MANILA, Philippines – The 9th edition of the Homeless World Cup kicked off last weekend in Paris, France, with 64 countries participating in the tournament.
Before the competition, the teams paraded from Plaza Trocadero to Champs de Mars.
Former French player Emmanuel Petit and Mel Young, President and co-founder of the Homeless World Cup, officially opened the tournament.
France's women's team immediately gave the host country a victory, defeating Paraguay 6-4 in the opening game.
But the French men's team could not duplicate the achievement of their female counterparts, falling to Portugal with a score of 8-5.
Meanwhile, the Philippine team dropped their first game against Slovenia, 6-4.
Coach Rudy del Rosario said that his team may have been too confident at the start of the game.
"Medyo siguro naisip nila na may edad na yung (kalaban nila)," del Rosario said.
"Pero sabi ko sa kanila ang labanan dito ay pantay-pantay, lalo na sa mga European opponents natin," he added.
The Filipinos were able to tie the game twice, at 3-3 and 4-4, but gave up 2 goals in the end that spelled the difference for Slovenia.
"Although naka-recover tayo sa 2nd half... it was a bit too late," del Rosario said afterwards.
"We still have 12 games to go, bukas may 2 games tayo sa group stage. We need to win at least 3 games," he added.
Despite the loss, the Filipinos in Paris still gave the team a warm welcome.
The athletes were delighted as they saw the great support of the Filipinos in the country.
Del Rosario remains confident that the team can bring honor to the Philippines.
"Well last year, naka-panalo tayo ng Host Cup sa Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hopefully, we improve on that," he said. -- Report from Bong Agustinez, ABS-CBN News
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