Despite loss, Filipinas show heart in historic first Women’s World Cup appearance

DUNEDIN, New Zealand – The Philippine women's national football team suffered a 2-0 defeat against Switzerland in the country’s first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup appearance here in the city of Dunedin in South New Zealand.

It was an emotional day for the Philippines, as the country made its debut in the FIFA Women’s World Cup and it was a struggle for many, including this writer, to keep emotions in check when Lupang Hinirang was played in the stadium.

Coach Alen Stajcic made no surprises as he brought on an expected strongest eleven to kickstart the Filipinas’ campaign, with Angie Beard making her much-awaited debut for the country.

And what a debut it was, as Beard showed off her versatility by covering the left back and center back positions with ease.

This versatility allowed Stajcic to deploy usual left back Sofia Harrison in a more advanced role at the onset, where for a good 20 minutes the Philippines dared to dream and threatened the established order by taking the game to Switzerland, culminating in a disallowed goal by Katrina Guillou that had already sent the pro-Filipino crowd into a frenzy.

With Beard able to cover the center back position as well, Jessika Cowart was moved to center defensive midfield position, which she marshalled alongside Jackie Sawicki.

But cream always rises to the top, and the more talented Switzerland side imposed their will as the game wore on, with PSG’s Ramona Bachmann in particular causing the biggest threat.

And it is the same Bachmann who would break Filipinas’ hearts with a cooly taken penalty – one that was not given by the referee in real time and that required a VAR check.

In truth, it was a deserved lead for the Swiss at the halftime break and a lead which they intended to keep as they came out strong in the second half, pinning the Filipinas back in their own half.

Olivia McDaniel was one the standout players of the game, but despite making a double save on the play, she was powerless to stop the Swiss second goal.

She did give tribute to the traveling fans, who made the not so insignificant trip down to Southern New Zealand in near freezing temperatures just to support the team.

“It was such an incredible experience in singing our national anthem and it truly felt that we were on home soil,” said the Filipinas goalkeeper.

“So many of our kababayans are here and supporting us in the crowd and just the emotions were high and we were just so lucky and blessed to have so many of our fans here.”

Overall, even Stajcic had to admit that Switzerland was the better team and ultimately, the deserved winners on the day. But the Philippines' coach was very quick to show his appreciation for his team’s efforts.

“The team showed courage and heart. I am proud of the spirit that they showed today,” said Stajcic.

“We showed that we are competitive. We came here to compete and we’re not going to sit back for 90 minutes. To come this far and be able to compete with Switzerland is something great.”

Despite the loss, it was a historic day for the Philippines. It was a day of many firsts, one that will live very long in the memory. Dealing with so much intense emotion in the buildup to the first World Cup appearance was always going to be very difficult, and with that out of the way, the next group stage match, against hosts New Zealand, may hopefully turn out a bit differently for the Filipinas.

The Philippines will take great heart in the narrow 2-1 friendly loss against the Football Ferns last year, but will be wary of the threat of the hosts, who beat fancied Norway in their own opening match.

The first game day is over and done with, and all attention must go now to get the maximum points possible from the remaining group stage games, starting with a crucial game against the hosts in Wellington where a defeat will send the team crashing out of the competition.

The Filipinas now have to put this opening day defeat behind them and focus on the task at hand, something McDaniel summed up best: “We were definitely prepared and ready to go (against Switzerland), but unfortunately it didn’t go our way.”

“But all we can do is move on, grab our bearings and lock it down and get ready to go.”

—JMB, GMA Integrated News