COACH Marlon Maro will stick to the winning formula that powered the Malditas to a sweep of their two qualifying matches in Uzbekistan and a second straight trip to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India in January next year.
The Nationals capped their stint at the JAR Stadium in Tashkent last Friday with a convincing 2-1 win over Hong Kong, with Tahnai Annis and rookie Chandler McDaniel scoring a goal in each half.
The Filipina footballers earlier rallied past Nepal 2-1 in their opening match last Sept. 18 and needed only a draw against the Hong Kong booters, who forced a goalless draw against the winless Nepalese three days earlier.
“We are truly delighted by this remarkable achievement by our national team,” Philippine Football Federation president Mariano Araneta Jr. said in a statement.
“Qualifying to the Women’s Asian Cup is a testament to the hard work and sacrifice made by the players and the coaching staff, the support of the sponsors and stakeholders,” he added. “We will leave no stone unturned in preparing them for the event.”
The Malditas will gun for one of the six slots for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup at stake in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup scheduled Jan. 20 to Feb. 6, 2021 in the Indian cities of Pune, Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
Maro, who last coached the national women’s side in the 2007 Thailand Southeast Asian Games before taking back the helm this time, said the ideal conditions they had in their training camp in Irvine, California is a must for their Asian Cup build-up.
“You can do all sports activities there. And besides, we can have a lot of friendly matches like what happened before the competition,” he said. “We had five practice matches with different women clubs in California so that helped us a lot to prepare tactically.”
Team manager Jeff Cheng echoed Maro’s sentiments, saying: “We will evaluate what is the best way to provide with the best preparation in mind. Ideally, a camp before the January Asian Cup in India.
“In the meantime, we will let the players enjoy their time with their success and their loved ones at home. Congratulations to all! Mabuhay!”
Maro said “we have to start early. I think we will have a three-week break and after that, the PFF and the rest of the coaching staff will plan for the next camp.”
He tactician praised McDaniel for acquitting herself well in her national team debut.
“She (McDaniel) is a golden catch for Philippine football,” Maro noted. “She’s a player who can score at any given moment, in any situation in the game. We’re fortunate to have her on the team.”
McDaniel, 23, whose Filipina mother has roots in Pampanga and Davao, played varsity football for the Virginia Tech Hokies and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers.
Maro said he is hoping the Manila-based players would be able to play with the rest of their teammates after some were left behind due to visa problems.
“My plan next is to make sure that all players in Manila can have their visas. California is the only place that we can train because it is open already,” he noted.
Maro said it is important for the Philippines-based players to join their teammates in California for the training camp.
