Post by cjeagle on Jan 29, 2022 18:31:31 GMT 8
Coach Alen Stajcic has done a really good in preparing this team.
The Philippine women's football team has made some significant sacrifices to achieve its current position in the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.
The Filipina booters are just a win away from clinching the country's first ever World Cup berth.
After the appointment of former Australia Matildas coach Alen Stajcic as head coach of the Philippines team in October last year, the Filipinas assembled the following month for their training camp in Irvine, California.
The squad did not have any holiday break during as they focused on honing their skills, and played in some much-needed practice matches.
"We've been blessed to have the opportunity to have such quality time together. It's the most that we ever had over a period of time. We've been able to really get a lot more cohesive as a unit, as a team, and as a whole staff and players together. I don't think we've ever had that before," team captain Tahnai Annis said.
The two-month California training camp proved to be a worthy gamble for the Filipinas, who achieved many milestones in their 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup campaign.
The Philippine team produced their best group stage performance in history with two wins, beating Southeast Asian rivals Thailand and Indonesia. They only lost to world no. 11 Australia in the group stage.
With their runner-up finish in Group B, the Filipinas made the AFC Women's Asian Cup knockout stage for the first time in the country's participation in the continental football tournament.
They will face Chinese Taipei in a pivotal quarterfinals game on Sunday.
"That's what's got us to this point so far. Everyone is really excited and really hopeful," said Annis, who credited their training camp in improving the team's chemistry.
Team co-captain Hali Long also cited the training camp as one of the factors in their historic Asian Cup run.
"A lot of national teams don't get that long to train together, especially if they're playing abroad or with different clubs. That was really nice to have," Long said.
The California training camp not only had a ripple effect on the team, but also on the players' individual growth.
Defender Dominique Randle, one of the new faces in the national team, said the camp helped her to create a winning mentality every time she goes out on the pitch.
"Our trainings have been really intense and a lot of great energy," said Randle, who started in all of the Philippines' three group stage matches in the Asian Cup.
"One of our team's mantras is (to) win the moment. Regardless of the opponent or what the situation is in practice or walkthrough, every time we put on our jersey and have the Philippine flag on, we're focused on winning our moment at that point in time," she added.
For midfielder Jessica Miclat, their training camp and the Asian Cup stint enabled her to initiate more set pieces as evident in their blowout 6-0 win against Indonesia.
Miclat, who is more of a defensive minded midfielder, shared that switching roles within the team became a vital point for her and her teammates to play solid inside the pitch.
"Having to learn to play with different players in their characteristics has made me grow individually because I'm used to with a certain way of playing with someone. But when he (Stajcic) makes rotations because we have a lot of depth on our team, it makes me have to adapt a little better. It makes our team better because when one person is growing, everyone is growing and learning," Miclat said.
The Philippines-Chinese Taipei quarterfinals match is scheduled on Sunday at 10 p.m. Philippine time.
cnnphilippines.com/sports/2022/1/29/US-training-camp-Filipinas-football.html?fbclid=IwAR2rVjY5zDdqBwAyFESxjzy3APWX2Scedb21sQCmO-aHNk_hLvh3tFQKSSs
The Philippine women's football team has made some significant sacrifices to achieve its current position in the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.
The Filipina booters are just a win away from clinching the country's first ever World Cup berth.
After the appointment of former Australia Matildas coach Alen Stajcic as head coach of the Philippines team in October last year, the Filipinas assembled the following month for their training camp in Irvine, California.
The squad did not have any holiday break during as they focused on honing their skills, and played in some much-needed practice matches.
"We've been blessed to have the opportunity to have such quality time together. It's the most that we ever had over a period of time. We've been able to really get a lot more cohesive as a unit, as a team, and as a whole staff and players together. I don't think we've ever had that before," team captain Tahnai Annis said.
The two-month California training camp proved to be a worthy gamble for the Filipinas, who achieved many milestones in their 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup campaign.
The Philippine team produced their best group stage performance in history with two wins, beating Southeast Asian rivals Thailand and Indonesia. They only lost to world no. 11 Australia in the group stage.
With their runner-up finish in Group B, the Filipinas made the AFC Women's Asian Cup knockout stage for the first time in the country's participation in the continental football tournament.
They will face Chinese Taipei in a pivotal quarterfinals game on Sunday.
"That's what's got us to this point so far. Everyone is really excited and really hopeful," said Annis, who credited their training camp in improving the team's chemistry.
Team co-captain Hali Long also cited the training camp as one of the factors in their historic Asian Cup run.
"A lot of national teams don't get that long to train together, especially if they're playing abroad or with different clubs. That was really nice to have," Long said.
The California training camp not only had a ripple effect on the team, but also on the players' individual growth.
Defender Dominique Randle, one of the new faces in the national team, said the camp helped her to create a winning mentality every time she goes out on the pitch.
"Our trainings have been really intense and a lot of great energy," said Randle, who started in all of the Philippines' three group stage matches in the Asian Cup.
"One of our team's mantras is (to) win the moment. Regardless of the opponent or what the situation is in practice or walkthrough, every time we put on our jersey and have the Philippine flag on, we're focused on winning our moment at that point in time," she added.
For midfielder Jessica Miclat, their training camp and the Asian Cup stint enabled her to initiate more set pieces as evident in their blowout 6-0 win against Indonesia.
Miclat, who is more of a defensive minded midfielder, shared that switching roles within the team became a vital point for her and her teammates to play solid inside the pitch.
"Having to learn to play with different players in their characteristics has made me grow individually because I'm used to with a certain way of playing with someone. But when he (Stajcic) makes rotations because we have a lot of depth on our team, it makes me have to adapt a little better. It makes our team better because when one person is growing, everyone is growing and learning," Miclat said.
The Philippines-Chinese Taipei quarterfinals match is scheduled on Sunday at 10 p.m. Philippine time.
cnnphilippines.com/sports/2022/1/29/US-training-camp-Filipinas-football.html?fbclid=IwAR2rVjY5zDdqBwAyFESxjzy3APWX2Scedb21sQCmO-aHNk_hLvh3tFQKSSs