Philippine Women’s Football Team Looks Forward to Next Match After FIFA World Cup Loss
The Philippine women’s football team remains optimistic despite their defeat against Switzerland in their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup match. The team believes that anything can happen as they prepare to face New Zealand in their upcoming match.
Goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel expressed the team’s confidence, stating, “We’re so confident in what we do and [we’re confident that] we can win the next one and keep going from here.” The players remain unwavering in their belief, even three days after the tournament began with New Zealand’s surprising victory over Norway, which was considered one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Women’s World Cup.
The Philippines, who lost their debut match against Switzerland 2-0, now considers their next game against New Zealand to be crucial for both teams. The team hopes to produce a positive result, either through a draw or a stunning victory, which would leave their supporters ecstatic. On the other hand, a win for New Zealand could secure their place in the knockout stages.
Katrina Guillou, who had a goal disallowed due to an offside call, stated, “We’ll definitely look at getting into the scoreboard this time.” Despite the loss, the team believes they showed promise in their performance, comparable to other surprising results in the tournament, such as Canada being held to a scoreless tie by Nigeria and the United States defeating the Philippines’ fellow Southeast Asian side, Vietnam, 3-0.
According to coach Alen Stajcic, the Philippines has narrowed the gap between them and more established teams in a short amount of time. He said, “I’m proud to say that we bridged the gap of 20, 30, 40 years in just 18 months. That’s the length of time this team has been treated like a professional team.”
The team will continue their preparations with a training session on Sunday before traveling to Wellington on Monday. McDaniel emphasized that their loss to Switzerland will not discourage them moving forward. Stajcic views their upcoming match against New Zealand as an opportunity to start fresh, no longer being considered the underdogs. He remarked, “Next game will be a different ballgame. It starts at nil-all again.”
