The Philippine national women’s football team is getting ready for tough matches in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
The Filipinas has been bunched in Group A with another FIFA 2023 World Cup-bound squad Vietnam, alongside Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Filipinas coach Allen Stajcic, who arrived in Cambodia with the rest of the squad two days ago, said they look forward to their encounter with Vietnam.
But their game with Myanmar at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening at the Lambert Stadiium in Phom Penh is on the hearts and minds of the Filipinas at the moment.
“We just arrived two days ago. We’ve had a grueling schedule over the last 15 months, played a lot of football,” said Stajcic.
Three weeks ago, the Filipinas earned a ticket to the second round of the 2024 AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the Hisor Central Stadium in Tajikistan.
The Filipinas made it after their 4-0 triumph over Hong Kong for a three-game sweep of Group E.
“We’re improving all the time in trying to catch up to countries like Vietnam and Thailand. You know how tough that is in this part of the world,” added Stajcic.
Their encounter with Malaysia is next on May 6, before their most challenging match against Vietnam comes up on May 9.
Vietnam is the favorite, after beating Thailand for the crown with a 1-0 win last year.
“But we’re here now and we’re really looking forward to the tournament Vietnam are the favorites to win this tournament. We’re just growing at the moment and we know we have a long way to go to catch up. Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar have been strong for a long time,” added Stajcic.
Host Cambodia is in Group B with Thailand, Singapore and Laos.