By Lori Ewing
(Reuters) – Philippines women’s soccer coach Alen Stajcic embraces the opportunity to play host New Zealand’s Football Ferns at the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday, saying the bigger crowd, the better – no matter who they are cheering for.
“Traditionally, being a host nation or home team in any game of football has been an advantage,” Stajcic said on the eve of the Philippines’ game at Wellington Regional Stadium. “Fortunately, we don’t have to play against 25,000 people, we only have to play against the 11.
“And almost on the opposite end of the spectrum, you have to embrace it. It’s a brilliant occasion for football and for New Zealand and for our team and our country as well.”
New Zealand’s 26th-ranked Football Ferns drew 42,137 fans to Auckland’s Eden Park on Thursday, more than double the previous record crowd for a women’s soccer game in the country. The fans were rewarded with a stunning 1-0 victory over Norway.
The 46th-ranked Philippines, who opened their tournament with a 2-0 loss to Switzerland, are one of the eight teams making their Women’s World Cup debut.
Stajcic, an Australian who previously coached the Central Coast Mariners of the men’s A-League, applauded the crowd of just under 40,000 that watched Jamaica and France play to a 0-0 draw in Sydney on Sunday.
“It’s amazing,” said Stajcic, who coached Australia’s women’s team from 2014 to 2019. “Football in all our countries is not number one, in the Philippines, New Zealand or Australia. So we need to do everything we can to also (get) the support for the sport for women’s football, and make sure we use these moments and treasure them and really build on them.”
Stajcic’s Filipinas are unique in the diversity of their squad. Midfielder Anicka Castaneda is the lone home-grown talent among the 23.
Eighteen players are from the United States, two are from Norway and one each from Canada and Australia.
Fifteen players including Katrina Guillou, who had a goal disallowed as offside against Switzerland, have U.S. National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division 1 experience.
“Definitely a great experience for myself,” said Guillou, who was born in Washington, D.C. and played at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. “The way the (NCAA) season is, everything so condensed into a three-month span, playing two games every week. I think it really helps build the stamina that’s needed.”
The Philippines lost 2-1 to New Zealand in a friendly in September, and Stajcic said that narrow loss was a turning point for his programme.
“It was a really pivotal moment,” he said. “That game was a real turning point for the team for me to know that we can rise to this level.
“As to whether we can do it (Tuesday) or not, we want to crash (New Zealand’s) party and it’s not really their party. It’s everyone’s party. It’s our party as well.”
(This story has been corrected to say that Stajcic was the previous coach of Central Coast Mariners, not the current one, in paragraph 6)
(Reporting by Lori Ewing in Sydney; Editing by Jamie Freed)
