PHILIPPINE coach Alen Stajcic said the hard-working Filipinas are on course to hit top form for their historic FIFA Women’s World Cup debut on July 21 against Switzerland in New Zealand.
From their four-week camp in Sydney, the Filipinas moved to Auckland for the final stretch of their intensive buildup for the Group A duels with the Swiss, host New Zealand and Norway.
Mr. Stajcic said the next 10 days would be crucial in getting everything in order before the opening assignment in Dunedin.
“At the moment, were focusing on how we are as a group, focusing on day-to-day training, traveling, arriving fit and healthy and ensuring that everyone is healthy for our training session and making sure that the time we have are used to fine tune the aspects of our games so by the time we play our first game, we’ll be in our best form,” he said.
“The whole point of the cycle of a World Cup is to be at your peak at the World Cup and I would say that we are at that point now where we are close to that peak and we have 10 more days to try and reach that peak for July 21,” he added.
Over the last two years, the Filipinas have been to a series of high-level training camps and friendlies in as far as Europe and South America to get equipped for battle.
“I’m really proud of everyone for their collective effort and now it’s time to go to the biggest women’s sporting event in the world and try to do the best that we can,” said Mr. Stajcic.
“It really is a magical moment for the country and we hope that everyone is proud of the fight that we’re going to show in those games.”
Before taking the WC plunge, the Filipinas will test their readiness in a closed-door, unofficial friendly against World No. 3 Sweden on July 17 in Wellington. — Olmin Leyba
