It gives goosebumps now.

From the moment Jitka Klimková was unveiled as the Football Ferns head coach back on 1 September 2021, everything has pointed to an evening 687 days later.

Specifically 7pm, 20 July, 2023, at Eden Park, in front of a record crowd for a football match in Aotearoa, set to be well over the previous record of 37,034.

Now less than 72 hours away from that moment, if you ask her how she’s feeling being so close she laughs and offers an arm, goosebumps visible.

“It's hard to even describe my feelings. I am so thankful for this opportunity,” she says.

“We’ve been working really hard during those two years for this moment, and our goal is to inspire the nation. And I am just very lucky to be part of it.”

It’s been nearly two years of grit, graft, and toil that have seen the Ferns play eight of the world’s top 20 teams.

Over 50 players have been called up, including 21 to the environment for the first time, and 14 players making their senior international debuts. Hundreds of thousands of miles travelled by players and staff, with senior Fern Liv Chance racking up over 145,000 and revealed by FIFPro as being the world’s most-travelled footballer between August 2022 and April 2023.

A significant part of Klimková’s role in the team’s journey has been guiding the team to its playing identity while integrating new players into the squad and managing the added pressures of the home World Cup, and coming off the back of a challenging Olympic Games campaign, which itself was preceded by the team being unable to play for 16 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Part of the growing pains of the transition period has meant that for a time the team didn’t demonstrate this quality as consistently as they had in the past. But it’s been front of mind for the team that come the moment the eyes of the world are upon them and they’re chasing history for Aotearoa, they’ll be ready.

“I remember [before becoming head coach] when I would watch the Ferns play I was like, ‘wow, this is a team that is really hard to play against’,” says Klimková.  

“When we talk how we want to be remembered as a team after this World Cup, everybody says we want to be gritty. We want to be the team that is always really physical and hard to play against. This is the goal that we are building towards.”

The steely grit and determination Klimková wants her team to display is epitomised by co-captain Ria Percival, whose return to football after recovering from an ACL rupture and damaged meniscus has come at the perfect time for the Ferns.

“It’s so good to have her back.

“She brings that grit, and she's the best role model for everybody around. She worked so hard to be back on the field and she's the same Ria like before [the injury]. It's so good to see that she's not hesitating.

“She's tough that girl.”

Percival’s absence along with Annalie Longo’s torn ACL, Ali Riley and CJ Bott’s intermittent injury challenges as well as Rebekah Stott’s fight back from cancer and ankle surgery have meant that Klimková has been without at least two of her most senior players in every game she’s managed for the Ferns.

“That is something we were missing in many games. We had a lot of young ones, but missing that spine in the team that can bring that calmness and experience in the game,” she notes.

The game against Vietnam though, particularly the first half, gave fans a glimpse of what the Ferns have been working towards since assembling in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland from the beginning of May.

Blending the effervescence and fearlessness of youth with the acumen and street smarts of experience is a challenge for all coaches, but the free-flowing attack that culminated in Jacqui Hand’s second international goal demonstrated this melding of old and new beautifully: Betsy Hassett won the ball just inside the Ferns’ half and slipped it to Percival, who gave it to Bott to charge forward and interchange with Indiah-Paige Riley and Hassett and back to Riley, who drove into Vietnam’s penalty area to slide the ball to an incoming Hand for a tap in.

The movement embodied the team's work in building their connections and combinations.

As the opening game creeps closer, the signs are increasingly promising.

While the Ferns were unable to turn around a first half concession against world number 16 Italy in Friday’s behind closed doors match, what mattered more was their resolve and organisation on display for the entire match.

“For the last 20 minutes when we were on our front foot, when we were pushing hard, when we were actually creating chances. That is something that again, we have not seen so many times in our previous games.

“How we defended [against Italy] was exactly how we want to play. Every time we step on the field, this is something what we can control.”

It set the team in good stead as they aim to open the tournament by creating history.

“We know we can succeed in this World Cup if we are united and very well-organized defensively, says Klimková.

“If each player has the mindset of ‘I’m not going to give up anything on the field’, this is something we can control and, and we can be successful.”

Article added: Tuesday 18 July 2023