THE Philippines will finally compete in the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup on Friday armed with a wealth of knowledge from their series of camps and friendlies.
As if it was not enough, the Filipinas had a chance to test their readiness in the world stage when they went up against Sweden in a closed-door match a few days ago in Upper Hutt, New Zealand.
See Tahnai Annis a marked player as Pinays debut in Women’s World Cup
It was an experience that head coach Alen Stajcic said will be valuable for the Filipinas not just in the World Cup but beyond.
“We played a couple of friendlies, another one behind closed doors against a really high-profile nation, and we played Sweden as well,” said Stajcic during the pre-match press conference on Thursday. “During our whole preparation, this World Cup is not about this moment, it’s about growing the team forever.”
In their final stretch of the preparation, the Filipinas lost to Sweden, 5-1, in three, 30-minute periods. Ranked No. 3 in the world, Sweden has a talented roster led by Fridolina Rolfo, who plays for FC Barcelona. Stina Blackstenius, who scored three goals in the unofficial match against the Philippines, recently played her first season with Arsenal. Captains Caroline Seger and Kosovare Asllani have more than 400 caps combined under their belt.
Sweden also defeated United States, 3-0, in the Tokyo Olympics on their way to the silver medal. USA is seeking for a third straight Women’s World Cup crown this year.
“You just can’t beat playing the best the players on the planet,” said Stajcic. “I thought in the last Olympics, Sweden was probably the best football-playing team in the tournament the day they destroyed America. It’s just an amazing performance. And for us to be able to compete against them for 90 minutes, and show every player in our team what the best players look like, what they feel like on the pitch, watching it on TV and you are feeling it yourself, you can’t put a price on the learning that you get in that moment.”
Stajcic expects the Filipinas to apply their learnings for the Switzerland game on Friday.
“Wonderful opposition to play against a beautiful team to watch. But for us, most important, was the unbelievable learning experience. And one that we’ll take into this game (against Switzerland). I’m sure you’ll see a team that had played someone like that and ready to go against a similar type opponent,” said Stajcic.
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