The Malditas won’t play an easy game in the competition.
The 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup is drawing near. Team draws were held last Saturday for the competition, which will be held in Jordan from April 6-20.
The Malditas have an opportunity to make history.
While The Philippines women’s team escaped the ‘group of death’ in the draw, the fact remains that all the other teams in its group–China, Thailand, and host Jordan–are ranked higher in the FIFA Women World Rankings.
Those teams represent a handful for the Malditas. “It’s the biggest draw in Philippine football history,” is the way Ernest Nierras put it.
But there’s good news, too. It’s a relief that defending champion Japan was selected into another group–paired with Australia, Korea DPR, and Vietnam. Perhaps that’s why Mariano Araneta, Philippines football president, took a positive view of things: “We’re happy with the outcome of the draw and look forward to the opportunity to bring honor to our country,” he said.
There’s much to hope for in the coming months, thanks to Coach Buda Bautista, the players, and all those who helped the team qualify for Jordan 2018. The team is already one of Asia’s best, finishing among the region’s top five squads and qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
Courtesy: Tiebreaker Times
The team has an opportunity to realize the old saying, “If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.” And next steps are in the hands of Richard Boon, who was appointed in November 2017 as head coach of The Philippines Women’s National team. Boon has solid credentials and possesses a wealth of experience, too. Both will help the Maltidas overcome an issue that has haunted past results — lack of proper preparation.
That won’t happen this time because preparations started early. With the aid of a special task force, a successful trial camp (to identify potential players) took place in November at The El Cerrito Sports Complex in Corona, California.
“The selection camp was very successful,” Boon said. The girls showed a great competitive spirit and high work rate throughout the duration of camp. There is a belief among this group of players and staff that we can achieve what we are setting out to do.”
But truth be told, the Malditas won’t play an easy game in the competition. They’ll need more than luck in Jordan 2018.
