Rising star at centre of tug of war
Football Ferns coach Tom Sermanni is refusing to give up on highly rated prospect Indiah-Paige Riley representing New Zealand on the international stage, despite the fact she has been selected by Australia.
The Fortuna Hjørring forward was born in Auckland but grew up in Queensland and is eligible to represent both countries.
Riley was one of four uncapped players selected by new coach Tony Gustavsson in a predominantly European-based Matildas squad for games against Germany and the Netherlands. But as the games are just friendlies, they will not tie her to Australia should the 19-year-old decide to switch nationalities.
Riley has already represented Australia at under-20 level, but last year revealed she was considering committing her international future to her country of birth after being approached by New Zealand Football in the leadup to the Tokyo Olympics.
Sermanni has been in regular contact with the former W-League Young Player of the Year over the past 12 months and said he had spoken with her mother following Riley’s maiden Matildas call-up.
He said she had indicated to him that Riley would continue to keep an open mind with regard to her international future.
‘‘She hasn’t made any declaration at the moment,’’ Sermanni said. ‘‘And being included in this camp doesn’t really change things because she could even play in one of these internationals and still be eligible for New Zealand.’’
Sermanni had hoped to bring Riley into the Football Ferns environment in the lead-up to the Olympics to help her make a more informed decision on her future.
But with no warmup games on the horizon due to travel complications brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Scotsman said that would now have to wait until after the Olympics in JulyAugust, even though it could open the door for the Matildas to pick her in their squad if she was to impress this week.