The Philippine coach wants the opponent's fans to fill the field
*New Zealand - Philippines: 12:30 Tuesday, July 25 (Hanoi time).
"Normally, the host country or the home team has the advantage in any football match. Luckily we didn't have to play with 25,000 people but only 11 opponents," said Philippines coach Alen Stajcic before the match. "On the other side of the line, you need to support the audience coming to the field. This is a great event for football, for New Zealand, as well as for the team and our country."
The opening match of the 2023 Women's World Cup between New Zealand and Norway had 42,137 fans, more than double the previous record of spectators for a football match in this country. In this match, New Zealand won the first victory at the World Cup playground, with a score of 1-0 thanks to a goal from striker Hannah Wilkinson.
When New Zealand faced the Philippines - representing Southeast Asia for the first time in the World Cup - about 34,000 tickets to Wellington Regional were quickly sold out. The Philippines lost to Switzerland 0-2 in the first leg and need to win this match if they want to keep their hopes up.
On July 23, 40,000 Australian fans went to Sydney Stadium to watch the Jamaica - France match in Group F. Stajcic, the coach who led the Australian women's team from 2014 to 2019, said he was glad that the audience was so interested in the Women's World Cup. "The number of spectators is amazing. Football is not the number one sport in the Philippines, New Zealand or Australia. So we need to do everything we can to get more people's attention to women's football. That will motivate the players, give them precious moments in their careers," Stajcic said.
In fact, matches with the host New Zealand are expected to draw more fans to the field in the context of matches in the capital Wellington lacking spectators. The Spain - Costa Rica match did not reach 70% of the audience compared to the capacity of the stadium, while the Sweden - South Africa match on July 23 only reached 55%.
Despite FIFA distributing 20,000 free tickets in New Zealand before the World Cup kicks off, the event has not attracted much attention from the people of this country. In contrast, FIFA sold more than a million tickets in co-host Australia more than a month before the opening day. "What the organizers need to do is educate people about the speciality of matches between two teams that are not home, or do not have high rankings. More stories will be needed to attract fans," said RMIT university lecturer Kevin Argus.
The Philippines lost 1-2 to New Zealand in a friendly match in September 2022. Stajcic thinks that defeat is an important experience for his team to improve and affirmed that the Southeast Asian team will show a different face in this rematch.
