As Filipinas' World Cup run ends, Sarina Bolden tells football aspirants: 'Go after it'

Setting foot at the FIFA Women's World Cup was once only a dream for Filipino-American striker Sarina Bolden.

Not until January 31, 2022, when the Filipinas defeated Chinese Taipei in India to clinch the country's first-ever World Cup appearance.

But Bolden is hoping that they wouldn't be the last ones to achieve such a feat.

"I'd just say that if you have a dream, go after it," Bolden said on the heels of a tough 6-0 loss to Norway on Sunday to conclude their 2023 World Cup run in Auckland, New Zealand.

She continued: "Work your hardest. There's gonna be ups, there's gonna be downs, but if you truly want to achieve your dream, go after it."

As debutants, the Filipinas indeed had a great campaign in the quadrennial tournament.

They put up a gallant stand against world no. 20 Switzerland before ultimately falling to a 2-0 defeat. But they made sure to regroup and bounce back, stunning co-host New Zealand via a 1-nil victory with Bolden delivering the game-winning header.

Unfortunately for the Filipinas, their campaign came to a close after ending the group stage with a loss to the mighty Norwegian squad. Bolden admitted Norway was just the better team this time, highlighting the fact that they still have a long way to go individually and as a team.

"We knew it was gonna be a dogfight right from the beginning. Norway is a super strong team that has a lot of experience not only in the World Cup, but also professionally. We knew it," she added.

"You know, the best team won today but there are a lot of learning points and growing points for us that we take away and we still learn from this."

Despite the loss, Bolden knows the football community in the country will only grow bigger and she hopes to have inspired a lot of people.

"It's growing and it's bigger than ever. So if your dream is to be a professional, if your dream is to be in the World Cup, you can achieve it," Bolden, a Santa Clara, California-born athlete, said.

"You just got to work hard and set your mind to it and don't worry about the past, don't worry about the future, [because] the time is now."

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News