‘Ideal preparation’ for Ferns

New Zealand Football Ferns coach Tom Sermanni is excited about the upcoming contest against his former Australian women’s football team charges in February.

Sermanni, who coached Australia from 1994 to 1996 and again from 2005 to 2012 – will lead the Football Ferns against the Matildas in Sydney on February 28 in the inaugural Cup of Nations tournament.

The Ferns will also meet Argentina and South Korea in a seven-day series being played in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Sermanni hailed as ‘‘ideal preparation’’ for the 2019

Fifa

Women’s

World Cup finals in

France where

New Zealand will Tom Sermanni meet

Canada, the Netherlands and Cameroon.

‘‘To be able to play three world-class sides over seven days in three different locations will be great preparation for what we will face in France at the World Cup,’’ Sermanni said.

‘‘We only have six months until the tournament begins so to have secured quality opposition, along with playing the USA in May, we are happy with our build-up to the tournament.’’

Sermanni said the Cup of Nations would feature games ‘‘against three different styles of opponents’’.

‘‘It mirrors the World Cup in the sense of playing three games back-to-back with travel in between. It’s ideal preparation for going to France.’’

Sermanni said Australia – ranked sixth in the world – would be a good gauge for the 19thranked Football Ferns.

‘‘Australia have one of those teams that people fancy [to do well in France]. They’re not so much a dark horse, to be honest ... but they’ve got a really good chance to go deep.’’

‘‘That will be a really great game for us.’’

The New Zealand-Australia match will take on extra significance as 2019 marks 40 years since the Matildas played their first ‘A’ international, which was against the Football Ferns, at Sutherland in 1979.

The fixture will enable the FFA to honour and celebrate the anniversary of the match at a venue close to where the historic fixture was held.

Sermanni said South Korea (14th) would offer a different technical challenge and while Argentina (26th) was ‘‘a little bit of an unknown’’.

He expected the South Americans will ‘‘be able to play football and understand the game and will be formidable opponents’’.

Football Federation Australia, with the support of the New South Wales Government, Brisbane City Council, and the Victorian Government, will host the four-nation tournament which will comprise of three double-header match days.

Three days later, the Cup of Nations will shift to Brisbane as Argentina and New Zealand go head to head at Suncorp Stadium, before Australia take on Korea Republic in their second match of the tournament.

Melbourne’s AAMI Park will play host to the third and final match day of the Cup of Nations on March 6 where Korea Republic will take on New Zealand, and Australia will meet Argentina in the last game of the competition.