REST and recovery for the Filipinas are the priorities of coach Alen Stajcic in looking ahead to the crossover semifinals of the 12th Asean Football Federation Women’s Championship on Friday at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
“I think the key is recovery. Probably this is the most brutal international tournament you have for women. Five games in nine days in these conditions is something I have not seen before,” said Stajcic after the hosts suffered a 0-1 loss to Thailand on Tuesday.
Not only did the Thais snap the four-game winning streak of the Filipinas, they also emerged on top of Group A with 13 points while relegating their rivals, who wound up with 12 points, to second place.
The Philippines takes on the winner of Wednesday’s game between defending champion Vietnam and Myanmar.
“To play 450 minutes in just nine days is something I have not seen before in high-level international football and even domestic football. It’s brutal and torturous,” Stajcic stressed. “We saw some players pass out there in the end. It’s an extremely grueling schedule.”
While grateful for finally getting a two-day break before the semis after playing every other day, the Australian tactician thought that this was hardly enough for his charges to recover against their prospective semis foe that played one less match in Group B.
“The fact that Myanmar and Vietnam have one game less and just one tough game against each other puts them in a big advantage. One less game in these conditions is a massive, massive advantage,” Stajcic pointed out.
A defensive miscue resulted in Thai striker Kanyanat Chettabutr scoring the winning header in the 75th minute after the Filipinas created several scoring opportunities but lacked the finishing touch to convert them.
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