Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 8) — The Philippine women’s football team, now known as the Filipinas, are gearing up for a tough battle for the podium in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
Filipinas head coach Alen Stajcic mentioned the host country and regional football giant Thailand as the favorites to win the biennial sports event, which is the Filipina booters’ first tournament since clinching the country’s maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup berth during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup last January.
“For us, it’s gonna be a big match and our chance to test ourselves against the highest-ranked team here. We want to show that we’re competitive against teams who are in that level of the Asian Cup,” Stajcic said in a press conference on Sunday.
The Philippines is grouped with Vietnam and Cambodia in Group A of the tournament. Indonesia was also part of the bracket, but it withdrew from the meet last month.
The Filipinas will open their campaign against Cambodia on Monday, while they will battle fellow World Cup debutante Vietnam on Wednesday. All fixtures will be held at the Cam Pha Stadium in Quang Ninh town.
“We want to show that we are maintaining our growth and improvement. When we play teams like Vietnam, it’s a really good gauge to where our team is at,” Stajcic said.
In the latest FIFA women’s world rankings, Vietnam is the top-ranked Southeast Asian nation at the 32nd spot, Thailand is in 43rd place and Myanmar sits at the 45th spot. The Philippines achieved its highest ranking at world no. 54 after their historic feat in the Asian Cup.
The Australian mentor did not give any target finish for the Filipinas as he sees the biennial tournament as a buildup for their World Cup debut next year.
“We’re a new team. We’re an emerging and developing team. We need to improve a lot to make sure we are competitive for next year’s World Cup. We want to go to the World Cup as a strong team,” Stajcic said.
According to the athletes’ list published by the Philippine Olympic Committee, the core of the Filipinas’ Asian Cup lineup remains with Tahnai Annis, Sarina Bolden, Hali Long, Olivia McDaniel, Quinley Quezada, Eva Madarang, Jessica Miclat, and Dominique Randle leading the squad in the Vietnam SEA Games.
Ryley Bugay, Anicka Castañeda, Malea Cesar, Alisha Del Campo, Isabella Flanigan, Carleigh Frilles, Sofia Harrison, Kaya Hawkinson, Inna Palacios, and Camille Rodriguez also form part of the Filipinas that are seeking to improve from their fourth place finish in 2019.
Australian-born defender Chantelle Maniti and former Canada Under-20 midfielder Jaclyn Sawicki will make their Filipinas debut in the Vietnam SEA Games.
For their SEA Games preparation, the Filipinas trained in Australia and dominated their friendlies against Fiji and Tonga.
