GAME TODAY
(Viet Tri Stadium, Vietnam)
7:30 p.m. – Philippines vs. Timor Leste
EVEN though they will no longer play in front of a hometown crowd, top Filipinas goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel is confident they will thrive in their title-retention drive in the AFF Women’s championship trophy, renamed the Asean MISG Serenity Cup, starting today at the Viet Tri Stadium in PhuTho, Vietnam.
“I think our target is plain and simple: we want to come and compete and defend our title. We want to win,” said McDaniel as the charges of Australian coach Marc Torcaso kick off their bid in Group B against Timor Leste at 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. in Manila) in an interview posted on the event’s website.
“I think it’s even tougher to win on home soil because playing in front of your home crowd and family, you don’t want to let people down and that can create a bit more stress on you,” said the Women’s World Cup veteran of their epic triumph at the Rizal Memorial Stadium two years ago.
“So, I think getting to play on someone else’s home ground will help us to calm down,” added the goalie, who was a vital cog in that campaign, capped by a 3-0 shutout of four-time champion Thailand in the championship match.
“I think there is pressure no matter what we go into, whether it be a friendly or a tournament where we are defending our title like this,” she added. “At the same time, like I have said before, pressure is a privilege for us and we have the opportunity to defend our title and go back-to-back, which is our goal.”
She said that playing in Vietnam, where football reigns supreme, was not as intimidating as before as they step into the field of the 20,000-seat arena in the PhuTho provincial capital of Viet Tri.
“We know Vietnam creates some large crowds and has a large fanbase, but over the past couple of years we have been subjected to large crowds like this and I think we will rise to the challenge,” McDaniel said.
The Nationals, who left Manila last Sunday, will enter the tournament with confidence after having secured a place in next year’s AFC Asian Women’s Cup in Australia by sweeping all of their matches in Group G of the qualifying meet last July in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Currently ranked No. 41 in the FIFA women’s world ratings, the Filipinas are heavily favored to pick up their first win at expense of the Timorese, who are at a lowly No. 148 and absorbed a crushing 0-7 loss to their rivals the last time they met in the group stage of the tourney in Chonburi, Thailand in 2019.
