroad pitch up in Australia while the best of the locals eventually grow good enough to make the reverse trip to Europe. It won’t be long before attention from abroad falls on young prospects Alexia Apostolakis, Shelby McMahon and Bryleeh Henry, while Laura Hughes and Karly Roestbakken can call upon their European experiences (with Icelandic side Throttur and Norwegian giants Lillestrom respectively) to add an edge despite being just 24. Former Real Betis goalkeeper Malena Mieres would benefit from the guidance of player-coach and A League Women legend Melissa Barbieri