Football Ferns vs Colombia: Squad Yarns & Preview
Brace yourself folks because this right here is the most fascinating Football Ferns squad we’ve been handed for a very long time. Even the World Cup squad didn’t compare to this one. There were tough calls made there, sure, but they were understandable ones. This squad for the upcoming two-game series in Colombia, on the other hand, has served up all sorts of surprises with experienced players being dropped and emerging youngsters getting sudden opportunities – some of them way ahead of the expected schedule.
Jitka Klimková is on record as saying that she views the 2024 Olympic Games as part of the preparation for the next World Cup rather than as an all-or-nothing tournament of its own. And that’s the right way to think about it. The Olympics only have half as many teams as a World Cup and therefore it’s going to be twice as hard. It’s unrealistic bordering on foolish to go hundies at that and waste the first year of a World Cup cycle when this is a rare opportunity for the Ferns to have four full years with the same coach and hopefully no pandemics all building towards the biggest tournament in women’s sports.
Prior to the 2023 World Cup, we mostly saw JK leaning upon established players. The attacking areas had to be filled with World Cup rookies as a necessity but everywhere else it was proven veterans or players who’d simply been too good to deny. When Meikayla Moore was dropped it wasn’t to make a point but simply because there were better, fitter, more in-form centre-back options at the time. When Milly Clegg was called-up it wasn’t for a nice headline but because she’d earned it as one of the few kiwi forwards scoring professional goals at the time. But this Colombian tour is not a World Cup and it doesn’t have the same win-or-bust emphasis. It’s a couple of lowkey friendly games at the end of the year and the start of a new cycle. Having slashed and cut her extended squad down to a trim 23-player World Cup group, Klimková now appears to be building it back up again... with one eye on the now and one eye on 2027.
Here’s the initial squad, although note that there have been three changes due to the obligatory injuries...
That’s a list of 24 players, of which only 13 of them were in the World Cup squad. This isn’t what we saw for that Chile tour which only had four changes and a couple of them were due to injuries. There are injuries in this consideration too, quite a few, as well as a cheeky suspension and a pregnancy, but there’s also clearly that desire to build out the wider squad with emerging professionals who probably wouldn’t be making the cut for a World Cup squad picked right now but who’ll be right there in contention in four years’ time.
Called up for the first time are Macey Fraser, Ruby Nathan, and Katie Kitching. Since the squad was announced, Manaia Elliott, Aniela Jensen, and Marisa van der Meer have been added as injury replacements. Jensen and MVDM have made squads before but are still in search of debuts, as is Wellington Phoenix keeper Bri Edwards. Hannah Blake was called up for the first time since the early days of Klimková’s tenure back when she was still at uni and partaking in those travel restriction squads. Fraser and Blake are amongst those who’ve withdrawn injured but the intention is clear – both with their initial selections and also with those who’ve replaced them.
In contrast, there is once again no room for Erin Nayler after her move to Bayern Munich. If you’re not playing, it’s hard to make a case, right? Once upon a time that wouldn’t have mattered for the Football Ferns but these days there’s genuine depth emerging. Nayler did get onto the extended bench for Bayern’s Champions League game against PSG this week though, her first matchday squad appearance (still the third choice keeper though; there were two of them amongst the subs).
Naturally Olivia Chance wasn’t going to be there since she’s several months pregnant, congrats to the whanau. Hannah Wilkinson also has two more games out suspended from her Chile red card. Annalie Longo withdrew from contention as she builds up her match fitness at the Wellington Phoenix while Ria Percival has been left out for the second straight tour probably for similar reasons, especially as she hasn’t played much for Spurs lately (though an injury to Olga Ahtinen seems likely to open up a window for her at least until the new year). Injuries have ruled out Milly Clegg and Claudia Bunge, neither has been available for their clubs for a couple of weeks. We know that Grace Wisnewski won’t be available for several months tearing her ACL for the Phoenix. Hannah Blake, Meikayla Moore, and Macey Fraser have been ruled out since the squad naming. So a lot of these changes were enforced... which JK has used as an opportunity to skew much younger/inexperienced. As well as to make a stern point or two.
Because CJ Bott is not injured. CJ Bott has been starting regularly for Leicester City in one of the toughest leagues in the world. Klimková wasn’t about to discuss specifics (and there was a frustrating lack of clarification on all counts in the press release with only Wilkinson’s suspension explained) but it does seem as though she has been dropped. One of NZ’s best players, it’s a little bit baffling.
