AUCKLAND, New Zealand – The Filipinas went through a lot of retooling over the past 18 months since their AFC Women’s Asian Cup campaign in 2022 that earned them a spot in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Even in the months before the World Cup, the Filipinas continued their pursuit to put the best players possible, calling up more players in the pool, the most major one being defender Angela Beard, who had three international matches with Australia before moving to the Philippines.
Alicia Barker was also one of the more recent call-ups for the Filipinas, even earning a starting role for head coach Alen Stajcic’s team in the World Cup.

Even with the additions, cohesion within the Filipinas has not been an issue as shown with their performance in the World Cup.
“I think the best thing about all the new additions that we’ve had is they all come going to fight and give their all for the flag and for their teammates and that’s all you can ask for when you have people stepping into the new environment,” said Filipinas defender Jessika Cowart.
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Cowart was once in the position of the new players when she entered the Filipinas pool during the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship. But the former University of Washington standout made an immediate impact with the team on defense and even scoring a goal during the final against Thailand.
The same can be said of the new additions.
“I think everyone that has come in has adapted amazingly and they’re open-minded and I think that’s what made us so successful. That’s why Anj and everyone in general has made this experience so great over the last 18 months,” said Cowart.
With Beard, Barker, and the few other newcomers joining forces with the holdovers, the Filipinas have put themselves within a victory of a place in the round-of-16 heading into Sunday’s all-important match against Norway.
“I think the fact that we all come to fight for one collective thing is the reason that it’s been working out so well,” said Cowart.
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