THE Philippine women’s football team is in high spirits following a lengthy training camp in preparation for the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India.
Pinay booters in Asian Cup
The Pinay booters are eager to put their learnings into action after coming off a three-month camp in Irvine, California under the auspices of new head coach Alen Stajcic, who came in to the team last October.
After making it to the Asian Cup via the qualifiers in Uzbekistan last September, the Philippine team is also out to perform at a high level and hope to claim one of the five spots for Asia in the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand following what is being considered as one of the longest training camps by any Philippine football team.
“I think the coaching staff came in and did a very good job at explaining what they want from us and the goal because we did have such a limited time,” said striker Chandler McDaniel on Tuesday. “Because unlike other teams, we’ve only been with him for two and a half months. But they came in prepared and ready to deal with all the difficulties that we had and I think they did a great job.”
“I think that was enough time for us to learn the playing style that he wants us to play,” said midfielder Anicka Castaneda. “I think we are all on the same page and we all know how he wants us to play.”
McDaniel also said the move to arrive in India several days before their first match on Friday will also help the team for the clash against Southeast Asia neighbor Thailand.
“I think it’s nice that we got to fly out to Thailand a few days early as we did compared to Uzbekistan. It’s helping us a lot to adjust. For a lot of the girls, this is the longest flight they’ve been. For me, it is. With everything that happened and what the coaches have done, I think the preparations are going well,” said McDaniel.
The women’s team is also pooled with Australia and Indonesia in Group B with hopes of making it to the top two or becoming the best third-placers among the squads to reach the knockout rounds.
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