The Philippine women's national football team celebrates a goal against the United Arab Emirates in a friendly in Dubai, April 4, 2025. PFF-PWNFT

MANILA -- The Philippine women's national football team clobbered the United Arab Emirates, 4-1, in a friendly held at the UAE Football Association Headquarters early Saturday morning (Manila time).

Three different players got on the board for the Filipinas, with skipper Hali Long opening the scoring just eight minutes in with a header off a free kick.

Chandler McDaniel doubled the lead in the 19th minute before Meryll Serrano added a third just a minute after the half hour mark.

McDaniel made it 4-0 just two minutes after Serrano scored, sending the Filipinas into the break with a commanding lead.

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Head coach Mark Torcaso shuffled his lineup in the second half, handing debuts to University of North Florida's Pagie McSwigan and Kent State University's Aliana Weibel. 

A late goal by UAE denied Olivia McDaniel a clean sheet but Torcaso was still pleased with the Filipinas' display against a team ranked 112th by FIFA.

"That we were able to implement the playing style was very important to us," the coach said. "This was our first official international match of the year, so it was important for us to score goals, but also to build the playing style."

"All four of our goals were scored with the way we want to play, so now it's about building that into the next game, the next window, and then the Asian Cup qualifiers," Torcaso added.

The Filipinas will play UAE again on April 8, and Torcaso anticipates that his game "will be harder."

"Now, they know how we play," he said. "But it's important for us to have that challenge."

The camp is part of the Philippine team's preparation for a slew of tournaments this year, including the MSIG Serenity Cup, the Asian Cup qualifiers, and the Southeast Asian Games.