Coach Alen Stajcic praises Filipinas ‘fantastic’ spirit as Fifa World Cup looms

Coach Alen Stajcic lauded the positive attitude the Philippine women’s football team has shown as they enter the final week of preparation before plunging into action in the Fifa Women’s World Cup.

“[The team spirit has] been fantastic [and I] can’t fault any one of the players,” Stajcic said after the Filipinas’ second training session in Auckland, New Zealand. “It’s such a beautiful group to work with and train with.”

The Filipinas are eight days removed from facing off with Switzerland to open their Group A campaign Down Under, and the build-up is expected to be more intense as they hope to put up a good showing in the country’s first World Cup appearance.

“I think they are all really excited, but to be honest, they’re not really showing it at the moment,” said the Filipinas mentor.

“They’re just showing that they are willing to work hard and keep improving day-to-day and the culture around the team is fantastic and the belief around the team just grows everyday and I hope we can carry that into the first game.

“I hope that they can really show that we can be a force and can be competitive in the world stage. I have nothing but praise for the entire group,” Stajcic added.

A closed-door training match against Sweden scheduled Monday in Wellington will give the team an early idea of how they’ll face high-level opponents in the group stage.

“I’m really looking forward to the week ahead,” said Stajcic. “We’re always finding ways to improve on the ball and off the ball, tactics, set pieces, always focusing on our mentality.

“We’re always fine tuning and always looking at those details in improving as an individual or as a whole group. I think we’re all just really excited to get to the starting line.”

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