This won’t be a long term thing. CJB will be back soon enough. This is a two-game tour to Colombia early in a new World Cup cycle and you can safely assume that she would not have been dropped if the stakes had been higher. Bott is not only the best 1v1 tackler in the Football Ferns picture (although Steinmetz is beginning to run her close), she’s one of the best tacklers on the planet. Her WSL stats prove that. She’s won the second-most tackles this season despite only playing off the bench in the first couple and against dribbling defenders has the best success rate of anyone with more than ten attempts (Bott has won 17 tackles in total, and is 14/18 against dribblers). Last season she was in very similar territory.
Haaaaving said that... it’s not unfair to say that she has gaps in her game that need working on. The technical aspects - first touch, passing, crossing, etc – have improved heaps since she moved to England but there’s still plenty more room to grow. She’s yet to bag a goal or assist in the WSL and her passing accuracy is usually only around 65%. There might be some stylistic things that the Ferns have been working on which require CJB to offer a little more than she has been (if so they’ll be in attack, because defensively she’s sound as). Maybe things that Klimková has been nudging her towards for several tours and which still aren’t quite clicking. Dunno. It feels like a very brave call to drop her, not one that most fans would even comprehend. But it does send a message to the rest of the squad that even one of the few in-her-prime talents in this current group is expendable so everyone’s gotta turn it up if they want to keep getting picked.
Colombia, you may recall, went all the way to the quarter-finals at the World Cup. They helped knock Germany out in the group stage and only lost 2-1 to eventual finalists England when they were eliminated themselves. Linda Caidedo was one of the breakthrough stars of the tournament with some tremendous playmaking abilities... although she won’t be part of this tour because she damaged some ankle ligaments for Real Madrid recently.
Neither Caicedo nor Milly Clegg will get to have their rematch of the U20 World Cup tie in which they both scored last year. Clegg, Caicedo, and fellow Colombian Ana Maria Guzman were the only three players to be selected in the most recent U17, U20, and Senior World Cups which all happened within a twelve month period. Clegg was picked in all three but didn’t take the field in the senior one. Guzman played in all three. Caicedo not only played but scored in all three.
Since the World Cup, Colombia have played a series against the USA in which they drew the first game 0-0 and then lost 3-0 in the second. New Zealand did beat them 1-0 at the 2016 Olympics but that feels like a long time ago now (Amber Hearn scored the only goal, Abby Erceg got a late red card that was later rescinded). Colombia are beyond our level and this’ll be another tough tour to get anything from. They’re certainly stronger than the Chile side that we lost twice to last window. There might be some additional hope in the absence of Caicedo, though it’s probably best not to think too much about results right now. Take it as it comes.
GOALKEEPERS
Brianna Edwards – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (0 caps/0 goals)
Victoria Esson – Rangers, SCO (20/0)
Anna Leat – Aston Villa, ENG (11/0)
Erin Nayler’s living the good life at Bayern Munich but it was clear from day one how that transfer was going to lead her into a different phase of her career. Given the quality of other goalies around there’s no guarantee she’ll get to add to her 83 caps... however that’s how this thing is supposed to work. A national team doesn’t cater to players, it’s the other way around. It’d be awesome if Nayler can get a few appearances for Bayern at some stage but right now she’s the third-choice keeper there and that’s no longer going to cut it for Football Ferns selection. Nope, we only pick second-choice goalies.
Yes, that is the unfortunate situation that we find ourselves in with this trio, at least for this present moment. All three have had extended spells starting for their current clubs... just not this season. Edwards has made one appearance for the Nix so far and was very good. She’s back-up to Rylee Foster and there are no dramas with that, she’s is the youngest of this trio and is here to continue soaking up experience and hyping everyone up from the sideline.
It’s the other two that are a tad peskier. Particularly Esson who has been so outstanding for the Football Ferns over the last few years but dipped below her usual standards on that Chile tour and hasn’t been getting the game-time at club level that she probably needs. VE missed preseason with Rangers due to the World Cup so their new manager took some time in easing her in. Then she had a run of starts in early September... before dropping back behind Scottish international Jenna Fife. Esson hasn’t hardly been sighted since. Just one League Cup appearance in which her team won 7-0 and she barely touched the ball. Fife has started all seven SWPL games in that spell. This was a risk that Esson was taking when she chose to re-sign with Rangers knowing that there was fierce competition for the gloves and it’s not going all that well for her at the moment for her.
