by Kris Goman (20/6/23)
Above: The Philippines have come together and are now one of the rising stars of Asian women’s football. Photo: Kris Goman for Impetus.
The Philippines are an Asian team on the rise.
They’ve recently beaten regional opponents including Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. They are made up of a team of local and foreign-based players, mostly Filipino-American but also a Filipino-Norwegian and Filipino Australian. Their players hail from a variety of leagues, from countries such as Japan, the USA (college leagues), Australia, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Brazil, and Serbia.
The team recently changed its nickname from Malditas to Filipinas. The name Malditas has no direct English translation but could variably mean bad-asses to dammed or accursed but could also mean bratty. It is also a swear word in Spanish and Portuguese. Of late and with the new Australian coaching team, it was also sometimes confused with the Matildas. Filipinas is the demonym for the women of the Philippines and can stand alone as a nickname.
Squad
Preliminary squad – final selection will be announced shortly.
Goalkeepers: Kiara Fontanilla, Kaiya Jota, Olivia McDaniel, Inna Palacios.
Defenders: Maya Alcantara, Alicia Barker, Angela Beard, Reina Bonta, Malea Cesar, Jessica Cowart, Sofia Harrison, Hali Long, Domonique Randle.
Midfielders: Tahnai Annis, Ryley Bugay, Anicka Castaneda, Sara Eggesvik, Kaya Hawkinson, Eva Madarang, Jessica Miclat, Isabella Pasion, Quinley Quezada, Jaclyn Sawicki
Forwards: Sarina Bolden, Isabella Flanigan, Carleigh Frilles, Katrina Guillou, Chandler McDaniel, Meryll Serrano
Head Coach
Alen Stajcic was appointed coach in October 2021. At that time, the Philippines were ranked 65th in the world. In less than two years, he’s taken them to an all-time high ranking of 46.
Stajcic has largely specialised in women’s football during his managerial career. He was the Head Coach of the New South Wales Institute of Sport Women’s Football program from 2002 to 2013 and simultaneously coached the NSW Sapphires followed by Sydney FC taking both teams to Premierships.
After stints as the Young Matildas’ assistant coach and head coach, in 2014 he was appointed to the position of full-time head coach of the Matildas. He led Australia to the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada becoming the first senior team to win a knockout match at a World Cup, then qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics. He took the Matildas to their highest-ever FIFA ranking of four in the work at the end of 2017 after the Tournament of Nations win.
Since heading up the Philippines Women’s National team, his results have been equally impressive. After qualifying for the Women’s World Cup, the team won the 2022 AFF Women’s Championship beating Thailand 3-0 to earn their first trophy. One of his key aims has been to get them to play more international matches and in since taking over, they’ve contested 39 games, winning 23, drawing three, and losing 13.
World Cup History
This will be the Philippines’ first World Cup for either men or women at any age level. It’s quite an achievement for the team.
How they qualified
The 2022 AFC Asian Women’s Cup was the qualifying tournament and they got there by beating Chinese Taipei 4-3 on penalties after drawing 1-1 in the quarter-finals. The Philippines went on to lose in the Semi-finals to South Korea 2-0 but their place in the World Cup was already assured.
Strengths
The team is young and brimming with confidence. They are a fast-attacking side who tend to play on the breakaway. Given the right opportunity they can score so the opposition would do well not to underestimate them and let their guard down.
Development areas
The defence needs firming up and they aren’t that strong in possession. They may struggle against teams like Norway and Switzerland. They also don’t have the physicality of some other teams.
Key Players
The big news is that Australian and ex-Matildas player, Angela Beard has made herself available and been selected in the preliminary squad. It would be hard to see her not picked in the final selection coming off a very successful A-League Women campaign and being an exceptionally solid defender – an area the Filipinos could improve in.
One to watch
Jaclyn Sawicki is a midfielder and captain of Western United who were runners up this season in the A-League Women’s competition. Her leadership and midfield prowess could be a deciding factor in their games.
Success would be
Realistically, it’s hard to see the Philippines getting out of their group so success would be scoring a goal or winning a match. Not all players in the team are professional and they are coming up against three fully professional teams, all ranked higher.
Prediction
It’s difficult to imagine them beating either Norway or Switzerland, two teams with a host of European stars. They might get lucky against New Zealand but that’s unlikely too. They’ve only played them once and lost 2-1 so it wasn’t a walkover but the Football Ferns have a greater depth of professional players and a home-ground advantage. The prediction is that the Philippines will come fourth in the group, much like their result in the Pinatar Cup.
Group A Fixtures
21st July – Switzerland, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin.
25th July – New Zealand, Sky Stadium, Wellington.
30th July – Norway, Eden Park, Auckland.
Follow Impetus on social media – we’re @ImpetusFootball on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
To read the other World Cup nation previews published so far, click on this link: https://impetusfootball.org/international-football/
impetusfootball.org 