PFF lauds Malditas’ efforts in securing Asian Cup spot

THE country’s football federation lauded the efforts of the Philippine women’s squad in securing a return trip to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup next year.

In a statement released following the Malditas’ 2-1 conquest of Hong Kong in Group F of the Asian Cup Qualifiers in Uzbekistan on Friday, that earned for them a ticket to the prestigious biennial football tournament in India in 2022, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) highlighted the team’s go-getting mindset to succeed despite challenges presented by the pandemic both in training and during the competition itself.

“We are truly delighted by this remarkable achievement by our Philippine Women’s National Team. Qualification to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup is a testament to the hard work and sacrifice made by the players and the coaching staff and the support of sponsors and stakeholders,” said PFF President Mariano Araneta.

“But we cannot rest on this achievement. We will leave no stone unturned in preparing the team in the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, where the Top 5 teams will qualify for the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Women’s World Cup in 2023,” he added.

The win over Hong Kong in preliminary play assured the Philippines will play in the Asian Cup. It completed a sweep of the Malditas’ assignments in Group F where they also defeated Nepal, 2-1.

Chandler McDaniel scored the go-ahead goal in the 87^th minute to book the win for the Philippines.

Teammate Tahnai Annis put the Malditas in the driver’s seat early in the contest at JAR Stadium in Tashkent when she scored in the 17^th minute off a pass from Rocelle Mendaño.

Hong Kong equalized, courtesy of Chung Pui Ki, who broke through in the 61^st minute with a pinpoint free kick from just outside the box to beat Philippine goalkeeper Inna Palacios.

But the Malditas stayed the course, continuing to put pressure on the defense of Hong Kong, which eventually paid dividends when Ms. McDaniel scored before time.

NEXT UP
With the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup spot already secured, the Malditas are now looking to sustain the momentum generated and begin preparation as soon as they can.

“Next is 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,” shared national team coach Marlon Maro.

Part of their push is to train anew in California, where they held camp prior to the qualifiers.

He, however, hopes that players based in Manila can join the rest of the team overseas for a more thorough preparation.

“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 on because it’s open already. You can do all sports activities there. And besides, we can have a lot of friendly matches like what happened in this competition. We had five practice matches with different women clubs in California so that helped us a lot to prepare tactically,” the coach said.

He went on to say that also to be discussed is fortifying the team further.

“We have to make sure that we beef up the team when it comes to players based on position. We have positions that we have to strengthen, especially the side defenders.”

The Malditas’ AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers campaign was supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the MVP Sports Foundation. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo