DUSHANBE, Tajikistan – The Philippines hope to sustain their winning ways in the first round of AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Saturday when they clash with host Tajikistan on Matchday 2 in Group E.
Having waylaid Pakistan, 4-0, last Wednesday, the Filipinas hunt for their second win in as many matches against the hosts, who absorbed a 0-3 defeat to Hong Kong to open their campaign.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m. (10 p.m. in the Philippines) at the Hisor Central Stadium just outside capital Dushanbe.
Another victory for the Filipinas puts them on track of topping the group and a spot in the next round, where there will be 12 teams divided into three groups.
Filipinas coach Alen Stajcic expects improvement from his side that is also preparing for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in July.
“We didn’t execute as well as we should have,” said Stajcic, referring to his team’s performance against Pakistan.
The Filipinas have won the last two meetings against the Tajiks, including a 3-1 win in the 2018 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers here.
Co-captain Hali Long who marked her 70th appearance for the national team with a 22nd minute goal against Pakistan admits the expectation for the Filipinas to pick up results and advance to the next round.
“It’s our third time being here and every time we’ve been here we’ve qualified for the next round and I expect nothing less of that to happen this time,” said Long.
Reflecting on her all-time appearance record for the team, Long said she is grateful to be on this journey with the Filipinas.
“It’s nice and I’m grateful to have more caps under my belt, more experience and hopefully I’ve gained maturity and knowledge along the way,” she said.
“Im really grateful to have 70 (caps). I’m enjoying every aspect of it. I’m just trying to play as much as I can and represent as much as I can. It’s just a number to me and it’s always going to be there whether its big or small but it’s exciting and I do hope we celebrate each of those milestones for every player on this team.”