DUNEDIN — Katrina Guillou almost had her dream debut in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup against Switzerland at the Forsyth Barr Stadium here.
The Pitea IF standout managed to put the ball in the back of the net for the Filipinas in the 16th minute, in front of 13,777 fans here, only for it to be ruled out due to offside.
Alen Stajcic’s side then failed to muster another good chance against the La Nati, who took all three points and first place in Group A, courtesy of goals from Ramona Bachmann and Seraina Piubel.
While it cannot be said for certain if Guillou’s goal would have changed the result, it would no doubt have made a difference for the Filipinas in terms of settling down and stamping their authority on the match.
“I think we started off pretty strong. We made things pretty difficult for them. We were popping into spaces and covering a lot of the gaps, so I think that was good,” she said.
“Unfortunately, we let up two goals overall in 90 minutes. I think for a first World Cup and a debutant game, there are a lot of things we can take and look forward to in our next game.”
Not everyone has a chance in their life to compete in the World Cup. As first-timers in the big dance, the Filipinas had to hasten their development over the past year to be able to stand toe-to-toe against their more illustrious counterparts.
The realities of competing in one, though, were laid bare as the Swiss managed to keep the Filipinas at arm’s length in the attacking third and remain steady defensively.
“If you asked some of the teammates, I was ready to maybe cry, shed a tear even during the warm-up just to see how far we’ve come, especially in my journey in 18 months with the team,” said Guillou.
“I think it’s pretty spectacular. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to bring home the win, but we still have two more group stage games, so hopefully, we can pick it up from there.”
Up next for the Filipinas will be a crucial match against host nation New Zealand this Tuesday in Wellington, which may determine whether or not they advance out of Group A.
The Football Ferns will be encouraged by their 1-0 win over Norway and have actually beaten the Philippines 2-1 in an international friendly last year. Despite the odds being stacked against her team, Guillou believes anything is possible.
“Definitely looking to get on the scoreboard for sure this time. It was a close call, but we definitely had some good moments going forward. Maybe tidy up some things in the back. There are always plenty of things we can improve on going into the next game,” she said.
