The Filipinas' match against Hong Kong in the AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Tuesday marked a milestone in Alen Stajcic's coaching career.

It was the 100th time that Stajcic coached a national side -- a run that started in 2007 with Australia. Incidentally, that match was also against Hong Kong.

"My first match as a head coach was an interim match against Hong Kong in 2007 and the 100th is against Hong Kong again in an Olympic Games qualifier, which is really remarkable," Stajcic said.

Stajcic, 49, went on to coach Australia for 64 matches, steering them to the round-of-16 in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup as well as the quarterfinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

He would be named head coach of the Philippine women's national football team in October 2021 and has spearheaded their unprecedented rise.

The Filipinas qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time ever after making it to the semis of the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, in what was Stajcic's first tournament in charge of the team. They also won bronze in the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam last year, and lifted their first major trophy when they ruled the 2022 AFF Women's Championship on home soil.

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On Tuesday, they reached the second round of the Olympic qualifiers after crushing Hong Kong, 4-0, for a three-match sweep of Group E. It was Stajcic's 36th game in charge of the Filipinas.

After comfortable wins in the first round, the Filipinas will be up against more formidable opponents when the second round of the qualifiers starts in October. Already seeded in the second round are Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, and North Korea; Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Iran have also qualified.

"There's no easy match in football, every match is different and difficult and you have to respect your opponent," said Stajcic.

"We know we’re coming up against big nations now in the next round, Australia, Japan, China and the two Koreas, Thailand and Vietnam. It’s going to be very difficult for us and we need to be ready," he added.

But before the second round of the qualifiers, the Filipinas will first compete in the Southeast Asian Games in May, and the FIFA Women's World Cup in July.