TEHRAN (Tasnim) The Philippines womens futsal team head coach Rafael Rodriguez says that Iran is the best team in Asia.

The Philippines will certainly aim to give the Central Asians a stiff test as it continues to prepare for the inaugural FIFA Futsal Womens World Cup 2025 in November, which it has automatically qualified for as host.

While Rodriguez believes preparations have gone well, he acknowledged that Iran will pose a tough challenge, especially with key striker Katrina Guillou scorer of four of their 10 Qualifiers goals sidelined.

Its a big challenge for us theyre the best team in Asia, said Rodriguez. Were going to learn a lot from that match. We know it will be very difficult, but were approaching it with great enthusiasm.

We have tried to train as much as possible in the Philippines over the past month, although players have been joining gradually over the last few weeks. We played two friendly matches in the Philippines, and the rest of our preparation took place in China.

I don't think there's any one key player but its true that Katrina, who couldnt be with us, brought a lot of experience. She's also a player with a knack for scoring goals, the Spaniard said.