When Thai referee Pansa Chaisanit blew the final whistle, she not only called time on the Philippine Women’s National Football Team’s impressive AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 campaign but also one of the most feel-good sports stories in Philippine sports in recent memory.
Despite the 0-2 loss at the hands of South Korea in the semi-finals this Thursday evening, there was an unmistakable sense of pride in how the Filipinas competed throughout the tournament. An unexpected ticket towards the FIFA World Cup 2023 hosted by Australia and New Zealand was booked and along the way football was given a big boost in the country.
(C) AFC
“It was a very tough match,” said Philippines coach Alen Stajcic. “As we said yesterday, Korea would probably be the better team. Unfortunately, we let off the pressure valve really early with a corner which was really disappointing. We hoped to build up pressure with the scoreboard. That didn’t happen.
“But you know, Korea was the better team. They obviously dominated and had more chances. We had five or six half chances as well but the best part about today is that… the players after 120 minutes the other night, fought right till the death. It’s an amazing amount of heart, courage, and spirit in this group. I know I’m proud of them. I know the whole coaching staff is really proud,” he continued.
“All of everyone back home in the Philippines should be so proud of this group. They’ve come such a long way in such a short space of time.”
Throughout its five-game journey in the Asian Cup, the PWNFT showcased to the Filipino public performances that were simply unimaginable to begin with. The players were very disciplined at the back, compact in the middle, and sought to press forward.
Historic victories against Thailand and Indonesia were recorded alongside a fantastic match against Australia, who were held blank for 50 minutes. When the quarterfinals clash came against Chinese Taipei, the Filipinas demonstrated how mentally tough they were to hold on and win a penalty shootout considering that they could have easily folded when they conceded a goal at the 83rd minute after being 1-0 up.
“When you create history almost every time you step on the field, there’s nothing more you can ask for. The bar of performance has been raised.
“The expectations now for the country have been raised and now everyone has to come on board and we’ve got 18 months to prepare now for the World Cup and ensure that we do everything that we can as a country to give these players the maximum possible chance of performing at that stage,” said the 48-year-old tactician.
Ever since he started his coaching career two decades ago, Stajcic has been through many highs in the job.
Whether it is leading his home nation, Australia, in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 and the 2016 Rio Olympics or coaching Central Coast to third place in the 2020-2021 A-League regular season – the former Central Coast Mariners head coach has been through a lot already. But this job with the Philippines definitely ranks high up there.
(C) AFC
“I think this is probably the best experience, I think, in my coaching career.
“I’ve been coaching for 20 years. To take this group who are so dedicated, so determined, so much disciplined, so much heart, so much spirit considering what they’ve had to overcome to this point,” declared the erstwhile midfielder.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had to coach a group that had so many hurdles to overcome just in the preparation, let alone in the tournament. And to get to this level, and to fight and compete up until the last kick of a semi-final is truly such a remarkable effort and then it’s really emotional watching them try right till the last second of the game. There’re so many teams who would have given up and thrown the towel,” he expressed.
“It’s been a wonderful experience getting to know every player, every member of our staff. It’s such a unified group, such a close group, and again as I said before – it’s no surprise that the whole country back home in the Philippines is very proud of the group,” he beamed.
For Stajcic, it is imperative that the program builds on the belief demonstrated by the current batch of players as well as the standards they set in the tournament. To be the best, you need to win and lose against the best – and for that, the former Australia coach and his team will leave India with their heads held high.
“You can’t replicate that. I was just talking to the players just saying you can’t replicate playing against all the teams – Thailand, who have been to two World Cups now, Chinese Taipei, who are ranked at that level as well, Australia and Korea, who have been perennial heavyweights of AFC now for a long time,” he said.
“There’s no doubt Korea was the better team today and deserved the win and I wish them all the best in the final. But for us, to play against players like Ji (So-yun), who is in my opinion probably one of the top five in the world is just a phenomenal experience for our players.”
