Battle for survival as PH futsal squad faces Morocco
The Philippine women’s futsal team returns to action on Monday against Morocco, the team that also absorbed a similar 6-0 defeat to open the Fifa Futsal Women’s World Cup.
Coach Rafa Merino, however, cautioned that the Filipina5 will be in for another difficult match, especially with the two sides battling for survival in the 8:30 p.m. affair at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
“Every team here is a strong team because we are in a World Cup,” Merino said. “Every team is gonna be difficult, every team is gonna make it hard. The other teams have more experience than we do.”
Merino and the Filipina5 found that out the hard way on Friday, when Poland took advantage of a home side that ran out of gas in the second half and hammered out a crushing 6-0 victory.
Morocco, meanwhile, gave up four goals in the final minutes of the first half against Argentina, the perceived favorite to top Group A.
Argentina and Poland square off in the opener at 6 p.m. for a chance to close in on a quarterfinal berth.
“What makes us different is the energy that we have,” Merino said, hoping that his team would back it up on the court against the Moroccan side ranked 31st in the world.
Morocco echoed the same sentiment as Merino in terms of the difficult task of getting a result.
“We know that the second game will be very hard also because we will play against the host team,” said Morocco coach Adil Sayeh.
Meanwhile, world No. 2 Spain and Colombia posted contrasting victories in Group B action on Saturday.
Spain beat world No. 4 Thailand, 5-2, with Laura Cordoba producing a brace in the victory. Her goals allowed the Spaniards to break away a 2-2 tie in the first half.
Colombia downed Canada, 2-0, in the other game with Angely Camargo and Nicolle Mancilla scoring in each half.
Sunday’s first of four matches saw Japan dominate New Zealand in Group C, 6-0, led by two goals from Sara Oino.