At least Anna Leat knew where she stood with Villa. It was annoying that they signed Dutch number one Daphne von Domselaar to replace Hannah Hampton, given that Leat had done already done a swell job replacing Hampton when required last season, but it was also understandable for a team trying to crack the top four in England.
That’s not gone very smoothly for them thanks to a bunch of early defeats in which they shipped plenty of goals and DVD was not un-responsible for a few of them. Though just lately Villa have begun to turn things around. Leat has been an unused sub in all eight WSL games to date but know that their first win of the season was also Leat’s first appearance: a 5-0 League Cup group stage win over Sheffield United in which Leat saved a late penalty (won by fellow NZer Olivia Page – who was part of last year’s U17 World Cup squad and won a National League title with Eastern Suburbs). Leat also kept goal in a 7-0 win against Blackburn so the cup goalie stuff is going alright for her.
It’d obviously be preferable if this lot were all getting regular club games. But Brianna Edwards is 20 years old and it’s easy to forget that Anna Leat is only two years older. They’re both babies by professional goalkeeping standards. Nevertheless, it’ll be very curious to see if Klimková, following the theme of this squad, begins to lean more upon Leat with that 2027 World Cup in mind. Esson and Leat split the games in Chile. Kinda expect the same situation here, to be honest.
DEFENDERS
Mackenzie Barry – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (7/0)
Katie Bowen – Inter Milan, ITA (98/2)
Michaela Foster – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (8/0)
Ally Green – AGF, DEN (5/0)
Grace Neville – London City Lionesses, ENG (5/0)
Ali Riley – Angel City FC, USA (159/2)
Rebekah Stott – Melbourne City, AUS (95/4)
Kate Taylor – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (10/0)
Marisa van der Meer – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (0/0)
Alrighty, into the meat of the squad now. First off, a word for Meikayla Moore who missed out on the World Cup squad at the end of what had been two very rough years in her career. Didn’t really play at all for Liverpool in her last season there before moving to Glasgow City where injuries largely limited her, particularly in the back stretch. She wasn’t one of the four to five best centre-backs when that WC squad was picked and as such she missed out. Simple as that. Don’t put any extra emphasis on her opting against being a training player either – those spots were better suited to the youngsters anyway (Kate Taylor got the spot instead).
But ever since then Moore has been superb for Glasgow City, commanding first eleven selection every week for one of Scotland’s best teams and winning multiple SWPL Team of the Week accolades. Her distribution has been especially impressive. She earned this recall through undeniable club form and her coach has dutifully recognised that – it’s exactly the response that was hoped for. Alas, a couple games before the break she landed awkwardly trying to prevent a stoppage time goal in a 2-0 loss to Rangers. Still no word on the severity so fingers crossed it’s not too bad... those non-contact ones are always scary though (well, non-contact with another player, lots of contact with the turf in this case).
Strangely, Moore was replaced in the squad by Manaia Elliott. A centre-back for a winger. Not exactly like for like even though Elliott does have a history as a fullback, including for the NZ U17s that she captained last year. That was only one of three injury replacements that didn’t fit the mould. Hannah Blake, a winger, was replaced by Aniela Jensen, a midfielder. Then Macey Fraser, a midfielder, was replaced by Marisa van der Meer, a fullback/centre-back. So when you add it all together there was a match for each one, sorta like a game of rock-paper-scissors, but it took three turns to get there. Hopefully that’s the last of the injury replacements because this article can only be re-written so many times... at least they’re dealing with the injuries ahead of tour now rather than waiting until it’s too late to bring anyone else in like they (and the All Whites) usually do. Three cheers for progress.
The absence of CJ Bott is a headline point for sure. Beneath that decision lies another one: Who takes her spot? The easiest answer would be to slide Ali Riley over to right back since that’s where she mostly played for Angel City this year. Then Michaela Foster could start on the left which brings her set piece deliveries into the mix. Also included in this squad are Ally Green and Grace Neville who are regular starters for their clubs. Green’s really beginning to settle in Europe. Neville’s been at LCL for several years and remains a valuable player for them. Green is a left-back but can play on the right. Neville’s more of a right back specialist though offers the best overlapping threat of any of our fullbacks. You could see her start at RB with Riley at LB if pace is a factor in the decision.
