Mindanaotoday.com | Filipinas hope to stay alive vs Kiwis in FIFA World Cup
By: Jack Biantan
Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental – Yes a loss is a loss, but the Filipinas of coach Alen Stajcic still have a chance of making it to the second round when they clash against host New Zealand on Tuesday in Wellington, New Zealand.
This after the Filipinas bowed against a strong Swiss side in their debut last July 21 in Forsyth Barr stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand.
A penalty goal before halftime from Ramona Bachman put Switzerland ahead. The Swiss then completed their win with a goal from Serian Piubel in the 64th minute to secure their win and three points.
A controversy sucked the wind off the Filipinas early in the game when a goal by Katrina Guilou for the Filipinas was ruled offside.
Guillou hit the back of the net after a neat finish. The Filipinas celebration were cruelly cutoff as the flag was up. TV replays show the long pass did indeed find her offside.
The Swiss actually dominated the Filipinas from start to finish. Switzerland had 70 percent ball possession compared to the Philippines 30 percent ball possession.
The Swiss also had 10 shots on target compared to none by the Filipinas.
A 0-2 loss against the Swiss is quite an achievement for a Southeast Asian country against a formidable team from Europe.
In 2019, Thailand suffered a 1-5 setback against Sweden and then a humiliating 0-13 defeat against USA.
Realistically, against host New Zealand, the Filipinas will face an up mountain battle. New Zealand will have the host crowd behind them. New Zealand is No. 26 in the world Fifa Rankings while the Philippines is ranked 46th.
It will be an Everest to climb for the Filipinas against Norway on July 30 in Auckland. Norway will have bigger and more skillful players and ranked 12 th in the world. The odds will all be all stacked against the Filipinas.
However, who knows our Filipinas can spring some surprises. Remember we scored the first goal against Switzerland. We just hope that the Kiwis will not get help from the referee and the VAR this time. GOD BLESS (jackbiantantambok@gmail.com)
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