THE Philippines tries to remain unscathed in its match with Malaysia on Friday night in the continuation of the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
The Filipinas will look to maintain the top spot in Group A in their 7 p.m. fixture after winning the first two matches in impressive fashion. The Pinay booters beat Australia, 1-0, before routing Singapore, 7-0, to take six points and first place in the group.
With their opponent starting out the tournament with two draws, the Philippines looks to be the favorite once again in the match, but head coach Alen Stajcic wants more improvement from the girls as they head towards the later part of the competition.
Stajcic ahead of Filipinas vs Malaysia
“Obviously, it’s important to be on top of the table. It’s where everyone wants to be. We got some good goals while there are parts of the game that we need to improve is on the ball. I thought we were good on the ball. There’s still a lot more work [to do],” said Stajcic.
Stajcic hinted the possibility of rotating the players again for the Malaysia match. In the previous fixture against Singapore, the Filipinas head coach went deep into the line-up with Kaya Hawkinson and Anicka Castaneda being the recipients of the opportunity, scoring goals late in the match.
“It’s very important in a tournament like this that everyone contributes. We got a big squad and it’s important that everyone in the squad contributes to this tournament if we want to come out on top,” said Stajcic.
“I’m pleased that we could rotate a lot of new players in the team and we are going to continue that throughout the week, ensure that everyone gets an opportunity and put their hand up for a spot in the team,” said Stajcic.
Malaysia started the competition with a scoreless draw over Singapore, before getting out of the match against Indonesia with a point after an injury-time goal from Steffi Sarge Kaur to force a 1-1 tie.
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