MANILA – The national women’s football team is set to kick off their historic campaign in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. They face Switzerland this afternoon at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand.
According to Filipinas head coach Alen Stajcic, it was a special moment for the Philippine squad as this is the country’s first time to qualify and compete in the football’s world stage.
“I’m really proud of everyone for their collective effort,” Stajcic said in an interview with ABS-CBN News. “Now, it’s time to go to the biggest women’s sporting event in the world and try to do the best that we can.”
“It really is a magical moment for the country, and we hope that everyone is proud of the fight that we’re going to show in those games,” he added.
After the Switzerland game at 1 pm today, Filipinas next faces host New Zealand on July 25 at 1:30 p.m. (Philippine time) in Wellington; and against Norway on July 30 at 3 p.m. (Philippine time) in Auckland.
Matches of the Filipinas can be seen live via Cignal TV’s newest sports application Pilipinas Live and will also be shown live on free television via One Sports channel.
Filipinas team co-captains Tahnai Annis and Hali Long both admitted they will come in as massive underdogs in the World Cup but vowed that they will do their best to represent the country well in their matches.
“Well, we are definitely a rookie team in terms of playing in our first World Cup,” Annis said. “But this group has been around for a good amount of time. We have a core group of veterans who have been leading the way.”
“It’s all about the little details now. We have done all of our fine-tuning, but it’s finally time to prove and show what we are made of,” said Long, the team’s most-capped member with 74 appearances.
The national team are in a hotel in Aukland on Thursday when a shooting incident occured near the area but the team assured that they were unaffected of the incident that killed three people.
“All members of the Philippine Women’s National Team delegation at the FIFA Women’s World Cup are safe inside Movenpick Hotel Auckland,” the Philippine Football Federation said in a statement./PN
