Sarina Bolden, the precocious forward of the Philippine women's national football team (PWNFT), is as close to a perfect teammate.
She might actually be.
The talent is undeniable. So is the fearlessness in big games and big moments.
And yet, with the way Bolden carries herself, one would think she’s just one of the girls and not the Filipinas’ undisputed alpha.
Really now. when was the last time Bolden hogged the credit?
Try never.
Good as she is, Bolden willingly deflects credit and speaks glowingly of her fellow Filipinas.
Bolden did just that in her latest interview published on the FIFA website. In that conversation, she heaped praise on her history-making teammates as she looked back on their magical year in 2022, when they reached the AFC Women's Asian Cup semifinals, and more importantly, booked a ticket to the FIFA Women's World Cup. They also won the AFF Women's Championship that year.
“2022 was filled with so much joy, so many ups. There were downs, but we rallied around each other and when things were getting hard, we made sure to just be a unit, be a team, be a family,” said Bolden. “All of the accomplishments that we had are a reflection of how we handled things.”
Asked why she didn’t talk about her game-winning penalty kick against Chinese Taipei that clinched their World Cup ticket, the 5-foot-8 Fil-Am again shifted the conversation back to the team.
“It's a team effort," she started off her response. "I could easily say Olivia [McDaniel], our goalkeeper, is the savior of that because she saved two penalty kicks and scored one herself. That doesn’t happen in soccer, men or women."
"I’m glad that I scored that winning goal but we wouldn’t have even been in that position if Olivia hadn't stepped up big time. And all the rest of the girls fought to the very end,” Bolden elaborated.
And, speaking of that game-winner, Bolden still credits part of it to—who else?—a teammate in then team captain Tahnai Annis.
“Before my penalty kick, two girls had missed and our captain [Annis] came to me, because she missed her penalty kick, and said, ‘Pick a spot and just shoot it. Don’t think about it, don’t overthink it, just pick a spot and shoot it,’” Bolden recounted. “That calmed me down. So, when it was my time to take the shot, I knew exactly what I was going to do. And, you know, the rest is history.”
Bolden could’ve gloated. But she didn’t.
She’s all about the team. She gets it—and that’s one of the things that makes Bolden such a great teammate.
(GM)