Filipinas’ Hali Long and Inna Palacios on the cover of Preen.ph for July. –PHOTO JP Talapian via Preen.ph
MANILA, Philippines—The Filipinas may be in Group A in the upcoming 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup but Inna Palacios and Hali Long have their own fantasy matches they wish to see on the global stage.
The Philippines will be competing in pool matches against host New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland but Palacios and Long have their eyes set on advancing to the next round in hopes of facing their dream opponents.
For Long, the Filipinas’ top-notch defender, wants to compete against Brazil or Nigeria.
“I would want to play either Brazil or Nigeria. They are just well-rounded athletes,” Long said in an interview with Inquirer Sports.
“To go up against the likes of who created women’s football to be [known] nationwide, I just have the utmost respect for the pioneers of football globally.”
Brazil is in Group F alongside France, Jamaica and Panama while Nigeria plays in Group B with Canada, Australia and Ireland.
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Palacios, meanwhile, would want to test her mettle against the Netherlands, the 2019 silver medalist.
“I really want to go against Netherlands. It’s unfortunate that the player I really want to go against is injured at the moment, Vivian Miedema,” the La Salle product said.
“I think it would be such a great experience to go against a striker of her caliber,” she added.
The Netherlands will compete in Group E without Miedema, who sustained an ACL injury in December last year.
Netherlands is joined by defending champion United States, Portugal and Vietnam.
The World Cup begins on Thursday while the Filipinas open their campaign on Friday against Switzerland.
Only the top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stage.