Philippines to Make First-Ever Appearance at FIFA Women’s World Cup
Kickoff is 1 p.m., Manila time.
The Philippines is formally set to make history when it plays its first match in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup against Switzerland on Friday in Dunedin, New Zealand.
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup: Filipinas vs Switzerland
The Filipinas battle the Nati (Switzerland's national football team) at 5 p.m. (1 p.m. Philippine standard time) at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in their first World Cup appearance, which they earned after reaching the semifinals of the 2022 AFF Women's Asian Cup.
But the Filipinas are not just contented to just make history by playing in the World Cup. In fact, the team is determined to win despite being tagged as an overwhelming underdog by pundits which they embrace.
Coming into the match, the Filipinas are ranked No. 46 in the world, far behind the Swiss booters who are 20th in the FIFA rankings.
"We want to win," said Filipinas co-captain Hali Long. "Obviously, we are the underdog coming in. But I would say Switzerland can be in that same category.
"But being a Filipino in any sport, I would say you are the underdog. But that's kinda where we thrive," Long added.
Head coach Alen Stajcic also thinks that the team is capable of pulling off surprises with their lengthy preparations that began shortly after their successful campaign in the Asian Cup.
"We've really hit full throttle in terms of experiencing different teams around the globe, different styles of football, different cultures. I know we've given the players every opportunity to develop, to grow, to improve as individuals, as a group. I know the coaching staff [has] given everything that they could possibly give to the playing group to hopefully accelerate their learning and growth," said the Australian coach.
"We've got to fast-track all that development into a year and a half and it's tough. But I know we go to the starting line in every game thinking we can win and believing we can win. Now that we've done everything, we can prepare to be confident in that way and have that belief," said Stajcic.
Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic and Ramona Bachmann are two of the players that the Filipinas will definitely keep an eye on. Crnogorcevic, who also plays for FC Barcelona, has the most international appearances or caps and most international goals by any Swiss player in history, with Bachmann, the Paris Saint-Germain striker, not far behind in those categories.
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