Breaking Down The Football Ferns Rio Olympics Squad
Best leader in women's football? Fo sho
It's been no secret that one of my favourite kiwi sporting teams to follow over the past 18 months has been the Football Ferns, our national women's football team. This reached lofty heights last year during the World Cup while the climax of the Olympics has been lurking on the horizon, two major tournaments in a matter of years.
Not only have we had a World Cup and await the Olympics, our Ferns have added their own little twist here as well. This is a Ferns team that I've already labeled as a true dark horse of the Olympics and my excitement in following the Ferns has come from the sheer level of talent in this group and the fact that they have been together for a number of years now.
Talent, familiarity and good team vibes sounds like the perfect recipe for an Olympic medal.
Given how much football this group has played together, naming an Olympic squad would have been a fairly easy task for coach Tony Readings. Of course, as there's more than 18 players who are worthy of a trip to Rio, this wouldn't really have been a easy task for Readings but the core of this squad basically selects itself. That the core of this squad is as big as 13-14 players, shows you just how strong our Ferns side is.
Erin Nayler will be the No.1 goalkeeper in this squad and she'll be backed up by Rebecca Rolls, former Whiter Ferns cricketer Rebecca Rolls. Nayler's great in goal and she's the focal point of a strong defensive group that will be relied on to shut down the dangerous attack of USA, Columbia and France. Most underdog yarns start with a solid defence and with Nayler in goal, the Ferns have step on covered.
That defensive group is led by skipper Abby Erceg who will likely anchor the centre of defence with Rebekah Stott. Meikayla Moore has also been named in this squad and she started at centre-back alongside Erceg against Australia earlier this year while Stott was absent. I reckon Erceg/Stott is our best CB pairing and Moore will be the first up if either of these two is unable to lace up while Anna Green looks likely to be a squad member resigned to a depth role.
Ali Riley (left) and Ria Percival (right) have either flank locked down, both are quick and love to push up in support of their creative midfielders. It's a nice mix of bigger CB's who can dominate in the air and then play out of defence with Riley and Percival who will look to get forward at any opportunity.
There's a few options available to coach Readings in the midfield as well, which will come within a 4-3-3 formation which he's rolled out many times before. Usually this consists of two deeper midfielders and Readings will likely pick from Katie Duncan, Kirsty Yallop and Betsy Hassett to fill those two roles. Annalie Longo has done a fine job in the attacking midfielder position and she could be the go-to option to start there with Hassett also capable on pulling the strings in attack.
Rosie White's role will be interesting as the Liverpool striker deserves to feature heavily, however she'll be competing with veteran Amber Hearn to start in the middle up front. There's plenty of depth in the attacking positions with Hearn flanked by Hannah Wilkinson and Katie Bowen in their last game against Australia, with Bowen scoring that beauty from outside the box.
Hearn's the smaller, more nimble striker who will hunt around in the middle while Wilkinson and Bowen are bigger, quicker and capable of terrorizing defenders.
What has me excited is that both Sarah Gregorius and Jasmine Pereira are also in this squad and they are likely to offer plenty of impact off the bench. They'll fill the wide positions and are more your typical winger than Wilkinson and Bowen; look for them to come on late in games at run at tired defenders, which will be fun to watch if the Ferns can hold the fort for the first 60 minutes.
That variety is going to be crucial as there's a bit of a stereotype of kiwi football being more, aah agricultural. Bigger men/women, less skill and a rugged attitude. This Ferns team definitely has a physical presence, with strong defenders and someone like Wilkinson up front who won't take a backward step against anyone. There is also skill though and look for the likes of Longo and Hassett especially, to provide some classy touches. Then you've got the pace of Pereira, Gregorius, Riley, Percival etc and there's a variety of bases covered.
This what I view as the strongest Ferns team, with a bloody strong bench as well...
Nayler (Rolls)
Percival, Stott, Erceg, Riley (Moore, Green)
Duncan, Longo ,Yallop (Hassett)
Bowen, Hearn, Wilkinson (Gregorius, Pereira, White)
I'll be back before the Olympics get underway with some preview action, let the excitement simmer.