Filipinas coach Alen Stajcic says last three cuts were tough to make

Philippine women’s football team coach Alen Stajcic. AFC PHOTO

Coach Alen Stajcic swears the process of selecting the 23 players who will don the Philippine colors in the Fifa (International Association Football Federation) Women’s World Cup was not as easy as it looked.

“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 on Sunday when the team released its official squad through social media.

“In a positive way, we’ve got such a pool of players that made the final three even more difficult than I thought it would be,” added the Australian mentor, who hardly made any surprises with the inclusion of core players integral to their qualification to Fifa’s biggest showpiece for women.

The obvious inclusions were striker Sarina Bolden, defender Hali Long, fellow captain and midfielder Tahnai Annis, goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel and attacker Quinley Quezada, who’ll all be tasked to lead the Filipinas’ bid to put up a respectable showing in Group A against Switzerland, cohost New Zealand and Norway.

Other key figures such as Katrina Guillou, Sara Eggesvik, Chandler McDaniel, Carleigh Frilles, Jessika Cowart, Dominique Randle, Sofia Harrison, Carleigh Frilles and Jacklyn Sawicki also got the nod, so did Isabella Flanigan, Meryll Serrano, Ryley Bugay, Malea Cesar, Alicia Barker, Angela Beard and Reina Bonta.

Three reserves

Goalkeepers Kiara Fontanilla and Kaiya Jota completed the list which Stajcic and his staff finalized before wrapping up the Filipinas’ four-week training camp in Sydney, Australia.

Veteran keeper Inna Palacios, Maya Alcantara and Isabella Pasion were named as reserves, with the impression that they can suit up to replace a player on the squad who suffers an injury or illness.

Veterans Eva Madarang and Jessica Miclat, who had their share of contributions before and after the Filipinas’ entry to the World Cup, and Kaya Hawkinson were the difficult cuts Stajcic had to make in order to complete the lineup.

“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 explained.

“They are the ones that my coaching staff and myself think will represent the Filipinas the best and give us the best possible chance to perform at our peak in the World Cup,” he added.

The Filipinas are scheduled to fly to New Zealand on Monday, with Auckland as their base camp for the duration of the competition. INQ