Asian football

Filipinas target maiden finals stint vs defending champion Vietnam

Juro Morilla

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

Filipinas target maiden finals stint vs defending champion Vietnam

BIG GOAL. The Philippine women’s football team vies for a historic finish in the regional tournament.

PFF

The Philippine women’s football team aims to pull off an upset against Vietnam in a semifinal showdown between two World Cup-bound squads

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine women’s football coach Alen Stajcic hopes the Filipinas head into the knockout semifinal match all “recovered and healthy.”

After a grueling group stage, the Filipinas need all the sharpness and energy they could muster as they aim for a finals berth against defending champion Vietnam in the AFF Women’s Championship.  

Game time is 8 pm, right after the other semifinal duel between Thailand and Myanmar at 4 pm at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.

“Vietnam and Myanmar have played [in]… an easier group and less games. So Vietnam and Myanmar are certainly the two favorites heading into the semifinals for sure,” said Stajcic.

The Australian coach’s constant lineup shuffle has definitely worked so far as the Philippines went on a four-game winning streak – a best start at a tournament by the team – en route to a second consecutive semifinal appearance.

A narrow 0-1 loss to Thailand in the last game of the group stage ended the Filipinas’ unbeaten stretch, pulling them down to No. 2 and sending them to a semifinal duel against Group B topnotcher Vietnam. 

“To play 450 minutes in nine days is something… I’ve not seen before in international football and even high-level domestic football,” said Stajcic. “It’s brutal, torturous.”

Stajcic chose to retain 19 players from the squad – including strikers Sarina Bolden, Quinley Quezada, goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel, and captain Tahnai Annis – that clinched a historic FIFA World Cup berth in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup earlier this year.

But Stajcic still included new faces in Sara Eggesvik, Jaclyn Sawicki, Kaya Hawkinson, Maya Alcantara, Chantelle Maniti, and Jessika Cowart to provide extra competition for places and build the team depth.

In the Philippines’ last game against Thailand, Stajcic probably had one eye on the semis already as he opted not to start in-form forward Bolden and midfield metronome Annis.

Both players have combined for seven goals already in the tournament and will look for more as they’re expected to return in the starting lineup versus fellow World Cup-bound squad Vietnam.

Their ability to put the ball in the net will be a tremendous boost for the Philippines as Vietnam has yet to concede a goal in the tournament.

Vietnam has shut down Cambodia, Laos, Timor-Leste, and Myanmar in Group B with a staggering +18 goal difference and currently rides a four-game winning run.

Huynh Nhur, Pham Hai Yen, Nguyen Thu Tuyet Dung, and Ngan Thu Van Sur will be the players to watch for Vietnam as they have smashed in 15 of their team’s 18 goals.

Veteran Hali Long, Dominique Randle, and the entire Philippines backline will also have to be flawless to keep the team afloat, but the most crucial hurdle in this game might be cracking the tough Vietnamese defense. – 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!