SAN PEDRO DEL PINATAR, Spain – The Philippines sustains its strong buildup to the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Wednesday as it faces higher-ranked Wales at the start of the Pinatar Cup here.
Coach Alen Stajcic’s side will take the field at 8:30 PM (3:30 A.M., Thursday in Manila) with the Filipinas hoping to create an upset against a Welsh side that is preparing for the UEFA Women’s Nations League which starts in September.
All the Filipinas’ matches in the Pinatar Cup will be streamed on the PWNT Facebook page and the PFF Youtube Channel.
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The bulk of the Philippine delegation arrived here last Friday with several Europe-based players also reaching camp in the past couple of days.
The Filipinas will be playing three games in a span of six days as they also face Scotland at 3:00 P.M. on Saturday (10:00 P.M. on Saturday in Manila) and Iceland at 8:30 P.M. on Tuesday (3:30 A.M. on Wednesday in Manila).
Defender Sofia Harrison expects tough competition for the Filipinas, who are grouped with Switzerland, New Zealand and Norway in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in July.
“I think we have definitely tough competition ahead of us,” said the 23-year-old Harrison.
“But I think that these games will definitely show the growth that our team has had in the past few year[s] and even in the past six months or so. These past few days focused on getting our game plan ready. And just focusing on being the best we can against them.”
Entering the tournament as the lowest ranked team – albiet as the only qualified team to the World Cup, the Filipinas have no shortage in motivation.
“I think we’re all hungry and we’re all ready to, you know, fight until the end of each match,” said Harrison. “I think we definitely want to win each game. So, it’s important that we go in with an open mind and a winning mentality each game.”
