The Philippine Women’s National Team arrived in Auckland, New Zealand Monday morning brimming with pride ahead of their maiden appearance in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ Australia and New Zealand.
Having wrapped up their month-long training camp in Australia, Filipinas head coach Alen Stajcic is raring to find the right mix of players ahead of the start of the tournament.
“It’s really exciting to be in the final period in our preparations. We have a friendly match in New Zealand that I’m focusing on and all the details that goes into each game is really important,” said Stajcic. “I am focusing more on how we are as a group, focusing on day to day training, traveling, arriving fit and healthy and ensuring that everyone is healthy for our training session and making sure that the time we have are used to fine tune the aspects of our games so by the time we play our first game, we’ll be in our best form.”
The Filipinas will face Sweden in Wellington on 17 July and will serve as the team’s final tune-up match before their group A clash against Switzerland on 21 July in Dunedin, hosts New Zealand on 25 July in Wellington, and Norway on 30 July in Auckland.
“The whole point of the cycle of a World Cup is to be at your peak at the World Cup and I would say that we are at that point now and where we are close to that peak and we have 10 more days to try and reach that peak for July 21,” added Stajcic. “It’s not just about these 23 players, it’s about this amazing staff that have followed us around, amazing support from various people behind the scenes, and all the players.”
The Australian also highlighted how the team have banded together as a formidable unit to represent the Philippines in the world stage.
“I’m really proud of everyone for their collective effort and now it’s time to go to the biggest women’s sporting event in the world and try to do the best that we can,” continued Stajcic. “It really is a magical moment for the country and we hope that everyone is proud of the fight that we’re going to show in those games.”