The Philippine U14 Girls Team will play a historic finals match tonight after winning the semi-finals against Myanmar yesterday in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U14 Girls Regional Championships for Southeast Asia. Kick off is at 7:30 PM PST at the Thong Nhat Stadium, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
Entering the tournament as presumptive underdogs, the country’s youngest female football team has emerged as the top contenders to face powerhouse Thailand that beat Myanmar 5-0 in the group stage and Vietnam 2-0 in the semi-finals.
“Thailand is a strong team but every team has its weakness, we are working on their weakness to get this championship,” said Head Coach Let Dimzon. “To all who supported and believed that we can make it to the finals, thank you. To all the parents who gave their support to the coaches, from the camp until today, this is for you. We’ve gone this far and we will finish this campaign with the best result to make our nation proud,” she added.
According to the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), this is a first for any age-group national team in an international tournament, and is therefore a historic achievement in Philippine football.
PFF Officials are hopeful for the team’s victory and are enjoining fellow Filipinos to support them in this important match.
“It’s a great achievement for our girls to be in the finals. We should be elated and proud of what they’ve achieved. Let’s pray for their success in the finals,” said PFF President Mariano Araneta.
“We wish the team good luck in the finals. We know they will give their best in the game. We should all pray for their win. Our coaches prepared them to play smart football and win,” said PFF General Secretary Atty. Edwin Gastanes.
The Philippines is one of seven nations participating in this year’s tournament, together with Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Singapore. Vietnam was last year’s Champions and were beaten by the Philippine squad 1-0 in the group stage this year.
A complete roster of the team is available here.
