Seems Like A Whole Lot Of Overdue Karma Is Going The Way of the Footy Ferns
The World Cup is the glittering beacon on the horizon for any international side. For some it’s enough just to qualify and for others nothing short of winning it all will do. The Football Ferns are somewhere in between. Making it out of the group stage would mean success, particularly while winning a game or two along the way. The chances of the Ferns being able to achieve that looked dicey about seven months ago… but with the World Cup fat approaching in the middle of the year the last few months have seen some serious cosmic rebalancing for the national women’s footy side of Aotearoa.
(By the way, I said ‘karma’ in the title, technically karma is only dished out after you die for reincarnation purposes… but close enough. Also karma doesn’t ‘come back around’, you’re probably thinking of a boomerang).
The biggest news is that Abby Erceg has confirmed what we’d had our fingers crossed for ever since Tom Sermanni took over which is that she’s coming out of self-enforced international exclusion (I don’t really like the word ‘retirement’, which feels more like a means to an end). She’s now available for selection again so throw your hands in the air and wave ‘em like you just don’t care.
There’s two things that this means. One is that Tom Sermanni is obviously doing the right things in turning the culture of the squad around and the New Zealand Football are saying and doing the right things in making amends post-Andy-Pandy-Martin. That seemed to be the case judging by the vibe of the camp at the Nations Cup but now we know for sure. She came back prematurely once before, she wasn’t about to do it again. And the other things is that the Ferns will have their best player playing at the World Cup, which is always handy.
You honestly can’t understate how good Abby Erceg has become. Last year she captained the North Carolina Courage to the NWSL title in the finest season the American competition has ever witnessed. The Courage set a record for most points, fewest goals conceded and most goals scored. They kept 13 clean sheets in 26 games, including playoffs. They only lost one game all season. And Erceg, for whom this was the second time in three seasons that she’s captained a championship winning side, was rewarded for her general excellence with the Defender of the Year title as well as inclusion in the NWSL Best XI, having played every single minute of the campaign.
This ain’t like the men’s stuff either, the NWSL in America is not the MLS. The best female teams in America are on par with the best female teams in Europe – the Courage definitely are and they proved it when they took out a midseason friendly tournament including Manchester City and Olympique Lyonnais. Anyway, for more evidence read this sucker from September. Getting Erceg back is a big deal. Sort of expected it… but still can’t underestimate it.
And that lovely development is only the beginning. Ever since Tom Sermanni took over it seems like good things have been happening. There was the NZF formal apology. The Nations Cup too which got many a TNC write-up but this is the one you’ll wanna read to reacquaint yourself. World Cup qualification sorted, next thing was for the draw to take place and that went all goods too with the Ferns getting the benefit of a third seed from the FIFA rankings and therefore a group in which they should be competitive – up against Netherlands, Canada and Cameroon. Safe to say that coulda gone a whole lot worse, one more blessing to be grateful for.
Then there was the news that the Ferns, so often starved of regular quality games and instead having to cramp weeks of work into a few days for friendlies against better and more prepared sides, would be taking part in this Cup of Nations thing in early March over in Australia. Guaranteed games against Aussie, South Korea and Argentina. Then there’s a friendly against USA in May. Would imagine they scramble a couple more over the line closer to the World Cup as well.
The squad for the Cup of Nations (not to be confused with the Nations Cup) will be named next week and in the meantime there’s a camp going on for the best domestically based players (and a few pros who just happen to be in the country at the moment) with 28 players there trying to impress the new gaffer. Hey and Abby Erceg ain’t the only one on the comeback trail as Katie Duncan and Emma Kete are both involved in that one. Three of the U17 side are included (Anna Leat, Gabi Rennie and Maggie Jenkins) while eight of the last U20 squad are also there. 12 players who were in the Nations Cup squad in December.
Some other really funky names there too, such as Aimee Phillips whose German side USV Jena are still on their winter break. Daisy Cleverley, Emily Jensen and Belinda Van Noorden are there in between American uni semesters. Probably would have expected a few more folks from NWL champs Canterbury Pride with only Annalie Longo and Gabi Rennie there, in fact most of the locals are based out of Auckland which is where the camp is being held. Realistically though this is just a convenient way of expanding the group, an opportunistic thing for those who are available. There aren’t actually that many spots open for the World Cup squad and edging out any absent overseas pros is going to be a bloody difficult task, even for veterans like Duncan and Kete.
Thinking on it now, there is a good chunk of the squad who are guaranteed selections barring injury or misfortune. There are even more who are likely but not secured. Picking 23 players is pretty hard when there’s more depth at the top level now than ever before.
Locked In: Ali Riley, Abby Erceg, Erin Nayler, Katie Bowen, Ria Percival, Rebekah Stott, Betsy Hassett, Sarah Gregorius, Meikayla Moore, Annalie Longo, Rosie White (11)
Probables: Hannah Wilkinson, Anna Green, CJ Bott, Anna Leat, Katie Rood, Amber Hearn, Emma Rolston (7)
On The Cusp: Malia Steinmetz, Liz Anton, Vic Esson, Steph Skilton, Paige Satchell, Olivia Chance, Aimee Phillips, Grace Jale, Sarah Morton, Nadia Olla (10)
That there is everybody who’s been involved in the last three squads and it’s more than a full World Cup unit already. With the probables I’d be surprised if Sermanni springs any shocks. Rood and Rolston played their way into that group in the Nations Cup while Hearn and Wilkinson would be locks if not for injury worries, same with Olivia Chance. From within the hopefuls in the NZ A Training Camp I could see Jane Barnett, Katie Duncan, Daisy Cleverley, Maggie Jenkins and Emma Kete putting up the strongest cases for inclusion (based on positions of need as much as their ability – those players are all pretty useful, obvs). But, again, Sermanni’s probably gonna play it fairly conventional with the players he picks.
These are nice problems to have, as the cliché goes. Just as having one of the best defenders on the planet available again is a nice bit of news to receive. And those Cup of Nations games are nice games to have. And that was a nice World Cup draw to receive too. Must be because Tom Sermanni is such a nice guy. One thing’s for sure, if any kiwi sports team deserves to have some nice things about now it’s the Football Ferns.
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