The national women’s football team aims to redeem its pride when it battles Myanmar in the bronze medal match of the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on Saturday at the Cam Pha Stadium in Quang Ninh.
Kickoff is at 5 p.m. with the FIFA World Cup-bound Filipinas tipped to go all out to come up with a third-place finish that will put an end to their 37-year medal drought in this prestigious biennial meet.
The last time they meet was also in the consolation match of the 30th SEA Games three years ago.
The Burmese emerged victorious, 2-1, giving the Filipinas an extra fire and motivation to deliver their best performance for a strong finishing kick.
National team mentor Alen Stajcic said aside from pocketing the bronze medal, a victory over Myanmar will also serve as a redemption and a validation that they are now among the elite football teams in the region.
Stajcic admitted they have been struggling in this tournament.
In fact, despite coming in as heavy favorites following a long training camp in Sydney, the Filipinas opened their campaign with a pair of setbacks followed by a 2-1 loss to the host country that sent them to a semifinal battle against powerhouse Thailand.
With World Cup veterans Taneekarn Dangda and Chachawan Rodthong and young gun Ploychompoo Somnonk at the helm, the Thais crushed the Filipinas, 3-0, and pushed them to the consolation round against Myanmar.
Stajcic said they will put everything on the line against the Burmese.
“We didn’t have the quality and we were punished by the better team (in the semifinals). It’s pretty simple,” said Stajcic, who is tasked to sharpen the Filipinas heading into the FIFA World Cup next year.
“We’re new at this level and we’ll get better, we have no fear about that.”
Sarina Bolden, Quinley Quezada and Tanhai Annis are tipped to carry the cudgels for the Filipinas, who have to contain star forward Win Teingi Tun and skipper Khin Marlar Thun to run away with the bronze.
Date: May 21, 2022 | By: Ian Suyu | Newspaper: Tribune | Source: https://tribune.net.ph/index.php/2022/05/21/filipinas-to-end-medal-drought/?fbclid=IwAR2zEO1k9HcBTrMW4AiYjU9JGeoIZbBD6U56Ha_mjlA3bVIgq2BGyy0t7f8
