‘We share blood’: The US-born players leading the Philippines’ World Cup charge

Eighteen of the 23-woman Philippines squad in New Zealand were born in America. But there is no doubt where their soccer loyalties lie

Tahnai Annis still remembers the epiphany she had nearly a decade ago, when she realized that international soccer could be in her future.

Annis was coaching in the United States and she was at a professional combine helping out a friend she had met while playing in Iceland. One of the coaches at the event was Bruno Baltazar, who at the time was an assistant coach for the Philippines men's team. Baltazar suspected that Annis might be Filipino-American, she recalls, and after confirming as much he asked a simple question: Did you know that the Philippines has a women's team?"