Football Ferns’ limited Olympics preparation At a glance

The Football Ferns might only play in two of the three international windows between now and the Tokyo Olympics.

Their participation in the Algarve Cup in Portugal in March has already been confirmed, but no fixtures have been arranged for the windows in April and June.

Coach Tom Sermanni said financial constraints were a factor and if it were only possible for the Ferns to play in one of those windows, he had a preference.

‘‘I think realistically it will be difficult for us to have fixtures in both of those windows, from a logistical perspective and a financial perspective.

‘‘The reality is we’ll probably have something in one of those windows and if I was given a choice, then it would be June, because I think that’s a better time in between games [after March] and also closer to the Olympics themselves.

‘‘At this stage, that would be our aim.’’

After some promising results early in 2019, including wins over Norway and England, the Ferns finished the year by losing six matches in a row – their worst run of results since 2008, when they ended a 38-match losing streak against non-Pacific Island opponents that stretched back to

1996.

‘‘We’re in a good place and a not-so-good place,’’ Sermanni said.

‘‘2019 was an up-and-down year, I think it’s fair to say. We didn’t achieve what we wanted to at the World Cup and that’s given us an insight into where the women’s game has gone and what’s required to stay competitive at international level.

‘‘The positive things we’ve got are that nearly everybody’s healthy, we’ve got a settled squad, and we’ve got a competitive squad, and we’ve had some continuity now for over a year and that’s invaluable.

‘‘When we went to the World Cup last year, although the preparation for that was really good, the programme was in a bit of turmoil for some time before that,

Tom Sermanni Football Ferns coach, left but I think we’ve got past that stage and we’re now at a stage where the squad is settled.’’

The gold medal match at the Tokyo Olympics is six months from today, but the Ferns will be eyeing the quarterfinals, seven days prior, first and foremost.

They previously made it to that stage in London in 2012, losing to the eventual champions, the United States, but couldn’t make it out their group in Rio in 2016, finishing as the thirdranked third-placed team with the first two advancing to the knockout stages.

The draw for Tokyo is scheduled to take place in April once qualifying has been completed – six of the 12 places on offer are still up for grabs – and the size of the task ahead of the Ferns will only be known then.

England, the Netherlands and

Sweden have qualified out of Europe, by virtue of their performances at the World Cup last year, with Brazil claiming the first spot on offer to South America, and Japan assured a place as hosts.

Sermanni has mostly stuck with a core group since the Cup of Nations in Australia a year ago, handing starts to 16 players between then and the end of the World Cup – where the Ferns finished winless – then to four others at an end-of-year tournament in China.

With results going backwards since the team hit its peak between the 2011 and 2015 World Cups, there has been a desire in some quarters for wholesale change, but that won’t be happening before Tokyo.

‘‘It’s about continuity, it’s not about experimenting. That’s the reality,’’ Sermanni said.

‘‘I’d love to have time to look at two or three players that I think have more potential, but in reality, we really don’t have that time, so [the Algarve Cup] and any other internationals we have

Football Ferns’ road to Tokyo:

■ Algarve Cup, Portugal: March 4: v Belgium

March 7: v Italy/Portugal

March 10/11: v Denmark/ Germany/Norway/Sweden

April international window

6th-14th

June international window

1st-9th

■ Tokyo Olympics:

July 22: Group stage – Matchday one

July 25: Group stage – Matchday two

July 28: Group stage – Matchday three

July 31: Quarterfinals*

August 3: Semifinals*

August 6: Bronze medal match*

August 7: Gold medal match*

*If qualified

‘‘It’s about continuity, it’s not about experimenting. That’s the reality.’’

between now and the Olympics, it’s all about Olympic preparation, and what’s in the best interests of the team for the Olympics, and if that means that at the Algarve Cup we play the same XI for all three games, then we might have to do that.’’

The Ferns received a boost last month when centreback Meikayla Moore returned to action after rupturing her Achilles on the eve of the World Cup last year.

A squad for the Algarve Cup is set to be named in the coming weeks.