The Philippine women’s football team makes a landmark appearance on South American soil when the Filipinas meet the Chilean squad in a friendly match at the Estadio Sausalito in Vina del Mar.
Head coach Alen Stajcic is excited to set foot on the field.
“Playing against South American opposition is a whole new ballgame for us. Costa Rica was similar in terms of Latin background but South America is a whole new ballgame,” Stajcic said.
“Their men’s team have been world-class for the last 10 or 12 years, starting with the Marcelo Salas era then obviously that’s followed through to the women’s team so a really amazing football culture.”
Both the Filipinas and La Roja Femenina will square off for the second time on 15 November.
While the Philippines is already qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup the Chileans will have to play one more game next year to secure their place in the biggest football tournament in the world.
With only a few months remaining before the World Cup starts, Stajcic said every time they play in a friendly will be a chance for the players to prove their worth for the final roster in the World Cup.
The Filipinas already had friendly matches with New Zealand and Costa Rica.
Last September, the Philippines absorbed a 2-1 loss to the Football Ferns while the friendly matches against Las Ticas last month resulted in a 1-1 draw and a 1-2 loss.
“It’s just another stepping stone for competing for a World Cup, so we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got seven or eight months left, every game that we play, every time that we get together, we just wanna learn and get better and improve,” Stajcic said.
“We have a strong team. As I said, this is an opportunity for other people to stake their claim for a spot and they will have to compete for that spot.”
