How about stormy ol' Canada aye? Luckily the downpour in the Ferns' game against Canada didn't have any major impact on the game, it came early on before either team had wriggled their way to a dominant position and what followed was a tense, physical and gritty 0-0 draw.

The Ferns came into their game against Canada knowing that a loss would be tough to swallow as China defeated the Netherlands 1-0 to ensure that Group A is about as jam packed as an Auckland traffic jam following any sort of event. In that sense, a 0-0 draw wasn't too bad a result especially as the Ferns would be pleased with their defensive effort.

Canada were bigger, more physical and they created a few more chances but the Ferns hung in there. If there's one aspect of the Ferns that is a worry, it's their lack of goals which stretches back five games, they haven't scored in games against Spain, the United States, Japan, the Netherlands and now Canada. 

It's an issue because they must win to make the next phase of the World Cup and to win you need to score goals. To judge China would be a difficult task as the have narrowly lost to Canada and narrowly defeated the Dutch in relatively even contests so the most we know is that they will not be easily broken down.

Where will goals come from? You would have to imagine that we will once again see Hannah Wilkinson and Sarah Gregorious flank Amber Hearn, a front three who have the ability to beat defenders one on one as well as combining to trouble China's defence.

In their first two games the Ferns have lacked polish and class, whether it be in finishing chances or setting them up. There doesn't appear to be a playmaker who can threat the needle and deliver a delightful ball, while our front three have failed to really work together and capitalize on sound defensive work.

The Ferns don't rely on a player who can turn a game with a bit of magic but they do have options on attack which could trouble a typically stubborn China defence. We again saw Ria Percival and Ali Riley streak forward down the flanks in plenty of space, which should be the go again but they haven't been able to deliver a pin-point cross or execute the right option consistently enough. 

Percival and Riley are important because the threat they pose out wide, especially with Wilkinson and Gregorious demanding plenty of attention, means more time and space through the middle. It was good to see Betsy Hassett given a start as she is the most lively of our midfielders with Katie Duncan and Annalie Longo both more cut from the workhorse cloth. 

It's a worry though, as it's hard to see anyone breaking this game open. A more team-orientated attack will break China's defence open but that requires everyone to be at their best, to be aggressive and to be on the same wavelength at all times. Something that we haven't see enough of so far.

We do however know that the Ferns are more than capable of keeping China scoreless. An extremely hard working midfield and the positioning of Abby Erceg and Rebekah Stott ensures that the Ferns aren't a team who leak plenty of goals; they've conceded one goal so far. 

Exciting is how I'm feeling right now, nervous but excited. We look at the Under 20 World Cup and see all these penalty shootouts in knockout footy, but pool play can offer up equally as tense situations and this is one of those. A great opportunity awaits, to work their way (hopefully, a win will see the Ferns go to 4 points and we'd ideally like Canada to defeat the Dutch) into the round of 16. 

The most exciting bit about all of this though is that there's only one way the Ferns can go about this game; attack. They first of all need to win and they would love to put a few goals away to not only seal the deal as they have a -1 goal differential, but to also build some confidence that they can knock a few in. 

We haven't seen the Ferns attacking with a killer instinct and there's no better chance to do so, nor is there another chance to do so.