Football Ferns go into second Canada game with recent results against them
As the Football Ferns prepare for another game against Olympic champion Canada today, the respective journeys of the two nations are hard to ignore, writes Michael Burgess.
AUCKLAND: On June 11, 2015, the Football Ferns took the field against Canada in Edmonton at the Fifa Women’s World Cup.
Playing at their home World Cup, Canada had the advantage of a huge local support but could not overcome a gritty New Zealand side.
While the host nation had more chances in the 00 draw, the Ferns missed the best opportunity when Amber Hearn’s firsthalf penalty hit the crossbar.
Six years later, it feels as if the two nations have never been further apart, epitomised by the 51 result on Sunday in Ottawa.
While a couple of the goals conceded were unfortunate, Canada also passed up several chances to inflict further damage, and its secondhalf dominance was frightening at times.
New Zealand was missing some players — notably Abby Erceg, Rebekah Stott and Hannah Wilkinson — while Paige Satchell’s pace might have provided something different.
But the Ferns still had most of their recent firstchoice team and lots of experience in the ranks.
Looking back, the 2015 World Cup was a turning point for both nations and reflected the fine margins of international football.
Canada topped the group, mainly due to a lastgasp 10 win over China with Christine Sinclair converting a 93rdminute penalty. It beat Switzerland 10 in the round of 16, before being stopped by England in the quarterfinal.
In contrast, the 2015 Ferns were left to wonder what might have been.
Aside from Hearn’s penalty miss, there was a frustrating 22 draw with China, a team they had beaten in three of their four previous encounters, with the Asian side benefiting from an incorrect penalty decision.
A victory would have sent New Zealand through to the knockout rounds, and a game against world No 53 Cameroon for a place in the last eight, but it wasn’t to be.
That tournament was probably the peak moment for this Ferns generation, who were solid throughout in a tough group. They haven’t reached those performance heights since on the world stage.
But the Canadians have gone from strength to strength: third at the 2016 Olympics, second round at the 2019 Women’s World Cup (eliminated by eventual bronze medallist Sweden) and the gold medal in Japan earlier this year.
There are some contributing factors, as Canada has a large player base, considerable resources and benefits from its proximity to the United States.
But the New Zealand women, for whatever reason, have not progressed enough since 2015.
It is not for lack of activity, as today’s game will be their 50th since that World Cup (the All Whites have played 33 times in the same period).
The Ferns have had considerable investment over the last decade, specifically from High Performance Sport New Zealand, with hundreds of thousands poured into campaign funding.
The players have been given every opportunity to learn, grow and improve together.
Nine of Sunday’s starting XI were part of that World Cup six years ago, and there were four other 2015 survivors in the Olympic squad earlier this year (Erceg, Annalie Longo, Wilkinson and Green).
It’s early days for new coach Jitka Klimkova, who will be given time to establish her systems, styles and structures.
Klimkova has promised an improved performance in today’s game, which kicks off at 12.30pm, but the historical trend gives cause for concern, and the 2023
World Cup is only 20 months away.
The Wellington Phoenix has named its first three Australianbased players for the ALeague Women’s season.
Te Reremoana Walker, Isabel Gomez and Cushla Rue have all agreed to oneyear terms with the club, and will join up with the Phoenix squad once the team arrives in Australia early next month.
Walker, a 17yearold New Zealand midfielder, has been based in New South Wales since 2017, playing five seasons in the NSW competition before joining up with the Newcastle Jets Academy last season. She represented New Zealand as an under17 international player.
Isabel Gomez, an 18yearold Australian midfielder, joins the squad with ALeague experience after spending last season with the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Cushla Rue is an 18yearold Australian defender who has played four seasons for the Football NSW Institute. —