Graphic: Michael Alesich
 
Head Coach: Tom Sermanni 
 Group: G
Confederation: OFC (Oceania) Ranking: 22
Highest 16 (Dec 2013, July-Sep 2015)
Lowest 24 (Dec 2006)
Federation: NZF
Social Media: Football Ferns
 

 

Although the Football Ferns have been around since 1975, they qualified for their first World Cup in 1991 and their first Olympic Games in 2008. Their best performances in these tournaments are 11th (Group Stage, 1991) and Quarter-finals (2012) respectively.

Squad

Goalkeepers

  • Vic Esson
  • Anna Leat
  • Erin Nayler

Defenders

  • Liz Anton
  • CJ Bott
  • Claudia Bunge
  • Abby Erceg
  • Anna Green
  • Meikayla Moore
  • Ali Riley
  • Marisa van der Meer

Midfielders

  • Katie Bowen
  • Olivia Chance
  • Daisy Cleverley
  • Betsy Hassett
  • Annalie Longo
  • Ria Percival
  • Emma Rolston

Forwards

  • Gabi Rennie
  • Michaela Robertson
  • Paige Satchell
  • Hannah Wilkinson

 

Coach

Ex-Matildas and USA coach Tom Sermanni has been in charge of the Football Ferns since October 2018. The team has performed quite creditably under his watch to date, with narrow losses at the France 2019 Women’s World Cup (including a 1-0 loss to runners-up the Netherlands, and a 2-0 loss to top ten opponents Canada) and a top-four finish (from eight teams) in the 2020 Algarve Cup.

Sermanni, a native Scot, has strong ties to football in Australia. In the 1980’s he played for Marconi Stallions, Canberra City (Arrows), and Canberra Croatia, with several years in the National Soccer League (NSL). At the end of playing days he went on to a successful managing career. He began as a player-coach at Canberra Croatia before going on to coach the Matildas over two stints, as well as men’s teams such as Sydney Olympic and Canberra Cosmos… to say nothing of his time in the United States coaching both the national team and in the NWSL. 

Last Olympics

A win against Columbia in Group G of the Rio 2016 Olympics was not enough to see the Football Ferns progress beyond the group stage. Their 3 points from 3 games, with a -4 goal difference after recording losses to USA and France, were insufficient to get them over the line as one of the better performing third-placed teams.

Nonetheless, defender and current captain Ali Riley had a strong and eye-catching tournament:

Qualifying Path

The Football Ferns’ win at the 2018 edition of the Oceania Football Confederation’s Women’s Nations Cup granted them not only entry to the France 2019 Women’s World Cup, but also to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

The Strengths

This Be The Inspiration: NZ Women’s Soccer – YouTube programme may be from 2016 but is still relevant today in describing the culture and strengths of the New Zealand women’s football team.

As described by Abby Erceg when asked ‘where do you get your team strength from?’:

“We have this real family culture in football – we think of each other more as a family than a team; instead of having a work colleague next to you, you have your sisters around you. The values we focus on are centred around our family values. Team first. We work very, very hard in our pursuit of excellence, making sure we help each other and push each other to those standards of excellence.

“We are a team who do not rely on one or two superstars, and often have to perform under a high degree of pressure, playing against teams ranked higher on the world stage. But having that team strength helps us.”

While a fragmented player base is an issue for the squad, several players were able to gain valuable match time in Season 13 of the W-League, including Canberra United speedster Paige Satchell, Melbourne Victory’s Claudia Bunge and Annalie Longo, Brisbane Roar’s Olivia Chance, and Perth Glory’s Lily Alfeld.

The Challenge

This Beyond 90 article succinctly breaks down the challenges for the Football Ferns at the Olympics, and they are considerable.

To summarise, the key challenges are:

  1. Geographical variation in the COVID-19 era – players are scattered all over the globe (but not in numbers, like Matildas in Europe) and are difficult to bring together. In some cases, Sermanni won’t see some of his charges until their arrival in Japan; and
  2. A resulting lack of competitive games in the leadup to the Games.

The Football Ferns will also be without one of their foremost world-class players in defender Rebekah Stott, who had to cut short her 2021 FAWSL campaign with Brighton and Hove Albion after she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

As if all that wasn’t difficult enough, New Zealand also face the 2020 Olympic edition of the group of death, with Group G opponents in the form of the USA, Australia, and Sweden, all of whom are top ten opponents in FIFA world rankings. 

Read more: Sweden Olympic Preview.

Key Players

Erin Nayler

Participation in the Olympic ‘group of death’ means that both their first-choice keeper and captain will need to have big tournaments and inspire their team.

Goalkeeper Erin Nayler will be a leading figure for the team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, bringing experience from club stints at Bordeaux (three seasons), Grenoble, and current club Reading in the FA WSL

Nayler’s time with the Football Ferns began in 2011 when she was named in the Women’s World Cup squad that year, but she did not earn her first cap until the 2013 Cyprus Cup. She subsequently played in her first World Cup in 2015 and had her first on-field appearances as an Olympian in the Rio 2016 games.

Nayler was also named as the goalkeeper of the International Federation of Football History’s Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Women’s Team of the Decade 2011–2020.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by ERIN NAYLER (@erinnayler)

This in-depth Nayler interview by Christian Brooks from beatsandrhymesfc.com is recommended for further insights into Nayler, her interests, and her football career. 

Ali Riley

Ali Riley is one of the Football Ferns’ most decorated players and their captain since the 2017 Cyprus Cup. She first pulled on a full international jersey for her country in 2007, and later that year represented New Zealand at the 2007 World Cup in China.

Since then Riley has played every minute of the Ferns’ Olympic campaigns in 2008, 2012, and 2016. She has also featured in their defensive line in every Women’s World Cup since 2007.

At club level, Riley has 149 appearances (including 3 championships) with Swedish team Rosengård; 9 appearances with Chelsea; 3 with Bayern Munich, and is currently playing with Orlando Pride.

aliriley.com is a scrapbook-style website that gives a great overview of Riley and her career.

Prediction

As a member of the Group G ‘group of death’, New Zealand’s best chance of advancing in the tournament is to aim for the coveted third place in the group. If they can achieve this with a succession of close results, they will be putting themselves into the frame for progressing as one of the best performing third-placed group teams.

Reaching the knockout stages from this group would potentially be seen as a successful tournament for the Football Ferns; anything after that could be seen as a bonus. 

Matches

Date Local Time AEST Venue Team A v Team B
21/7/2021 8:30 PM 9:30 PM Tokyo Stadium Australia vs New Zealand
24/7/2021 8:30 PM 9:30 PM Saitama Stadium New Zealand vs United States
27/7/2021 5:00 PM 6:00 PM Miyagi Stadium New Zealand vs Sweden

 

Follow Beyond 90's coverage of the Olympics.

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