Filipinas near fighting form
‘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.’
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‘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.’
The national women's football team is peaking just in time for the opening of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on 20 July in Australia and New Zealand.
Filipinas head coach Alen Stajcic said he is happy to see everybody working hard to make sure that they will be at their best when they open their World Cup campaign against Switzerland on 21 July at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand.
After the Swiss, the Filipinas will confront the Kiwis at the Wellington regional Stadium on 25 July before facing the Norwegians on 30 July at Eden Park 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 21 July," Stajcic, who used to handle the Australian national squad, said.
"Again, it's not just about these 23 players. It's about this amazing staff that has followed us around, amazing support from various people behind the scene and all the players."
Stajcic said he is proud of the effort the players are putting in to come up with an impressive performance in the world's biggest football spectacle.
"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," he said.
"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."
The Filipinas, who will be playing an unofficial friendly match against No. 3 Sweden on 17 July and will field a 23-woman squad in the World Cup bannered by skippers Tahnai Annis and Hali Long.
Stajcic said they focused on all of the teams in the group as they need to get past them to get the top two spots to enter the knockout stages.
"It's really exciting to be in the final period of our preparations. We have a friendly match in New Zealand that I'm focusing on and all the details that goes into each game are really important," Stajcic said.
"At the moment, I'm not really focusing on Switzerland, but focusing 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 finetune the aspects of our games so by the time we play our first game, we'll be in our best form."
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