Beyond that, the World Cup made it clear that Katie Bowen and Rebekah Stott are the first choice central defenders. Both are nearing their centuries for caps, with Bowen capable of reaching it on this tour if she plays both matches. She’s become an instant first eleven player for Inter Milan since signing there - one of the highest performing Ferns at club level. Her CB transformation is complete. Meanwhile Stotty’s just casually played every minute for the last remaining undefeated team in the A-League. She captains Melbourne City and has completed more passes than any other player in the competition and it’s not even close.
There’s some serious emerging depth behind them with a trio of Wellington Phoenix options included here. Kate Taylor has been playing as a defensive midfielder this season, and doing a very good job of it, though still kinda reckon she profiles as a CB at higher levels. Great way to build up her technique either way - will be curious to see if she gets minutes in the midfield here. Meanwhile the only argument against the inclusion of Mack Barry and Marisa van der Meer is whether MVDM should’ve been there from the start rather than as a replacement. Those to have helmed the equal-best defence in the ALW as far as goals conceded goes. Incredible to think that’s where the Nix are all of a sudden. Barry is a phenomenal tackler. MVDM outstanding in the air. Both are growing into very assured passers from deep.
With preferred back-up Claudia Bunge missing with a back injury, Liz Anton would have been in the conversation as well. But she missed the start of the A-League season through injury and has mostly played as a left-back since. The Phoenix are no longer wooden spoon calibre, in fact they just beat Anton’s Perth Glory on the weekend. It’s a direct comparison between them and Barry, Taylor, and MVDM have won that race. Van der Meer is now in line for her first cap, though she did go to the Olympics as part of the extended squad. This is her first call-up since then.
MIDFIELDERS
Daisy Cleverley – HB Køge, DEN (31/2)
Betsy Hassett – Stjarnan, ISL (150/15)
Aniela Jensen – University of the Pacific, USA (0/0)
Katie Kitching, Sunderland, ENG (0/0)
Malia Steinmetz – FC Nordsjælland, DEN (25/0)
Not gonna lie, the moment that Macey Fraser was withdrawn from the squad due to illness this tour got a little less exciting. TNC is on record as being Fraser Believers for a few years now (the WNL campaign with Southern United was an extended look at the quality, not to mention the U17 World Cup bronze medal efforts). She’s had to wait her turn very patiently at the Wellington Phoenix but when it did arrive she took it instantly.
Macey Fraser is the type of technical midfielder that we haven’t often produced... her mentor Annalie Longo is one such example but Fraser has something extra: she’s got a long shot in her bag too. That all-around threat from midfield of someone who can shoot, pass, or dribble. Having seen others from her U17 wave go on to impressive things already, she’s now ready to get amongst it as well. Or... she was until illness scuppered her first call-up. But Fraser’s time will come soon enough, don’t worry about it.
We are quite light on midfielders in this squad. That’s almost always the case but it’s exacerbated here by two uncapped players... which lends credence to the possibility of Kate Taylor playing CDM for the Ferns. Starting CBs Katie Bowen and Rebekah Stott remain accomplished midfielders if JK wants to mix up the defensive personnel. Hannah Blake might have even gotten a crack too, had she been fit. You get the idea. Options have been stretched thin because there is no Ria Percival, no Annalie Longo, no Grace Wisnewski, and no Olivia Chance (who, when she’s back, needs to go back to her premier position as a midfielder now that we’ve got other reliable wide forwards). Also no chance of a glowing Macey Fraser debut performance. On top of that, Betsy Hassett is in her off-season while Daisy Cleverley recently missed time with an injury and tends not to start for HB Køge anyway. It’s a bit of a concern.
Luckily, Malia Steinmetz has been going hard for her new club in Denmark – starting almost every game and even adding a couple of assists, something that she never did in 39 ALW games. As a ball-winning midfielder that’s not necessarily what she’s there fore but still important to note that she seems to be expanding her game since moving to Europe. Exactly what the national team coach will love to see. Nobody improved their standing in the Ferns during the World Cup like Malia Steinmetz did. Indi Riley and Jacqui Hand are up there too but Steinmetz went from squad member to key player with what she achieved, especially against Norway. Hand is probably also a key player now... but you know what? She already was. It’s just that injuries hadn’t allowed her the extended run of Ferns games to prove it.
