The Ford Football Ferns will face Iceland and Nigeria this April in Turkey as the team continues to build towards the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 this July in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

The team will play Iceland on Friday 7 April (Saturday 8 April NZT) and Nigeria on Tuesday 11 April (Wednesday 12 April NZT). 

Both games will be played at Mardan Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey. 

Both matches kick off at 4pm local time (1am NZT).

The confirmation of Nigeria means that the Ferns will have faced a side from every FIFA confederation outside of Oceania in preparation for the tournament. 

The games mark the last overseas fixtures the team will play before the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with the extended squad set to start assembling in New Zealand from late May to begin a two month pre-camp and warm-up matches before the tournament. 

Ford Football Ferns head coach Jitka Klimková said:

“These are two good sides and a great test for us going into the tournament. 

“We played Iceland just over a year ago so this game presents a good opportunity to see how we have been progressing. 

“We were also keen to face an African side so that we have challenged ourselves against every other confederation, and Nigeria are the perfect opponent. 

“As a team we were disappointed with the results against Portugal and Argentina so I know everyone is keen to get back on the pitch to show what we can do.”

The Ford Football Ferns squad for the tour will be named on Tuesday 28 March. 

Article added: Monday 20 March 2023