Philippine Women’s National Team head coach Alen Stajcic was over the moon after the Filipinas, claimed a historic 1-0 win over hosts New Zealand in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ last night at the Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand.
Up against the host team of this year’s World Cup, the Filipinas produced a moment in history when Sarina Bolden’s 24th minute header served as the marginal goal which put the Philippines on the brink of advancing to the knockout stage.
“I don’t know if there’s been a bigger win,” said Stajcic after the match. “Obviously, (Manny) Pacquiao individually, but for team sport, it would have to be one of the best achievements in the history of the country.”
The win also saw the Philippines as the first debutant team to score and win a match in this World Cup.
Stajcic went on to commend everyone in the team that gave their hearts out in the match that led to the maiden World Cup win.
“Yeah, look, it’s pretty raw. It was very emotional out on the pitch, just seeing just about everyone, every staff member, every player crying, and they spilled their tears on me, so if you saw any of that on there, it’s probably theirs, but it was emotional for all of us. It’s unbelievable,” added Stajcic. “To think that we’ve done it in our second match in our first World Cup, and you can’t really appreciate how far we’ve come back from the pack compared to where those countries were in terms of their football history, their culture, their investment in women’s football.”