FILIPINAS head coach Alen Stajcic says the team is nearing their peak ahead of their impending debut at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand later this month.
Filipinas arrive in Auckland
Having arrived at their base in Auckland earlier this week, the Aussie mentor is raring to go through the final stages of training.
“It’s really exciting to be in the final period in our preparations. We have a friendly match in New Zealand against Sweden that I’m focusing on and all the details that goes into each game is really important.” said Stajcic.
“At the moment, I’m not really focusing on Switzerland, but focusing on how we are as a group, focusing on day to day training, traveling, arriving fit and healthy and ensuring that everyone is healthy for our training session and making sure that the time we have are used to fine tune the aspects of our games so by the time we play our first game, we’ll be in our best form.”
Their friendly against Sweden will be on July 17, where it will be done in a closed-door set up.
The team recently revealed the 23 players set to suit up for the team in the sport’s biggest stage, along with the three reserves.
Now with the picture slowly coming into view, Stajcic says they are working to turn the Filipinas into the best version of themselves by their opening game against Switzerland on July 21.
“The whole point of the cycle of a World Cup is to be at your peak at the World Cup and I would say that we are at that point now and where we are close to that peak and we have 10 more days to try and reach that peak for July 21.” said Stajcic.
“Again its not just about these 23 players, its about this amazing staff that have followed us around, amazing support from various people behind the scenes and all the players (there’s been more than 30 players that we’ve used in this squad).” he added.
Even before the Filipinas step on the pitch, Stajcic made sure to express his pride in getting the team here and how his players have worked to be in this moment.
“I’m really proud of everyone for their collective effort and now it’s time to go to the biggest women’s sporting event in the world and try to do the best that we can.” said Stajcic.
“It really is a magical moment for the country and we hope that everyone is proud of the fight that we’re going to show in those games.” he added.
After facing Switzerland in the opener in Dunedin, the Filipinas will lock horns with co-hosts New Zealand at Wellington on July 25.
They then wrap the group stage against World No. 12 Norway at Auckland on July 30.
Currently, the Filipinas rank a program-high 46th in the latest edition of the FIFA Women’s World Rankings ahead of the World Cup.
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