DUNEDIN — Olivia McDaniel was heroic in front of the goal for the Philippine Women’s National Football Team, but Switzerland proved to be too good in the Filipinas’ debut in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup at the Forsyth Barr Stadium here.
McDaniel made multiple saves throughout the contest to keep Alen Stajcic’s side within touching distance of the La Nati, but the latter eventually became 2-0 winners, thanks to Ramona Bachmann’s 45th-minute spot-kick and Seraina Piubel’s 64th-minute closer.
“It was a whole mix of emotions,” said the 25-year-old shot-stopper. “I mean, we all felt we were buzzing and ready to go. The scoreline did not go our way, but we were ready to go. We can only just bring it up from here, stay true to what we are, and keep going.”
“We get an unfortunate penalty kick. We messed around in the box. Things won’t go our way sometimes, and we just have to keep building off from that. Learn from this time (and) get ready to go for the next one.”
The pressure is on for McDaniel and the rest of the Filipinas. They need to find a way to upset the host nation, New Zealand, which started its campaign with a 1-0 win over Norway last night, to have a chance to advance out of Group A.
Facing the Football Ferns at the Wellington Regional Stadium is a daunting endeavor, but the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship winners will give it a proper go.
“We’re still confident in what we can do. We can win the next one and keep going from here. This won’t fault us going forward. We’ll take this loss,” said the 31st SEA Games bronze medalist.
“We’ll think about what we’ve done wrong, think about what we need to do better, and then just apply it to the next game. We’re confident and ready to win the next one.”
One loss should not mean the end of the Filipinas’ journey in this World Cup. McDaniel and her teammates will no doubt dig deep to get their campaign back on track.
