For skipper Tahnai Annis, the Philippine national women’s football team is a young squad that’s out to make an impact the coming 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
But being together for a long period of time will make the Filipinas a better squad.
“We are definitely a rookie team in terms of playing in our first World Cup, but this group has been around for a good amount of time. We have a core group of veterans who have been leading the way. And then we’ve been picking up new players along the way who are ready and preparing with us,” said Annis during a break in their training camp, on FIFA.com.
A friendly match with Sweden is coming for the Filipinas, now that the composition of its 23-member roster is complete.
The encounter is set on July 17, and coach Alen Stajcic is excited about the showdown.
“We have a good combination of experienced players, new players, young talent, older talent… I think we have a good, diverse mixture of experience and youth,” said Annis.
The first official World Cup encounter is against Switzerland on July 21 in Dunedin.
After that, the Filipinas take on host New Zealand on July 25 in Wellington, before finishing their Group A campaign against Norway on July 30 in Auckland.
Annis said the team is now getting to feel the support of the fans and Filipinos based in New Zealand.
“We know we have so much support back home and support from all over the world—it’s not just when we’re in the Philippines (we have backing), but also when we’ve had camps in Costa Rica, Chile, Spain, we have supporters who come out everywhere,” added Annis.
Stajcic said the Filipinas are in their final stages of training, and they are finding ways to improve.
“Last few days of training before our friendly and we get into it against Switzerland. I’m really looking forward to the week ahead. We’re always finding ways to improve on the ball and off the ball, tactics, set pieces, always focusing on our mentality,” said Stajcic.