Filipinas take SEA Games flop as lesson learned while looking at good things they can build on for World Cup stint

The Filipinas will take coronary heart in among the positives from the SEA Video games, together with a second straight win over regional powerhouse Vietnam. —PFF PHOTO

The Filipinas refused to be discouraged by their early exit within the thirty second Cambodia Southeast Asian (SEA) Video games and would quite take a look at silver linings that might be helpful heading into the homestretch of preparations for the Fifa (Worldwide Federation of Affiliation Soccer) Girls’s World Cup.

“They are saying bilog ang bola (the ball is spherical),” defender Hali Lengthy mentioned after the Filipinas unveiled their Adidas-designed World Cup kits on Tuesday in Bonifacio International Metropolis, Taguig Metropolis.

“It actually exhibits that we now have much more growing to do. We’ve much more of maturity that we want,” she continued. “I imply, we simply need to be higher every sport.”

Hopes of enhancing its bronze medal end in final 12 months’s version in Hanoi, Vietnam, had been dashed after the Filipinas positioned third in Group A behind eventual champion Vietnam and shedding finalist Myanmar.

A loss to Myanmar on a late penalty to open the match and a last-gasp winner by Sarina Bolden to defeat lowly Malaysia finally put coach Alen Stajcic at a drawback.

The Filipinas closed out the marketing campaign with a 2-1 win over Vietnam that put the 2 groups and Myanmar on degree phrases at six factors apiece, however had been eradicated because of an inferior objective distinction.

“It wasn’t the end result that we wished,” mentioned Olivia McDaniel. “We wished to do higher than bronze from final 12 months.

“However each second is a studying curve and a studying course of and I feel we’ve realized rather a lot from this match.

“We’re gonna take a while to replicate, and a few good issues got here to it as nicely,” added the staff’s high goalkeeper.

AFF semifinals

The great issues McDaniel talked about was the Vietnam sport, a battle of two groups that certified for the World Cup. The Filipinas took the lead twice, together with Lengthy’s profitable objective within the 83rd minute.

It was the second straight time the Philippines received in opposition to Vietnam, having overwhelmed the latter within the semifinals of final 12 months’s Asean Soccer Federation Girls’s Championship in Manila.

“Beating Vietnam two instances in a row is a good deal after having a historical past of not taking part in nicely in opposition to them,” mentioned McDaniel. “I feel that may give us a lift going into what’s subsequent for us since they’re a World Cup staff as nicely. So I feel that may increase the morale for us.”

Group supervisor Jefferson Cheng mentioned the Filipinas will possible reconvene subsequent month with a camp both in Australia or New Zealand for the ultimate levels of preparation for girls’s soccer’s largest showpiece.

They’ll hope to make use of the camp to wash up on the issues that contributed to the final word end in Cambodia and make up for it when the Filipinas face crack opponents in New Zealand.

“We take [the SEA Games outcome] for what it’s. It’s a studying alternative and it’s a rising expertise,” mentioned Lengthy. “It’s one other studying second we hold with us going into the World Cup preparation.”

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