WELLINGTON — Katrina Guillou is excited about the prospect of the Philippine Women’s National Football Team putting up a good show against the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup host New Zealand at the Wellington Regional Stadium here.
Guillou and the rest of the Filipinas have already put their two-goal loss to Switzerland last Friday behind them and are looking to not only get their Group A campaign back on track but also upset the Football Ferns on their home soil.
“As for the first game, it is what it is, but it is a short turnaround, and we have to prepare for the next one. We kind of just set the mentality where we move on, and we look forward to the next game,” said the University of North Carolina Wilmington alumna.
“We know it’s going to be a difficult one, but I think all of us will rise to the occasion, and tomorrow will be nothing less.”
Tuesday’s match won’t be the first time the Philippines and New Zealand have faced each other. The two nations went head-to-head in an international friendly last year in the USA, which saw the Filipinas lose 2-1, with Sarina Bolden scoring the team’s goal.
The circumstances could not be more different this time around. The Filipinas are targeting survival in their World Cup campaign, while the Football Ferns seek to secure a ticket to the knockouts.
With so much at stake, Guillou assured that the Filipinas have done everything to cover all bases.
“Yeah, we’ve done extensive research on how they’ve been playing, but when we last played them, it was almost a year ago, and a lot of the personnel has changed both on their side and ours. So it’s a lot of factors to consider, but we’ve been looking at all the possibilities and how we can best win the game,” said the 29-year-old forward.
“I think we showed in spots throughout the (Switzerland) game, not even just with the offside goal, that we are a threat in the opposition’s box. We were able to move and pick them apart throughout the game. So that’s just something you need to take, and the confidence from that knowing that we can compete with the teams that are here.”
The Football Ferns are coming off a memorable 1-0 victory over Norway last Thursday. It was the country’s maiden victory in the World Cup, and over 40,000 supporters witnessed it at the Wellington Regional Stadium.
Without a doubt, the host nation and its supporters are looking forward to another victory after 90 minutes of action. Guillou and her teammates can expect to face an intimidating atmosphere tomorrow night as they try to force an upset.
“We just, like you said, do need to tune it out. We know that it is an important match at hand, and we need to be a hundred percent focused to be able to put our best foot forward and give us the best possible chance to win the game,” she said.