Who is Katie Kitching? That’s a good question. Kitching is an English-born midfielder who plays for Sunderland in the second tier of their pyramid (same level as Satchell and Neville), having previously spent some time in the USA at university and also, last season, at London City Lionesses alongside another English-born recruit in Grace Neville. Funny how that goes. Neville has NZ connections on both sides of her family, most notably with her mum being born in Auckland. That might be the case for Kitching as well but so far there’s not been no clarification.
But what we do know is that she’s a 25-year-old central midfielder who is very skilled on the ball, has great spatial awareness, and chips in with goals and assists too. Very good overview of what she offers right here via Roker Report. Same with players like Neville and Green, previous dual-nationals to join the cause, she might be more of an opportunistic recruit rather than a targeted one. Someone who expands the depth rather than immediately pushing to be a starter... though let’s not speak too soon. Kitch struggled for starts at London City last season but has been one of Sunderland’s best this time around. Just needed that right environment and she’s made a massive leap. Maybe international footy will draw her out even further. Either way, she’s got a camp in Colombia to show what she can do. Now, if Klimková’s next discovery could be a world class striker then that’d be sweet as.
As for Aniela Jensen, remember that she was an injury replacement for a squad already short on midfielders. We’re definitely talking opportunism in this case – there simply aren’t very many kiwi mids left when you scratch off half a dozen candidates. Trust that Chloe Knott would have gotten this gig had she been eligible yet, alas it’s come a wee bit too soon. Knott is supposed to gain NZ-status under FIFA’s rules at some stage next year. Hopefully January 1 just to get it out of the way with but we shall see. It’s possible she might make the very next squad if that’s the case (although only if there are still injuries, she’s not gonna be top-23).
Thus it falls upon Aniela Jensen to make the step up. This isn’t her first Ferns squad though. She’s been around the environment before, plus Klimková (understandably) seems to put a lot of weight on age-grade World Cup stuff and Jensen was very impressive last year in a midfield pairing with Grace Wisnewski. She’s just finished up her season with the University of the Pacific in the USA college system... not always the ideal place for footballers to develop their game with top kiwi prospects beginning to trend towards Australia and Europe much more than America. But you don’t become a bad player from NCAA footy. It just means you take longer to get into the pros (not always a bad thing, tbf)... and Klimková does have experience with the American system so she’s not afraid to select players out of that environment. Although Gabi Rennie, the usual candidate, didn’t make the cut this time.
Jensen still has one more year of uni after this so the 21yo isn’t quite ready for ‘watch this space’ status but we’re getting there. She will be one of the top NZ graduates for that January 2025 transfer window... NZers don’t get drafted into the NWSL so we’re probably looking more towards the A-League like Hannah Blake did or Europe as Daisy Cleverley and Jacqui Hand did. There’s always the possibility of post-grad studies but as things stand, the impending grads to keep an eye on, especially for mid-season ALW pick-ups, are Gabi Rennie, Ava Collins, and Maggie Jenkins.
FORWARDS
Ava Collins – St John’s University, USA (11/0)
Manaia Elliott – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (0/0)
Jacqui Hand – Aland United, FIN (17/2)
Grace Jale – Perth Glory, AUS (21/2)
Ruby Nathan – Canberra United, AUS (0/0)
Indiah-Paige Riley – PSV Eindhoven, NED (14/0)
Paige Satchell – London City Lionesses, ENG (46/2)
Just look at that. Seven forwards in the squad and not one of them has managed more than two international goals. The top scorer in this squad is Betsy Hassett with 15 and in second place is the goal machine Rebekah Stott with four. The inexperience is drastic without Hannah Wilkinson’s presence. For a team that already didn’t score goals there’s not much to hang your hat on there.
Okay, so we accept that immediate goals aren’t likely to flow with an understrength midfield and rookie frontline. Take that expectation out of the equation and suddenly this is a pretty fascinating group. Indi Riley and Jacqui Hand have established themselves already. Nothing much to add about them other than that IPR has already scored a couple for PSV and seems to start more than not for the Dutch club. Love that. And while Jacqui Hand was below her usual standards after returning to Finland post-World Cup, she did enough overall that everyone at Aland Utd had seemingly long accepted that she wouldn’t be back in 2024. She was quoted in the local media suggesting as much towards the end of the season and has more recently announced it officially. Where does she end up next? Best case scenario would be the WSL and there were murmurs of her moving to England when she first went pro. But as long as it’s a step up and she gets to play regularly then we’re all good.
