The Philippine women’s national football team will have to put its best foot forward in the upcoming Pinatar Cup in Murcia, Spain this 15 February.
Filipinas co-captain Hali Long said during the kit endorsement signing with Adidas that the work is far from done as they prepare for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 this July in Australia and New Zealand.
The Philippine team will debut its new gear under the German brand in its first match in the friendly tournament that also has European powerhouses Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
“As for preparations, as you can tell, we are all over the world for now but while we’re away from the team, we definitely had some rest over the holidays which we’re super grateful for because last year was so busy and successful,” Long said.
“We feel pressure because we qualified for the World Cup later this year. The higher we rise, the harder we fall so there is pressure but with the foundation we have, I think they are building us up for success this year.”
The team left for Spain last Thursday to train for the tournament which will be a buildup for the World Cup and other tournaments the Filipinas will participate in.
After the Pinatar Cup, the Filipinas will play in the first round of the Olympic qualifiers from 3 to 11 April before flying to Cambodia for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games from 5 to 17 May.
For national team mainstay Inna Palacios, she treats every game as if it was the World Cup to keep herself at the top of her game.
“I expect myself to be at my best all the time. It’s a team effort. Every tournament, we always treat it as if it is the World Cup,” Palacios said, whose team is in Group A with Norway, Switzerland and co-host New Zealand.
