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Football: Stajcic hails Filipinas' 'phenomenal' effort against South Korea

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="AFC photo." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/02/03/20220203-stajcic-hails-filipinas-1.jpg"/><figcaption>Philippines&#x27; goal-keeper Olivia McDaniel makes a save against South Korea in the AFC Women&#x27;s Asian Cup semifinals. <em>AFC photo.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>There was no criticism, just praise, from head coach Alen Stajcic after the Philippines saw their unforgettable run in the AFC Women&#x27;s Asian Cup come to an end in the semifinals.</p><p>Against a higher-ranked South Korean squad on Thursday afternoon, the Filipinas conceded early but recovered, before ultimately absorbing a 2-0 defeat at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India.</p><p>For Stajcic, it was another brave performance from a Philippine side that has been impressive all throughout the competition. He was disappointed to have conceded a goal in the fourth minute to Cho So-hyun, but otherwise had no complaints.</p><p>&quot;We hoped to build up pressure with the scoreboard, but that didn&#x27;t happen,&quot; said Stajcic, whose team also gave up a goal in the 34th to Son Hwa-yeon. &quot;Korea were the better team, obviously dominated and had more chances.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/02/03/22/filipinas-fall-to-south-korea-in-womens-asian-cup-semis">MATCH REPORT: Filipinas fall to South Korea in Women&#x27;s Asian Cup semis</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/02/03/22/world-cup-bound-pinays-have-busy-schedule-for-rest-of-2022">READ: World Cup-bound Pinays have busy schedule for rest of 2022</a></li></ul><p>The Filipinas had &quot;five or six half chances,&quot; said Stajcic, but what stood out to him was the effort and hard work displayed by his players just days after figuring in a thrilling -- and exhausting -- quarterfinal against Chinese Taipei.</p><p>The Philippines had beaten Chinese Taipei on penalties, 4-3, after both squads were deadlocked at 1-1 at the end of extra time.</p><p>&quot;The best part about today is that, the players after 120 minutes the other night, they fought right to the death,&quot; he said. &quot;There&#x27;s an amazing amount of heart and courage and spirit in this group, and I know I&#x27;m proud of them.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I know the whole coaching staff are really proud, and I think everyone back home in the Philippines should be so proud of this group. They&#x27;ve come such a long way in such a short space of time,&quot; he added.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="AFC photo." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/02/03/20220203-stajcic-hails-filipinas-2.jpg"/><figcaption>Philippines coach Alen Stajcic. <em>AFC photo.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Stajcic was classy in defeat and acknowledged that South Korea are &quot;a top class team who fully deserve the win,&quot; but he was effusive in praising his players&#x27; performance even in a loss.</p><p>For the Australian coach, what made the Philippines&#x27; effort all the more impressive was the gap in experience and stature between the two squads. Korea Republic are ranked 18th in the world and are perennial contenders in Asia; the Philippines are No. 64 and made the Women&#x27;s Asian Cup semis for the first time in their history.</p><p>&quot;Our team, as I said earlier in the week, we&#x27;ve got a team who&#x27;s barely trained during the COVID period,&quot; he also pointed out. &quot;So for them to come out here and put on that kind of effort and running and performance after 120 minutes the other night is just phenomenal.&quot;</p><p>&quot;To be able to run that much after such a short turnaround, and that much energy that they expend the other night, against a top class team who fully deserve the win is really phenomenal,&quot; he added.</p><p>Ultimately, Stajcic believes that nothing more can be asked of the Filipinas, who went to India as massive underdogs but became one of the stories of the tournament as they exceeded expectations. Their triumph against Chinese Taipei on Sunday night sealed their spot in the FIFA Women&#x27;s World Cup 2023 -- their first ever appearance in the showpiece event.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/31/22/filipinas-advance-to-fifa-womens-world-cup">READ: Filipinas advance to FIFA Women&#x27;s World Cup</a></li></ul><p>&quot;When you create history almost every time you step on the field, there&#x27;s nothing more you can ask,&quot; said Stajcic. &quot;The bar of performance has been raised, the expectations for the country have been raised.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Everyone now has to come on board. We&#x27;ve got 18 months to prepare now for the World Cup, and make sure that we do everything that we can as a country to give those players the maximum possible chance of performing at that stage,&quot; he added.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1915220" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

There was no criticism, just praise, from head coach Alen Stajcic after the Philippines saw their unforgettable run in the AFC Women's Asian Cup come to an end in the semifinals.

Football: Stajcic hails Filipinas' 'phenomenal' effort against South Korea

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Football: Stajcic hails Filipinas' 'phenomenal' effort against South Korea

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 03, 2022 10:50 PM PHT

Read More:

football

AFC Women's Asian Cup

Philippines

South Korea

Korea Republic

Philippine women's national football team

PWNFT

Alen Stajcic

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