Philippines goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel has expressed confidence that her team can successfully retain their title at the ASEAN Women’s MSIG Serenity Cup™, which will be played in Vietnam from 6 to 19 August.
McDaniel played a key role in the Philippines’ triumph on home soil in the 2022 edition of ASEAN’s premier international women’s football tournament, keeping a clean sheet in the final as they beat Thailand 3-0 to be crowned ASEAN Women’s Champions for the first time.
Hosts Vietnam and regional rivals Thailand, Myanmar and Australia are expected to pose a strong challenge in the upcoming tournament, but the Philippines custodian is looking forward to taking on all-comers in their defence of the title.
“I think our target is plain and simple: we want to come and compete and defend our title. We want to win,” said the 27-year-old, whose team have been drawn in Group B with Myanmar, Australia and Timor-Leste.
“I do think we face a bit more of a challenge with Australia and Myanmar in our group, but at the same time, there are many great teams in this tournament, so whoever we were drawn against, it would have been a great match up for us and we are excited to take these teams on.”
Despite the pressure of expectation placed on her side and lack of home ground advantage this time around, McDaniel feels that the Philippines have the ability and sense of belief to thrive.
“I think there is pressure no matter what we go into, whether it be a friendly or a tournament where we are defending our title like this,” she said. “At the same time, like I have said before, pressure is a privilege for us and we have the opportunity to defend our title and go back-to-back, which is our goal.
“I think it’s even tougher to win on home soil because playing in front of your home crowd and family, you don’t want to let people down and that can create a bit more stress on you. So I think getting to play on someone else’s home ground will help us to calm down.
“We know Vietnam creates some large crowds and has a large fanbase, but over the past couple of years we have been subjected to large crowds like this and I think we will rise to the challenge.”
In addition to winning the ASEAN Women’s Championship, the Philippines also reached the AFC Women’s Asian Cup semi-finals in 2022, before competing in the FIFA Women’s World Cup a year later. For McDaniel, those experiences have helped further strengthen the team’s appetite for success.
“I think our team has been through so much and we have persevered through many ups and downs, and we have had the privilege to play in such amazing atmospheres like the World Cup,” she said.
“I think that has made us stronger together as a group and we are ready to face anything that comes our way.”
The Philippines will kick off their campaign against Timor-Leste at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho on Thursday, 7 August, before facing Australia at the same venue on 10 August. Their final Group B match will be against Myanmar at Lach Tray Stadium in Hai Phong on 13 August.
Group A consists of Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia, with the top teams from each section advancing to the cross-over semi-finals at Lach Tray Stadium on 16 August. The final will be played at Lach Tray Stadium on 19 August.
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