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| Alen Stajcic explained why he chose this Filipinas lineup to the FIFA Women's World Cup. FIFA (file photo) |
MANILA—Alen Stajcic revealed that the selection process for the Philippines' 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup roster is the culmination of all the scouting and training in the last 18 months.
This is after the Australian manager revealed the 23-woman final roster that will set camp in New Zealand for the national team's debut campaign in the world stage on both men and women's tournaments.
"Over the last 18 months, we’ve given a lot of players their opportunity and grown the depth of this squad to a substantial level," Stajcic said.
The Filipinas have seen more than 40 footballers suit up for the national team for the past 18 months, from local collegiate standouts to foreign-based professional players with the youngest debutant at 16 years old.
Fans were able to witness the Filipinas' road to the World Cup online and on TV, and they will surely look for live FIFA Women's World Cup scores online again just to keep track of the latest scores.
"In a positive way, we’ve got such a pool of players that made the final 23 (selection) even more difficult than I thought it would be," the gaffer added.
He revealed that the selection was a hard decision, with several key players being left out in one roster and being called up to the next one.
"It was such an extremely tough choice, but these players were ultimately the ones who put their hands up and impressed the most in recent times and based on current form," Stajcic said.
"They are the ones that my coaching staff and myself think will represent the Filipinas the best and gives us the best possible chance to perform at our peak in the World Cup," he added.
Stajcic, who has been involved in the Philippines' setup since 2021, will lead the 46th-ranked Philippines in their maiden World Cup appearance beginning with a showdown against Switzerland in Dunedin on July 21.
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