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Almost two months after its glorious 2022 AFF Women’s Championship campaign, the Philippine Women’s National Football Team is raring to go once again to prepare for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Coach Alen Stajcic will see his players take on New Zealand, ranked 22 in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings. This will be another test for the Filipinas as they strive to be one of the best international teams in the world.
Nicknamed the ‘Football Ferns’, New Zealand is the highest-ranked nation the Philippines will face since going up against South Korea, ranked 18 in the world, in the semi-finals of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
“They have been going to every World Cup and Olympic Games for the last 10 years; have a lot of players with over a hundred caps; and are very competitive against tough nations in the world,” said Stajcic.
“I don’t think they got to the point yet where they can beat top 10 nations consistently. But they are certainly someone who gives everyone a hard game, and that’s why they are ranked so highly.
“For us, it will be a massive challenge. As I’ve said they’ve been much longer as a national team… Players playing all over the world in New Zealand, in Australia, but plenty playing in Europe, in America as well in the NWSL,” he continued.
Twenty-seven players find themselves named to the team. There will be four newcomers, while Chandler McDaniel is returning after suffering an ACL tear during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
Stajcic is in a unique position because some of his players have contracts with foreign clubs, but a good number do not. Meanwhile, the country’s domestic league for women’s football – the PFF Women’s League – is yet to return.
Nevertheless, the former Central Coast Mariners mentor is happy to play with the cards he has been dealt with.
“We have been together for about a week,” said the 48-year-old. “Every time we’re not together, they got individual programs they need to be doing if they are not in a professional club, so the condition is good. It’s been very hard here.
“Training’s been very tough, and the two friendly games we [have] played have been grueling in tough conditions. But, as I have said, that’s all training and preparation. That’s all very important. That will be a good start when we play against a team like New Zealand,” he continued.
“Some of the teams played at the AFF are ranked in the 30s and 40s and ranked above us. But as I’ve said, this is now the highest-ranked team we played since we played Australia and South Korea in the Asian Cup. It is a team that has been in every Olympics seen in the last 10 to 15 years, so it will be a good match-up for us, for sure.”
By all accounts, the game against New Zealand is merely a friendly. However, Stajcic wants his players to take it very seriously and go for the win.
After three historic international tournaments, the Filipinas need to maintain their upward trajectory.
“Certainly, within each game, we tweaked our tactics to suit the opponent, and we’ll do that again against New Zealand,” said Stajcic. “Not every game is the same and not every opponent is the same, and again on top of all those other things, we’ll be playing on a day that will probably be somewhere around about 35 degrees when we kick-off.
“We must be smart and play with our strengths and see if we can exploit any vulnerabilities that might be in the opposition.”
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