Football Ferns name squad for Cyprus Cup

Three uncapped players have been named in the New Zealand women’s football team to contest the Cyprus Cup tournament early next month.

Goalkeeper Anna Leat, midfielder Malia Steinmetz and forward Martine Puketapu have all been selected in the 22-player squad confirmed by coach Tony Readings yesterdayday.

The world No 19 Football Ferns will face Scotland (No 21), Austria (No 24) and Korea Republic (No 18) at the annual tournament on the island nation in the eastern Mediterranean.

Five players with more than 100 internationals - captain Abby Erceg, Amber Hearn, Ria Percival, Ali Riley and Kirsty Yallop – also feature in the squad, although vice-captain Katie Duncan was listed as not available for selection.

‘‘It will be great to have the whole group back together. We haven’t had that since the Rio Olympics, so we are looking forward to that energy that this team gets when they reassemble,’’ Readings said as his team begin their road towards the 2019 Fifa World Cup and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Leat and Steinmetz were standouts for New Zealand at the under-17 World Cup in Jordan last year, while Puketapu and oncecapped Paige Satchell were prominent members of the national under-20 side at the World Cup in Papua New Guinea.

Readings expected a different challenge from each of the three nations they will face in Cyprus.

Scotland have just qualified for their first European Championships, Austria were an ‘‘emerging team’’, while Korea were familiar to the New Zealand team and were a technically strong side.

‘‘It will be great for the younger players to see these different styles and have to adapt,’’ Readings said.