Asian football

PH football targets podium finish in AFF Women’s Championship

Juro Morilla

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

PH football targets podium finish in AFF Women’s Championship

ROUSING START. The Philippine women's football team eyes a victorious opener in the AFF Women's Championship.

Philippine Football Federation

‘As much as development is important, we want to be a winning team,’ says Philippine women’s football team head coach Alen Stajcic

MANILA, Philippines – National women’s football coach Alen Stajcic wants the team to have a winning mentality when the Philippines kicks off its campaign in the AFF Women’s Championship.

The Filipinas, who placed fourth in the 2019 edition of the tournament, will open their campaign versus Australia on Monday, July 4 at 7 pm at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

“Look, we’ll be aiming for a medal as well,” said Stajcic.

“As much as development is important, we want to be a winning team and have a winning mentality, so trying to get to that podium is definitely a massive priority.”

After the Australia duel, the Philippines will see action every other day, with matches against Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand lined up. 

The Filipina booters look to finish on top of Group A or at least capture the second spot in order to advance to the semifinal round.

Playing in Group B are 2019 champion Vietnam, 2019 third-placer Myanmar, Laos, Timor Leste, and Cambodia.

“There’s a lot of different aspects to the tournament that make it really exciting. One, wanting to win the tournament and winning a medal, which I believe we haven’t done before,” said Stajcic, noting the country’s medal drought in the regional tournament.

Although on board for only seven months, Stajcic has already guided the Philippines to a number of outstanding achievements.

The Australian mentor started his stint with the Filipina booters with a successful AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 campaign as they nailed a historic berth in the FIFA World Cup 2023. The team then followed it up with a bronze-medal finish in the 2021 Southeast Asian Games. 

These accomplishments catapulted the Philippines to a world No. 53 ranking – its highest ever FIFA ranking – but Stajcic seeks to attain more feats with the team.  

“There’s a lot of room for improvement in our game and we’re working hard at training every single time and with video sessions and all kinds of different methods of ensuring that everyone gets up to speed with becoming the best team we can be,” he said.  

Stajcic added that he is happy with the team’s progression, and likewise thrilled that the Philippines will will have home-court advantage as host. 

“It’s been a very historic and meteoric sort of rise last seven months with this team,” he said. “So now to play on home soil, and hopefully feel a little bit of that home support, and you know keep progressing along the pathway that we have been in the last few months is really exciting.”

“So we can’t wait to see a full stadium of Filipinos and Filipinas supporting the team and hopefully get us over the line in what is a really tough group,” said Stajcic.

“There’s no doubt that we’re in the tougher section of the tournament, so we’re really looking forward to the challenge and again excited to be playing for the home crowd.” – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!