PATTAYA, Thailand – The Filipinas look for an upset win over Thailand for a place in the gold medal match of the 33rd Southeast Asian Games women’s football tournament at the Chonburi Daikin Stadium.
The Philippines battle the host country on Sunday, 6:30 p.m. local time (7:30 p.m. Manila time).
The Filipinas booked a ticket to the semifinals on the final day of the group stage when they beat Malaysia, 6-0, while also seeing Vietnam defeat Myanmar, 2-0.
READ: Filipinas rout Malaysia to reach SEA Games semis
Thailand breezed through Group A, winning all two matches, while playing one less game due to the withdrawal of Cambodia prior to the tournament.
“We are looking forward to a tough game,” said Filipinas coach Mark Torcaso during the pre-match press conference at the Chonburi Daikin Stadium on Saturday. “We very much respect the Thai national team and we are looking forward to the game.”
The Filipinas reached the semifinals with an interesting mix of veteran players and younger ones with the expansion of their pool in preparation for next year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.
But while the ultimate goal is the Asian Cup, Torcaso hopes for the best finish possible in the SEA Games.
“We are using this tournament to win. We want to win the gold medal. But this is also important for our preparation in the Asian Cup.
“I think we are the youngest team on average and that’s a credit to the young players. We have seen many players over the last few games under the age of 20, play and being excellent in the matches. We will continue to do that on the next two games and build for the future,” Torcaso added.
The other bracket will feature Group A top-seed and reigning champion Vietnam facing Indonesia at 4:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. Manila time) at the IPE Chonburi Stadium located inside the Chonburi Sports School.
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