By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After the Philippine Women’s National Football team’s long holiday season and a much-deserved vacation, a series of preparations for the 2023 FIFA World Cup will be lined up to boost their chances of breaking through in the most prestigious football tournament.
The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) just announced that the Filipina booters will be traveling to Murcia, Spain on February 15 next year to take part in the 2023 Pinatar Cup.
“Competing in the Pinatar Cup is a great opportunity for the Filipinas to familiarize themselves with European teams ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup,” said Ilonggo sportsman and PFF president Mariano Araneta, Jr.
The Filipinas will be preparing against Wales, Scotland, and Iceland in the first drawn group stage of the Pinatar Cup which will run until February 21.
Before flying to Spain, the Filipinas had an excellent overseas intensive training camp that featured several friendly matches against different national teams.
One match that stood out the most was their game against Papua New Guinea where they won in a convincing fashion, 9-0.
“We are leveling up our preparations for the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the team will benefit playing against stronger more experienced teams,” said Filipinas team manager Jefferson Cheng.
Five months ago, the Filipinas finally reached the mountain top and won its first-ever AFF Championship title.
With the whole nation behind them, the mighty Filipinas completed its redemption tour against Thailand and notched a convincing 3-0 outing during the championship match held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.
