July 4 ------ THE Philippines begins its campaign in the 2022 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship on Monday night when it faces Australia at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The teams square off once again at 7 p.m., six months after Australia defeated the Philippines, 4-0, in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
For this tournament though, the Matildas will be featuring their Under-23 squad for the competition with only one player in defender Charlotte Grant returning from the Asian Cup. PWNT coach Alen Stajcic still sees the fixture as challenging with the progress of Australia football in recent years. Stajcic was also once a coach of the Matildas during the 2015 Women’s World Cup. “Australia probably got a lot more depth than most of the countries in Southeast Asia. They’ve been ranked in the top ten for the last 10 years or so. They are there for a reason, being one of the stronger nations in the region,” said Stajcic during the pre-match press conference.
Alen Stajcic expects a tough match even as the Filipinas face a younger Aussie squad. “No doubt they are probably still the favorite for this tournament regardless of who they’ve brought, whether they are Under-23 or 24 or 22, it doesn’t matter. Most of the players in Australia national team debuted at 16 or 17 anyway. "Age isn’t the issue, it’s quality of the pitch. And I’ve seen a lot of those kids grow up including some of the 16 year olds that are now in the squad. Some of the 16 year olds they have in the squad are as good as any kid that have come before them,” said Stajcic, noting Daniela Galic and Alexa Apostolakis are the players to watch.
Australia head coach Melissa Andreatta said the progress of the Filipinas under Stajcic will definitely make the match competitive. “The Philippines is the team that is continuing to build. With that group of players, we look forward to again a highly-competitive, tactical game. I think on the day, it’s going to be the team that competes the most and sticks to the game plan and converts their chances take the win,” said Andreatta.
All matches of the Filipinas will be aired on ONE Sports. Tickets are available at SM Tickets.
Source: spin.ph
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