It’s been nothing but a grueling training camp for the Philippine women’s national football team as the 29 members of the provisional roster vie for a deserved spot heading into the country’s maiden FIFA Women’s World Cup this July 21 to 30. The 46-ranked Philippine team flew to Sydney, Australia last month for the hardest four weeks of their lives, with 29 players named by head coach Alen Stajcic set to be trimmed down to 23. Not only has the training been more intense, but the battle to make it to the final lineup has also been more competitive. *The Filipinas during their ongoing month-long training camp in Sydney, Australia. (PWNFT)*

“Definitely have to agree that it has been a bit more grueling. They (coaches) have been on top of us a bit more because we are going into battle as they like to say. We’ll always try to perfect our craft and we’re holding each other accountable a lot more than we usually do,” said Filipinas goalkeeper Kiara Fontanilla during the Summit Thirst For Gold Virtual Press Conference on Friday, June 30. "But we know that we’re striving for that one goal and that’s to make the country proud and to bring as much pride as we can. Not only when we play on field but even off the field. So, we’re training really hard every day and even though not all 29 of us will make it on the final roster, I know that each of us are battling for each other even the ones that won’t make it," she added. Landing in Group A, the final 23 that will see themselves through the provisional camp will be tangled with higher-ranked opponents in Norway (No. 12), Switzerland (No. 20) and host nation New Zealand (No. 25). However, the acid test begins a few days earlier for the Nationals who are set to play world No. 3 Sweden in an unofficial friendly meant to simulate what they have ahead of them before making their historic debut in the global football showpiece.