As World Cup foes known, Stajcic says Filipinas 'to punch above their weight' to compete
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine women's national football team are now aware of their foes in the FIFA Women's World Cup set next year in Australia and New Zealand.
The Filipinas were drawn into Group A on Saturday, along with the Kiwis, Norway, and Switzerland.
Making the country's first-ever appearance in the elite football competition, Filipinas head coach Alen Stajcic knows it's going to be an up-hill battle for he and his wards.
"Whatever group we fell into was always gonna be a tough group and you know, the teams that we've got have all got proven experience in international football," said Stajcic during a media availability with Philippine media on Saturday.
"So, we're gonna have to punch above our weight to be competitive and to try and win games." he added.
The Filipinas are ranked 53rd in the latest FIFA Women's World Rankings, and New Zealand (22nd), Switzerland (21st), and Norway (12th) are all considerably ranked higher than the Philippines.
Still, if the past year has been any indication for the Filipinas, is that rankings on paper don't necessarily translate onto the pitch.
Even as they remain perennial underdogs in their group despite avoiding a collision course with the likes of the USA, France, Germany, and England, Stajcic believes that the Filipinas will be there to put themselves in a position to win and move on to the knockout stages.
"It's no doubt if we keep improving from this point up until the World Cup like we have over the last 11 months then the sky's the limit." said Stajcic.
Stajcic and the Fillipinas most recently wrapped up a training camp in Costa Rica where they played their fellow World Cup-bound side in a pair of friendlies.
The Filipinas took a draw and a loss in their two assignments against Costa Rica.
In the World Cup, the Filipinas will make their debut against the Swiss in Dunedin on July 21. Hosts New Zealand will face the debutants in Wellington on July 26.
Norway will be the final assignment of the Filipinas as they wrap up group play on July 30.
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