US visit a distraction the Football Ferns don’t need
Jitka Klimkova´ has been thrown a hospital pass, as there is little for New Zealand to gain from playing the world champions. Analysis by Andrew Voerman.
Football Ferns coach Jitka Klimkova´ put on a brave face as she announced her squad to take on the United States in Wellington and Auckland later this month, in a pair of matches that loom as a major distraction early in a massive year.
She insisted, on several occasions throughout a 20-minute Zoom call with reporters, that her side would benefit from playing at Sky Stadium and Eden Park, two venues they will return to in July during the Fifa Women’s World Cup, but that was the only positive she had to offer.
It is true that the Ferns have never played at Eden Park, where they will begin their World Cup campaign on July 20, so getting some familiarity with it on January 21 wouldn’t hurt.
They have also only played once at Sky Stadium, the home of the Wellington Phoenix, and that was a match worth forgetting – the one where they effectively abandoned any suggestion of attacking and lost 3-1 to Japan.
What’s worrying is their return to the venue on January 18 could end up being an ever darker day for New Zealand football.
The US have won 17 of the 19 meetings between the two nations, with the other results a draw in 2013 and a New Zealand win in 1987, in a match against a club side representing the US that for some reason is counted as a proper international.
Their last four meetings have resulted in American wins by five-goal margins – 5-0 at the SheBelieves Cup last February; 6-1 at the Tokyo Olympics; 5-0 in the leadup to the 2019 World Cup, which the US won; and 5-0 in a friendly in September 2017.
The Ferns shouldn’t be playing a team of the United States’ calibre as they finalise their preparations for the World Cup. The Americans have won the last two World Cups and will be among the title contenders in New
Zealand and Australia this year.
Meanwhile, the co-hosts will be looking to register their first win in a World Cup match, having managed three draws alongside 12 losses to date. They will also be after another win to ensure they advance to the knockout stages for the first time, though they might find a win and draw is enough, depending on how the other matches play out in group A, where they will be joined by Norway, the Philippines and Switzerland.
None of those teams come close to rivalling the US, whom the Ferns could meet if they make it beyond that to the quarterfinals. These matches might serve them well if they do make it as far as the round of 16, where they would likely play Spain or Japan, but as far as their primary objectives are concerned, they are a gigantic waste of time. Even more so when you consider the state of the 26-strong squad Klimkova´ has assembled, which looks understrength on paper and will be even weaker in reality, as some players will be arriving late and others will be departing early.
In scheduling these matches outside the windows where clubs must release players, her bosses at NZ Football have thrown her a hospital pass, one she didn’t need in such an important year. The fear is simple: If the US beat fullstrength Ferns squads by five goals, what will they do against this one?
With five new players called up to face the US, Klimkova´ has gone to a total of 45 players during her 15 months in charge, though they include Abby Erceg and Rosie White, who have since retired.
When it comes to whittling that long list down to 23 for the World Cup, the matches this month will be almost useless. The ones in February, against Portugal and Argentina in Hamilton and Auckland, and the ones in April, away against two European sides, will be where the Ferns can really prepare.
The 23 players who have played the most under Klimkova´ have accounted for 94% of all the minutes available in her 16 matches in charge, with the nine most-used players responsible for 53% of them.
Of those eight, only four will be present this month, and one of them, captain Ali Riley, is set to be limited as she recovers from a hip injury. The other three are midfielders Olivia Chance and Betsy Hassett (who is only available for match one) and forward
Paige Satchell (who will be on a minutes limit in match one).
The four missing are all defenders – centre backs Katie Bowen, Claudia Bunge and Meikayla Moore, and right back CJ Bott – which sums up the extent of the challenge the Ferns face, trying to hold out the likes of US star Alex Morgan.
When you take that group of 23 players, which takes you down as far as Annalie Longo, who only played a total of 180 minutes before suffering a serious knee injury in September, you
effectively have a preliminary World Cup squad.
The question mark over Longo means there’s a chance there will be at least one change, while a scan of the names suggest there might be a need for an extra fullback at the expense of a midfielder or a forward.
Right back Grace Neville has a chance to stake her claim against the US, as do left backs Ally Green, Anna Green and Ashleigh Ward. Beyond that, there are opportunities to be taken in the forward ranks, with the Ferns in desperate need of more creativity and more goals. Deven Jackson and Tayla O’Brien have been picked out of New Zealand’s amateur National League Championship and will be hoping to earn return invites down the line, though the Ferns are set to spend far more time defending than attacking.
If the Ferns exceed expectations and give the US a good match or two, or somehow stun them for a draw or the unlikeliest of wins, then all this fretting will have been for nothing, and the powers that be at NZ Football will have got away with one. But even if the results go as expected, it won’t be a cause for panic.
Yes, it might take some explaining to those who aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of the beautiful game. These will easily be the highest-profile matches the Ferns have had in years, so it would be better if they weren’t hamstrung the way they have been.
But the matches in February and April, and the training camp to follow will matter most.