THE Philippines begins its campaign in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup on Friday night when it clashes with Thailand at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in India.
Pinay booters in Asian Cup
The Filipina booters enter the 5:30 p.m. (8 p.m. Philippine Standard Time) match with a lot of confidence following a three-month training camp in California with new head coach Alen Stajcic, who also brings his knowledge to the national squad after coaching Australia a few years ago.
Making it to the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup is the ultimate goal of the squad with five spots to be contested in the Asian competition competed in by 12 countries. The top two teams in the three groups plus the two best third-placers will qualify in the quarterfinals.
A win over their Southeast Asian neighbors will certainly be a boost into reaching that aim as the Philippine women’s national team has lost to Thailand in 12 previous matches but Stajcic is beaming with confidence about the chances of the squad.
“I think it’s a real 50-50 contest with the way the team has evolved and developed. I see two equal teams. It’s a matter of who will bring their performance on game day,” said Stajcic, who took over the team in October for the Asian Cup.
“Just knowing that we spent that much quality time together as a national team is precious and knowing that how hard it is to get together as a national team makes it even more precious. We will use this and utilize that time effectively. I’m sure in game time, we will see the results,” he added.
Skipper Tahnai Annis, one of the members of the 2018 team that fell one victory short of the World Cup, is also optimistic about the squad.
“I think we have a good amount of core players that are returning from 2018 that have that experience playing in this high level games. We also brought in a lot of new players and young players that we can teach and show them how to be successful in this high level,” said Annis.
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