Millions of children around the world kick soccer balls around and dream of one day representing their country on the international stage. For most children it is nothing more than a fantasy but a few, very select individuals, get to put on the colors of their country and take the pitch.
Idaho State goalkeeper
Maria Dela Cruz joined the ranks of the few this summer when she played for the Philippines in Group play of the 2014 Asian Football Confederation Women's Asian Cup qualification tournament in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The tournament was also the first stage of qualifying for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The junior was born in the Philippines but moved with her family to California when she was just four years old.
Despite the relocation her family remained close to their roots in Southeast Asia. The family would return to the Philippines every summer to visit family and explore the country.
The familiarity with the country made the transition onto the national team an easy one. Dela Cruz discovered that her teammates had similar stories.
"A lot of the team has spent most of their time in the states," Dela Cruz said. "Out of the 24 players on the team 16 live in the U.S. and eight are still in college. We were only together for a few weeks but we bonded very quickly. I think that helped us be competitive very quickly."
The team spent two weeks training in the sweltering heat to prepare for the tournament. She found that soccer is similar even if it is across the Pacific.
"My first two weeks were a tryout as well as training," Dela Cruz said. "We practiced two-a-days and the drills were very similar to the drills I've run a hundred times. The difference was the humidity, it was almost unbearable. It made doing simple drills hard and our coach wasn't afraid to make us do conditioning."
During their tournament preparations the team also had media responsibilities that were above and beyond anything that Dela Cruz had experienced before. Football in the Philippines is seeing a surge in popularity and is now the second most popular sport in the country, behind basketball.
"It was surreal," Dela Cruz said. "I have been interviewed by the newspaper before but it felt like we were celebrities. We had photo shoots; we were on TV shows and in the newspaper. Everywhere we went kids asked for our autographs and people asked to get their picture with us. It really gave me the sense that I was playing for more than myself."
After training camp in Manila the team traveled to Dhaka for the tournament. Dela Cruz has spent a lot of time in the developing world but Bangladesh took her by surprise.
"With all the time I have spent in the Philippines I thought I understood poverty," Dela Cruz said. "Bangladesh felt like another world. I saw very few women in the street it was mostly men. The streets were dirty and a lot of the buildings crumbling."
Political unrest is also an issue in Dhaka which made travel in the city of 15 million a difficult proposition.
"There were some riots in Dahka just a few weeks before the tournament," Dela Cruz said. "FIFA was very careful with our team. We couldn't leave the hotel unless we were going to the stadium and when we traveled to the stadium it was under a police escort."
It was an eye opening experience for Dela Cruz but it didn't change her opinion of the people of Banglesdesh.
"Every person I met was extremely nice and very helpful," Dela Cruz said. "The people were humble and ready to help, despite the conditions of the city I feel like we had a great experience for the whole team."
On the pitch the team faced a difficult task, they played three games in five days against Iran, Thailand and Bangledesh. The winner of the pool would advance to the AFC Asian Cup where the top six teams would qualify for the World Cup.
The Philippines (83) would face the two higher-ranked teams first. Iran came into the tournament ranked 52nd in the world by FIFA. Twenty-ninth ranked Thailand was the clear favorite of the tournament.
Iran was up first and Dela Cruz would start for the Philippines. It was an experience she won't forget.
"They marched the Filipino flag out in front of us as we took the field," Dela Cruz said. "I walked into the stadium behind that flag to play a game representing 100 million people, it was very surreal experience. It was humbling but I am very proud to have this opportunity to represent my family and country."
The Filipino team wasn't intimidated by the Iranian's ranking and attacked immediately. They scored three goals in the first four minutes to set the tone for the rest of the 6-0 victory.
"We jumped out early and surprised them," Dela Cruz said. "We scored our first three goals very fast and didn't stop attacking. I think they were shocked after that first goal and never recovered."
The team was also welcomed with a cheering section from the Philippine consulate in Dhaka which gave the team a confidence boost.
"When we scored in the first minute our little cheering section went crazy," Dela Cruz said. "It was pretty cool to see that we had fans at the match and how excited they were to cheer on their country."
The team next faced Thailand. The Thai team beat Bangladesh 9-0 in their first match but again the Filipinos would outplay their ranking.
Neither team scored until Thailand's Nisa Romyen scored in the 37th minute. Both teams failed to find the net for the rest of the game and Thailand secured the 1-0 win.
"I was frustrated with the loss to Thailand," Dela Cruz said. "We battle so hard and lost by a lone goal, it was very disappointing. After the game we realized they were ranked 54 places ahead of us in the world rankings and we went toe-to-toe with them. We are all very competitive but we are a young team and that match showed us what we can become."
Dela Cruz did not play in the final game of the tournament a 4-0 win over Bangladesh.
Thailand swept the tournament with a 5-1 win over Iran and secured the spot in the Asian Cup and the opportunity to play for a spot in the World Cup.
Though she was disappointed with the outcome, Dela Cruz thinks her time with on the international stage will help her with her college career.
"I gained experience that very few people I will play against on the college level have," Dela Cruz said. "The extra practice, the travel, and the additional coaching will all help me be a better player at ISU. How many people get to represent their country on the world stage? It was pretty amazing."
The biggest change though may be in how Dela Cruz approaches her daily life.
"I learned a lot about myself," Dela Cruz said. "I realized that what I do matters; I want to be a good example for kids that look up to me, I want to help people and do good things. It made want to be a better person."
We Are Your Bengals
