The Philippines Women football team battled to an intense draw match against top-tier American team Chile. Follow for more watch soccer here!
Filipinas Captain Hali Long provided an opening score at the 28th minute to give the Philippine side a much-needed momentum but the team did not sustain it as Chile’s Keefe Navarro pulled an equalizer six minutes from time. This was the first meeting of these women’s soccer team with Chile currently ranked 38 while Philippines is seated in the 53rd rank. These two friendlies against Chile at the Estadio Sausalito in Vina del Mar are part of a World Cup build-up of the Philippine Women’s football team for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand.
On the other side, Chile led by the top-ranked goalkeeper Cristiane Endler is still seeking a World Cup spot through Inter-Confederation play-offs to kicks-off in February. The Filipinas head coach Alen Stajcic expressed the importance of facing tough opponents like Chile.
“Their men’s team have been world class for the last 10 or 12 years, starting with the Marcelo Salas era then obviously that’s followed through to the women’s team so a really amazing football culture,” Stajcic said.
The Filipinas football team is a debutant in the upcoming women’s world cup, so the friendlies that they will play must bring them an experiences and exposures they needed in order to make the team fully prepared for the World with a mindset of qualifying of defeating top-ranked team and qualify to the knockout round despite being a newcomer. Coach Stajcic emphasizes that beating the competitive and world-class culture of a team like Chile is a very vital lesson that Filipinas need to learn.
“You not only have to beat the team, you have to beat that culture as well so you know, it’s going to be a tough challenge for us. Chile, having been to a couple of world cups now, and really improving as a women’s team, so they’re fighting for a world cup playoff in a couple of months so it’s a really important game for both teams,” Stajcic emphasized.
For the team captain Hali Long this exposure will bolster the team’s posture and shape them to top-notch competitions like the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
“Overall, I think we showed a really good performance,” Long said. “It was a really big challenge we had out here against Chile. The environment was great, the team was physical. Great possession on the ball, but I think we really put a good foot forward coming out of the gate, and really proud of the effort we had here tonight,” she added.
Alen Stajcic made this friendly tour and World Cup to build a perfect roster that he will banner next year. This is a stepping stone to where the team is currently heading coming into New Zealand. He currently has 23 Filipinas on the list in Chile including veterans Inna Palacio, Hali Long, Eva Madarang, Tahani Annis, Anicka Castaneda, Camille Rodriguez, and among others.
“It’s just another stepping stone for competing for a World Cup, so we’ve got a long way to go. We have 7 to 8 months left, every game that we play, every time we get together, we just wanna learn (and), get better and improve,” said Filipinas Coach Stajcic.
Exciting games and big wins as you visit 12BET where exclusive promotions await you.
Visit 12BET login and join us to claim exclusive benefits and more.
