A NEW milestone has been reached by the Philippines as it progressed to the finals of the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship for the very first time.
And head coach Alen Stajcic isn’t settling for just an appearance in the title match.
See Filipinas reach AFF Women's Championship final with rout of Vietnam
“It’s a massive occasion. We’ve reached three semifinals this year – the Asian Cup which is truly amazing, the SEA Games, a bronze medal, and tonight, we showed that we’ve matured and evolved, beaten, to me, I’m not saying it lightly, a really, really top class team.”
“It shows that we’ve come a long way but I’m greedy and hungry for more,” Stajcic said. “I know this is just a stepping stone. I’ve said that earlier this week. But it’s another stepping stone for the team growing and becoming better and better.”
The Philippines clinched a spot in the finals of the AFF Women’s Championship after a blowout 4-0 win over Vietnam. Longtime followers of Philippines football have not recalled a time that the country defeated Vietnam in any major competition.
They will face Thailand, a team they lost to, 1-0, during the group stage. Stajcic said the final is another chance for the Philippine team to grow as part of the preparations for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
“We reached a new milestone and now, we are looking forward to the final. I really want to see if we can take a little bit of revenge out on Thailand after they beat us the other night,” said Stajcic.

Sarina Bolden had two goals in the match, while skipper Tahnai Annis and Hali Long also added to the Philippines’ total output over Vietnam in a performance that Stajcic described as the “most complete performance” that team have displayed.
“I think everyone who watched the game would have seen what happened. It was probably our most complete performance. I’ve been watching the Philippine women’s team for the last three, four years. That was probably the best game that this team has ever played. That’s a great performance.”
“It’s a landmark in terms of beating probably the best team in Southeast Asia. I still thing they are the best team even though we beat them tonight. It’s still a long way to go. You don’t beat them once and you think you are the best. But tonight, I think we probably deserved the win. And to be honest, we could have beaten them by a few more.”
“It’s a special moment. It’s a historic moment,” said Stajcic.
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