PHILIPPINE women’s football team coach Alen Stajcic said wins are imortant at this time, in friendlies or official matches, as the Filipinas prepare for the Women's World Cup.
The Filipinas blew a one-goal lead as New Zealand won 2-1 in California, a performance that drew some praise considering the 53rd-ranked Pinays took control early against the world No. 22.
See New Zealand overcomes Bolden strike to nip Filipinas in friendly
Stajcic, however, is not satisfied with moral victories this time, noting the Philippines had a chance to take the win.
“We can compete but we have to win,” said Stajcic. “We didn’t win.”
“I’m happy that we competed and I’m happy that we showed we are at this level. But ultimately, we have to find a way to win and I’m never going to be happy with losing.”
The Filipinas gear up for the Women's World Cup.
The Filipinas are preparing for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
The Filipinas, who are training in Irvine, California, went ahead with a Sarina Bolden goal in added time during the first half, but later squandered two goals in the second half.
Stajcic said the match could have gone either way with both squads being equal in possessions and shot on goal.
“I thought overall, it was performance were we matched the team that is ranked considerably higher than us. In another day, that result could go our way. Certainly there are a lot of areas to improve on the ball, with our movement, our execution. Overall, it was a good performance against a strong team, experienced team. In some respect, we were maybe unlucky not to get a point out of it. We could have even had a win,” said Stajcic.
Ultimately, Stajcic said the reason for playing against New Zealand is to determine whether the Philippines can play at a high level.
“We are always reaching high and that’s why we picked an opponent that were over 30 spots in front of us in the rankings, to test where we are and I think we showed that we can compete in that level if we do everything right,” said Stajcic.
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