Pity about Hannah Blake’s injury because she has been capped a few times already and her versatility would’ve been handy. More than that, she’d earned this call-up. After a really nice half-season with Perth Glory, Blake moved to Adelaide Utd where she’s instantly become a key player for them. She was absolutely brilliant in their season opener against Canberra. HB was an age grade star a few years back but has been buried in that USA college system in the interim. Now she’s making up for lost time – already with a stated ambition of getting to the English Women’s Super League. But she’s injured so her turn shall have to wait.
Speaking of waiting for turns: Grace Jale might have had a case to start at striker ahead of Hannah Wilkinson anyway. She’s playing there for Perth and is outperforming Wilkie, whose finishing has been a bit wonky lately – Jale has 3 goals from 2.0 xG, Wilkinson has 2 goals from 4.1 xG (in fact Wilkinson was dropped to the bench for City’s most recent game). But with Wilkinson not there, nor the injured Milly Clegg either, that surely clears the runway for Grace Jale to start in the position that she ought to have been playing a lot more of already. Jale does similar things to Wilkie with her back to goal, plus is more mobile and just as good of a finisher. Perhaps lacks the same veteran’s nous but that comes with experience and there’s only one way to get that: by playing. The time has come.
The time has come very early for Ruby Nathan. One of only two players who went to both the U17 and U20 World Cups for Aotearoa last year (along with her mate Milly Clegg), Nathan was a standout for Auckland United in 2022 (including winning the Kate Sheppard Cup) with her skilful touch and incisive vision – she had 5 goals and 11 assists in only 9 WNL appearances. Check some receipts over here. She’s since moved to Canberra United where she’s been an instant presence... but this does still feel like one that’s come very early for her, before she’s necessarily earned it through performances. So it goes – the timing just happened to work that way. Nathan is an incredibly exciting prospect, the likes of which we’re beginning to develop far more than in the past (Auckland United already have Pia Vlok looking like she’ll be the next Ruby Nathan). If you don’t know already, very soon you will.
Same deal goes for Manaia Elliott. Summoned to the senior international ranks after only five professional appearances (she made a sixth soon after). And ‘professional’ is a technicality because she’s only on scholarship terms with the Wellington Phoenix. Elliott is originally from the Waikato region, coming through at Melville, and she shared many of those goal/assist combos with Ruby Nathan at Auckland United last year. The Phoenix Academy then beckoned and things have happened very fast for her since.
Elliott a winger for the Nix but did play fullback for the NZ U17s and that might still be the position she ends up in down the line, should she move to Europe. While her thumping finishing and tireless running have already caught the eye for the Phoenix, what we haven’t seen as much of in the ALW yet is her crunching tackling. Just sayin’... she could have some CJ Bott potential about her as a top level right back (with added attacking expertise). Speculation aside, Klimková is clearly a fan if she’s boosted her up into the Ferns already. Whatever happens from here we can’t predict, but that’s quite the platform to begin a career from.
There was some thought as to whether Paige Satchell would retain her spot. She’s clearly been overtaken by the likes of Hand, Riley, and Jale... but ultimately she had to be here. Maybe a full strength squad and she’s on the fringes but not a depth-stretching one like this. Satch finally got her first goal for London City last week, taking a few months to get off the mark with a level of production reminiscent of her Football Ferns and Wellington Phoenix days. However the reviews have been promising from Lionesses fans. She was unlucky not to have scored earlier and has picked up a couple of player of the day nods. That’s a good level and she’s having an impact. She’s doing fine.
Finally, Ava Collins feels like a direct swap for Gabi Rennie. Not sure there’s much to say either way. Both are hard-running youngsters who’ll do whatever their coach asks but also still lack that technical polish that they need to go further. Would have liked to see Maggie Jenkins get the seemingly obligatory college player call-up instead given that she went deep in the pre-World Cup training camp stuff. It’s all like-for-like though (it might even be that Rennie’s got a slight injury or something). Collins will do a job if required. The real focus for all three of those college seniors is what they do next, with the professional realms now beckoning.
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