Aotearoa at the U20 WWC: Game Three vs Ghana
The annoying thing was that this was the game we were supposed to win. Or, maybe not supposed to… it’s a World Cup after all… but the game we had the best chance of winning. Especially after the emotional highs of denying France for ninety minutes a few days earlier. But you’ve gotta take your opportunities at this level. Don’t do that and this is what happens, a 1-0 defeat to Ghana.
The Young Ferns entered this game with a slight chance of making the knockouts but as it happened that possibility quickly evaporated with a first half hat-trick to Amelie Delabre in the other game, which was being played simultaneously. New Zealand needed France to lose to the Netherlands and instead the French won 4-0. Which, I mean, that does put the clean sheet we kept against them into some context considering France scored four goals against each of the other teams in the group.
The kiwi side only conceded three goals in the whole tournament. The ever-present Claudia Bunge and Liz Anton at the back were probably the two best players for NZ all tournament. Then Anna Leat had her best game in goal here against Ghana, a couple of top shelf saves coming to the rescue along the way. Thing is, we sorta expect NZ teams to be able to play with good defensive shape and maximum commitment in these tournaments – they have to or else they get thrashed. Where we’re always falling short is in being able to sustain that whilst also offering an attacking threat at the other end.
That’s what appealed about this particular U20 team so much, because they really do seem to have that ability. They’ve got some funky set piece options and can win the ball in the air, they’ve got the pace and trickery of Paige Satchell, they’ve got the guile of Hannah Blake, the engine of Malia Steinmetz, the forcefulness of Sammi Tawharu. But they still only scored one goal in 270 minutes. Sure, they weren’t really playing for much in the final game… but neither were Ghana. Leaving France with a win, a draw and a loss would have been a huge success, regardless of missing the knockouts or not. Leaving with one point and only one goal offers a different perspective.
Look, we’re good enough to compete at this level. No doubt about that, just look at the result against France. With that comes increased expectations and while it would’ve been enough to create a few cheeky chances and battle hard in the past, this squad was good enough to be taking those chances. Unfortunately they didn’t. Tawharu had the best of them, slipped through by Maggie Jenkins (who was recalled in place of Jacqui Hand), but couldn’t beat the keeper one on one, probably shooting to the wrong side.
Jenkins was responsible for a lot of the half-chances created in this one. Malia Steinmetz also kept it up with her ridiculous ability to dispossess opposition players in the wink of an eye. But after throwing herself around and copping bruises from head to toe in the process (she literally got kicked in the face last game), Steinmetz was replaced at half-time of this one and Ghana were a little better without the enforcer in the midfield to contend with.
It was a back and forth game the whole way but Ghana finished the stronger team for sure, and they were rewarded with the winner with fifteen minutes left. Ruth Anima was the only one following up the shot after Grace Asantewaa cracked one off the crossbar and she had a sitter of a header to nod in for the win. Helen Obeng should’ve done better with a sweeping finish at the far post which hit that same far post soon after. Then Asantewaa almost chipped Leat but for a magical save. Grace Jale had a go from a free kick but it was saved.
A shame with the way it ended, the team from Aotearoa were in every one of these games but could only get a single draw to show for it. That doesn’t really reflect the passion and energy they showed… but you don’t get goals for trying. You get goals for scoring. In all three of these games the NZ side kinda lacked the finesse to string an extra couple passes together and turn a good chance into a great chance. Bit of a bummer. That’s always the hardest part of the puzzle, to be fair.
We knew from the start that this was a ruthless group. A kinder draw and you never know, even just not having to play their most winnable game last when the team had already played two exhausting games against two sides who could go deep into this competition would have helped. So it goes.
You’re not going to read about “heads held high” or “competing well against a quality opponent” here because that’s a condescending way to look at it. This team has earned the right to feel disappointed with their results. They’re good enough to have done better, it’d be disrespectful to very talented team to settle for those pesky moral victories. And this is an excellent team. A bit more luck, a bit more precision, and they might’ve taken this thing a fair bit further – guarantee that we’re looking back impressed at the pedigree of this lot in five years. Several of them are already full internationals and several more will join them soon enough.
Not much more to say other than that for these players this was only the beginning. A taste of what’s to come over long and storied careers. If there’s frustration with how it went, and there should be, then that’s motivation for the next phase.
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