The Philippine national women’s football team might be facing more experienced sides in the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Cup qualifiers in Bangladesh this week, but the Malditas are most wary of one team in the group.
“Our toughest opponent will be Thailand,” Malditas coach Ernie Nierras said. “They’ve always had a strong team.”
A traditional powerhouse in Southeast Asia, Thailand holds the highest world ranking in the bracket at 29th, besting that of Iran (52nd), Philippines (83rd) and Bangladesh (108th) in Group B of the competition.
Despite that, Nierras believes that the Malditas are capable of scoring an upset against Thailand.
“Back in 2005 we dominated them during the SEAG (Southeast Asian Games), but we could not score a goal. From 2007-2011 they dominated us. I believe we’ve improved a lot over the past 2 years,” Nierras said. “Do not be surprised if the Malditas prove all our critics wrong.”
The Malditas will open their campaign in the Asian Women’s Cup qualifiers against Iran on Tuesday. They will next face Thailand on Thursday and host Bangladesh on Saturday.
The winner of the group will advance to the Asian Women’s Cup proper next year, which serves as a qualifier for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Thailand have to be respected but they can be beaten. There are rumours that their top players are recovering from injuries. If Thailand does not respect the Malditas they could be down 2 goals by half time. It could be the most important game in Phil football history. A win would make them strong candidates to qualify for the World Cup. Laban.
ReplyDelete