PHILIPPINES coach Alen Stajcic once again praised the women’s football team after clinching a quarterfinal seat in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup with a blowout victory over Indonesia that moved them closer to a spot in the World Cup next year.
Philippines vs Chinese Taipei Asian Cup
Stajcic said the level of performance of the squad is getting better, despite their first half play which he described as "sloppy." Still, it comes at a perfect time as the Philippines enters the knockout stage for the first time in Asian Cup history.
“The team just keeps raising the bar,” said Stajcic after the Philippines routed Indonesia, 6-0, on Thursday night. “They work every time. They do something new and create a little bit of history. It’s a new ceiling for the team and for the country.”
Stajcic and the team now gears up for perhaps the biggest match of Philippine football thus far as they face Chinese Taipei on Sunday night for a place in the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup. For two players of the squad fondly called as Malditas to fans, the team can still elevate their game into new heights once again.
“I think each game presented a different aspect and different strength of our team. The funny thing is we know that we can do even more,” said Dominique Randle, one of the defenders responsible for the Philippines’ two clean sheets in the group stage, on Friday during media availability. “We are still looking for having one complete game and I think that’s the scary part of how good we can be.
“Each game, we worked on different things. Thailand, we brought a lot of intensity. Australia, people saw the first 45 minutes of how strong we can be defensively. And then last night, we got to see a little bit more of our attack and our possession. But we know from our training and preparation that we can combine all those things together. I think we still have a lot more to show. A lot of people have called us underdogs and written us off but we know how strong we can be so as long as we believe in ourselves and believe in our country,” said the NCAA Division 1 product from University of Southern California.
Jessica Miclat, one of the goal scorers in the rout over Indonesia, also welcomed the new challenges that have been presented to the team, including the label of dark horses in the tournament.
“I think every game we’ve had, we learned from and grown as a team,” said Miclat, who plays club football in Cyprus. “The fact that we haven’t had the close-to-perfect game as a team is a good thing. I think the target on our back now is a complement to the team and how hard we work. Because now, a lot of teams don’t underestimate us anymore because of how hard we work throughout the group stage.”
With the team not shying away from improving and creating new feats, Stajcic hopes for an even better performance against Chinese Taipei.
“The first history was to obviously beating Thailand for the first time. Now we’ve got two matches in the Asian Cup for the first time in history. I believe it’s the record score for us in the Asian Cup [the 6-0 win over Indonesia]. Another bit of history. And I also believe it’s our first time ever in the knockout rounds of the Asian Cup.
“Every time we put in performances like that, playing two and a half games of really good football, you just keep raising the ceiling of expectations. Now I’m really happy for the team and I know back home, the Philippines will really be happy and proud of the team. I really hope that we really create another solid performance,” said Stajcic.
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