The Philippines have qualified for a soccer World Cup for the first time. The Southeast Asians go into the tournament in Australia and New Zealand as underdogs. The competition should not underestimate the World Cup novices. Because where Philippines is on it, there is a lot of USA in it.
18 players in the 23-man squad were born in America and also enjoyed their football training there. There are also four other actors in Sara Eggesvik and Meryll Serrano (Norway), Jaclyn Sawicki (Canada) and Angela Beard (Australia) who did not see the light of day in the island state.
Anicka Castañeda is the only native Filipino in Australian coach Alen Stajcic’s World Cup squad – an exotic so to speak. Due to a lack of talent at home, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has been forced to look around the world for players who, because of their family background, can play for the country.
“The rest of the world is 100 steps ahead of us”
“Football is not a popular sport here,” defender Hali Long told the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency. The 28-year-old, from Missouri, pointed out that basketball, boxing and even beauty pageants are far more appealing to Filipinos. Despite the fact that a national team has qualified for a World Cup for the first time, it seems almost impossible that this will change soon. Because the island state itself lacks rudimentary things like soccer fields and a professional league structure for women.
“The rest of the world is 100 steps ahead of us in this regard,” said coach Stajcic soberly.
Coach Stajcic Architect of recovery
The 49-year-old is the architect of Filipino success. The Australian, who has only been in office since 2021, led the national team to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup last year and thus secured the World Cup ticket. “It was a meteoric rise for the team,” said Stajcic, pointing out that half of his players are without a club and therefore have no regular training. “We almost started from scratch and made it to the World Cup,” said the coach, calling what was achieved a “miracle”.
During his tenure, the PFF selection rose to 46th in the FIFA world rankings, the highest position in the association’s history. “The challenge now is not to be satisfied with what we have achieved,” explained the former Australia women’s football team coach.
Australia’s Beard makes her Philippines debut in Australia
Also from Down Under is Angela Beard, who has also played for the “Matildas” in friendlies, but then decided shortly before the World Cup to slip on the jersey of the Philippines in the future.
Stajcic was responsible for that: “I’ve known him for a while. I think we met when I was 16, 17 or 18. And he’s a great coach. He left a big impression on me and was crucial for it why I came here to the Philippines.” The 25-year-old, whose mother is from Cebu, described her new team-mates as “very friendly and talented”.
World Cup dress rehearsal against Sweden botched
However, it is questionable whether the footballing substance of the World Cup novice will be sufficient to survive the group phase. “We’ll need a bit of luck for that,” Stajcic is under no illusions. However, the dress rehearsal for the opening game on Friday (July 21, 2023, 7 a.m.) against Switzerland made it clear that it would take a little more than a “bit of luck” for the blatant outsider to make it into the round of 16. In the duel with Sweden, they lost 1:5, which could have been even worse.
Facts about the game
– Play against each other: first duel
– FIFA ranking: Switzerland 17th place / Philippines 46th place
– Best World Cup placement: Switzerland – Round of 16 2015 / Philippines – first participation
– Fun Fact: 22 players of the 23-man Philippines World Cup squad were not born in the Philippines.
2023-07-20 15:10:02
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