The Ford Football Ferns are set to kick off their biggest year yet, with a blockbuster two-game series against the USA at two of their FIFA Women’s World Cup venues – starting today at 4.05 pm at Wellington’s Sky Stadium, in front of a record crow

Squad news

Everyone has arrived in camp (arrivals have been staggered to balance club commitments), and after meeting fans at Wellington's waterfront and training at Sky Stadium yesterday the team is ready to take on the USA.

The experience of skipper Ali Riley, veteran defender Anna Green, centurion midfielder Betsy Hassett and goalkeeper Erin Nayler will be vital in guiding the team through its first challenge of the year.

There’s a number of new faces in the Ferns squad, including National League trio Tayla O’Brien, Deven Jackson and Futsal Fern Rebecca Lake, Junior Football Ferns goalkeepers Murphy Sheaff and Brianna Edwards, while London City Lionesses fullback Grace Neville has declared her international allegiance to Aotearoa.

Then there’s also Aniela Jensen and Grace Wisnewski, both uncapped at senior international level but have been part of Ferns squads in the last year and played big roles for the Junior Football Ferns at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2022.

Who could be in line to pull on the Fern for the first time?

What does success in this tour mean for the Ferns?

At yesterday’s press conference, head coach Jitka Klimková noted that there are many successful outcomes to this camp for the Ferns as they prepare for the home World Cup:

“This is an awesome opportunity for us to see new faces, to see new players coming in, to see where they are versus the players who are playing during the weekend with their clubs.

“I think that's very important for us to know them a little bit more about where they are. It's great to revisit a lot of players who have been with us in the past, but we haven't seen them for, for a while in this environment.

“Obviously we keep progressing, we keep growing as a team and it's important for our World Cup preparation. And I think if we've inspired more of those new players to have this kind of desire to come back, then that's the success of this tour.”

This was echoed by Ali Riley, who noted that the Ford Football Ferns will benefit from the experience of this camp for years to come:

“Yes, we're playing the US in this tour, yes, we're hosting World Cup, but Jitka and I are thinking about this team for a year from now, five years from now. We're looking at the growth of the sport and how we as the Football Ferns in New Zealand can stay with that growth.

“And I think this team is doing everything in their power to achieve that.

“I think this team, and this staff, is doing everything that they can to make sure that we do our country proud every single time we step on the field.”

What about the USA?

The USA are in Aotearoa for their annual January training camp, and have used this tour as an opportunity to do a test run for the World Cup and acclimatise to their venues and routines for the tournament.

The world champions had an uncharacteristic end to 2022, losing three of their final four games, and will be looking to remind the rest of the world why they should be considered a favourite to retain their title for an unprecedented third World Cup in a row.

USA head coach Vlatko Andonovski has brought a strong squad to Aotearoa, including a number of World Cup winners: Alex Morgan, Lindsey Horan, Crystal Dunn, Mallory Swanson (nee Pugh), Rose Lavelle and Becky Sauerbrunn to name a few. While several regulars are missing from the side – such as Megan Rapinoe, Sam Mewis and Sophia Smith – the USA has a host of players keen to ensure they will be back in Aotearoa in July.

Book tickets here to watch the game live from $5 at Sky Stadium, Wellington 

Watch live on Sky Sport NZ

Article added: Wednesday 18 January 2023