US goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher says closed-door scrimmage with Filipinas was 'challenging'

Days after the Philippine women's national football team made its debut in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup stage, a report saying they had a closed-door scrimmage against the reigning champions United States surfaced.

After their 1-1 stalemate against The Netherlands on Thursday, US women's national soccer team goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher talked about the said scrimmage.

"I think it was a great opportunity for us to play the Philippines as we both prepare for the tournament," she told GMA Integrated News.

"It was a challenging game, it was a good game and congratulations to the Philippines on the win," she added.

Naeher also shared some tips on how the Filipinas can improve moving forward on the global stage.

"I think the biggest thing is being able to identify the strengths of the group, strengths of the team, strengths of individuals and how you can cater your style to your team and get the best out of it. and understanding weaknesses as well is really important," she said.

"Too often we all look at weaknesses but the reality is we all have them and I think the more we can identify the areas that we are not as strong in, play more to our strengths and identify those as well, it's going to make any team more competitive if you can just continue to build on what you know you can do and run with it," she added.

The United States currently leads Group E with four points from a win and a draw, and a goal difference of four.

The Philippines, meanwhile, will play Norway on Sunday in a crucial match as it hopes to advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang, with reporting by Ryan Fenix/JMB, GMA Integrated News