WITH a World Cup ticket in the bag, the Philippines aims to sustain its storybook run when it takes on continental heavyweight South Korea in the semifinals of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup today at the 12,000-seat Shiv Chhatrapati Complex in Pune, India.
Brimming with confidence after their monumental 4-3 win over Chinese-Taipei via penalty shootout in the quarterfinals last Monday, the Filipina booters intend to upset the form chart anew when they face the South Koreans at 1:30 p.m. (4 p.m. Manila time).
The other semis match pits defending champion Japan against China, a nine-time Women’s Asian Cup titlist, with the semifinal winners going for all the marbles on Sunday.
The Pinay charges of Australian coach Alen Stajcic will be eager to avenge their 5-0 loss to the Taejuk Ladies in the first and only time they met in international play during a playoff match held in 2018 in Amman, Jordan.
At stake in that match was the fifth and last Asian slot for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. The loss relegated the Filipinas to sixth place in what was then the best finish of the country in a major international soccer tournament.
Ranked 38th in the FIFA women’s world ratings to their rivals’ 64, the South Korean wards of English mentor Colin Bell emerged from their own quarterfinal thriller with a 1-0 upset victory over the fancied Australian Matildas.
The Filipina footballers reached the knockout stage after placing second in the Group B preliminaries behind the pacesetting Aussies, who blanked them 4-0. They scored victories over Thailand (1-0) and Indonesia (6-0) before tripping the Taiwanese in the quarterfinals.
The South Koreans also finished second in their group behind the defending champion Japanese on goal difference with two wins and one draw before pulling the rug from under the Matildas in the knockout quarterfinals.
During the pre-match press conference yesterday, Stajcic had nothing but praises for his underrated Philippine players, saying: “There have been good qualities in this group that have been there for years and not just the last couple of months.
“What we have done on and off the field is building on those qualities. They are fantastic people. And when you are dealing with a fantastic group, it is a pleasure to get training, learn and get better in every respect.
“They are really a great group to work with and I really think we are seeing that on the field.”
Stajcic refused to be distracted from the task at hand when he was informed the Philippine Football Federation is keen on renewing his contract and that of his coaching staff.
“As we said before, we are not focusing on the World Cup (in 2023), we are not focusing on next week or the next. We had a group meeting and agreed as a group that this game (against South Korea) is the focus and we need this game. We are focused on competing against and beating South Korea.”
Striker Sarina Bolden, who scored the match-winning penalty against the Taiwanese, summed it up by saying: “We hope to make a lasting impression tomorrow (against the South Koreans) for all our Filipino fans back home.”
