Football Ferns at the SheBelieves Cup: Notes & Reaction
Stotty’s Return
There were many talking points from the Football Ferns’ three-game SheBelieves Cup tour but the one that should always get top billing is Rebekah Stott’s return to the international stage. Almost an exact year since she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. This was pretty much the last milestone on the comeback trail, capping an amazing and inspiring journey.
From first stepping back on a footy pitch in a Victorian NPL game to being re-signed by Melbourne City to then playing professionally again to making starts again to lasting ninety minutes... to being recalled to the Football Ferns and finally adding to her cap tally. This was one of those special moments that puts sports into context...
Plus of course she underwent her cancer experience in such a public way, regularly updating us all with insight and therefore de-stigmatising the whole journey. As well as helping others in the same situation (especially her fellow sportsfolk). Beat It By Stotty. You only have to look as far as a pic like this to see what an incredible thing it is that Stotty’s doing...
The Results
Prior to beating South Korea last tour, the Ferns had gone 15 games without a win spanning more than two years. It was a monkey on the back that needed removal. Had they not won that last game then three more winless efforts at the SheBelieves Cup – without a goal to show for it – would have been a whole lot worse than it is. 0-1 vs Iceland, 0-5 vs USA, 0-0 vs Czechia. That was the damage.
Far from ideal... but the Ferns are undertaking a longer term project here. Jitka Klimková’s contract doesn’t just run until the 2023 World Cup, it runs all the way until the next one in 2027 too. JK is trying to modernise this team’s approach. She has the players to do so however this was her first time with a largely full strength squad. And despite those results there were still clear signs of progress.
The attack remains a concern, no doubt. But it was already a concern. It’s not a new concern, it’s the oldest concern they’ve got. Also might as well ignore the USA game entirely because that was not one where, at this point in the process, the Ferns were ever gonna do anything other than get pumped. Like, I dunno about you but games against world super power teams are just boring now. They’re not the games that the Ferns need. They’re not ready for them. Gotta take on teams of a similar level and learn how to win first. Suffice to say the USA game was not against a team of a similar level.
But the other two were and if you focus on them alone then the tour looks warmer (figuratively speaking, given the minus temperatures in Texas for the Czech match). Other than a trash first ten mins against Iceland they were solid in both. Rode their luck at times, like the Czechs hitting the goal-frame multiple times, but they also had solid spells of possession in both and are getting better at progressing that possession into more dangerous areas. 56% possession against Iceland, 45% against Czech Republic. Not better at doing much with it in those dangerous areas but nobody’s claiming they’re the finished product yet.
We talked a little about this on the podcast earlier this week (iTunes | Spotify | TNC | YouTube). The question being: at what stage do Football Ferns improvements need to be reflected in their results? And my answer was not until the start of the World Cup. They’re simply not gonna get enough games together before then to cram in enough work. Until then, wins are important but a tour like this without one doesn’t have to be a disaster. Important strides were made. Proof of that: for the third time outta three under Klimková they produced their best performance on the last match of a tour. That’s not a coincidence. The more they play, the better they get. It just takes time, is all.
Ring Rust
The Ferns conceded inside the first minute against Iceland. The worst possible way to begin this tournament, Erin Nayler punching a corner kick but not getting enough on it and Dagný Brynjarsdóttir was able to flip it over the line from close range – Brynjarsdóttir being a West Ham teammate of Anna Leat who was unavailable for this tour.
The Ferns then continued to look rattled for the first ten or so mins before growing into the game with some positive possession, ending up with 56% of the ball... albeit not creating much with it. Again, the lack of creativity is an ongoing journey but after those first ten minutes they were pretty decent in most other areas. Didn’t deserve to win but had they been sharper in the first ten then they’d have had a draw there for the taking.
But the slow start was not a coincidence. Nor was an equally slow start against the USA next time up. A lot of the Ferns were coming into this tour very undercooked. Sure you’ve got the likes of Ria Percival and Hannah Wilkinson in great club form... but alongside them you had players in preseason, players without clubs, and players who aren’t every week starters for their clubs. This is when the various starters on this tour last played a club game:
Ria Percival – 14 Feb 2022, Tottenham 2-0 Birmingham
Olivia Chance – 14 Feb 2022, Celtic 2-1 Rangers
Meikayla Moore – 14 Feb 2022, Liverpool 3-0 Sunderland
Paige Satchell – 13 Feb 2022, Sydney FC 1-0 Newcastle Jets
Hannah Wilkinson – 13 Feb 2022, Melbourne City 4-0 Perth Glory
Claudia Bunge – 12 Feb 2022, Melbourne Victory 5-0 WS Wanderers
Malia Steinmetz - 12 Feb 2022, WS Wanderers 5-0 Melbourne Victory
Vic Esson – 14 Nov 2021, Avaldsnes 1-2 Stabæk
CJ Bott – 13 Nov 2021, Vålerenga 3-1 Klepp
Abby Erceg – 8 Nov 2021, NC Courage 0-1 (AET) Washington Spirit
Katie Bowen – 31 Oct 2021, KC Currents 0-3 OL Reign
Ali Riley – 30 Oct 2021, Orlando Pride 0-1 Chicago Red Stars
Gabi Rennie – 3 Oct 2021, Indiana Uni 0-0 Michigan
Daisy Cleverley – 19 Sep 2021, Georgetown 1-2 Santa Clara
Betsy Hassett – 13 Sep 2021, Stjarnan 2-1 Tindastóll
Erin Nayler – 4 Nov 2020, Reading 0-3 West Ham
The Ferns played games in late October and late November last year, meaning that there were four starters across these three games who have played on multiple Ferns tours since they last played a club game. Including Erin Nayler who has gone a year and a half without featuring domestically... jeepers. Thankfully her season with Umeå in Sweden is about to get going so the drought is almost over. Hard not to think of how little footy she’s played lately when seeing her part in that Iceland goal.
What’s the antidote to ring rust? Getting rounds in. Naturally then the third match was gonna be the best performance of the lot of them, the only one in which the Fernies didn’t concede early. They only one they didn’t lose. Worth keeping all that in mind.
Meikayla Moore’s Waking Nightmare
Truly never seen anything like that before. A hat-trick of own goals. All scored in one half. One off the left boot, one off the head, one off the right. In her 50th international cap. Then she was subbed off before the half (which, yeah, you can say that adds to the humiliation but pretty sure Mouse ain’t looking back at that game and focussing on the substitution – it was merciful rather than spiteful).
Then things got surreal as Moore’s misfortune did the football media rounds with some breakthrough crossover coverage. Surreal and also annoying. Obviously it makes for a funny headline, a player scored a hat-trick of own goals, but it can’t say it was too funny watching it unfold live. The first and third OGs she was caught flat-footed from. On her heels rather than on her toes and thus not in control trying to clear those hard low crosses (which USA were getting at will because even with a rotated team they still had disgusting levels of pace which no Ferns defender could handle). The second one was just cosmic violence. In off her face with no reaction time and somehow it went in bottom corner. When that happens, you know you’ve been cursed somehow.
Unfortunately for Meikayla Moore that’s gonna be the first thing that comes up whenever anyone google searches her for a long time but as far as current Football Ferns go she’s as well-positioned to bounce back from a shock like that as anyone. Moore busted her achilles on the eve of the last World Cup and has come back better than ever. She’s had a habit of rising to the occasion at every team she’s played for, stepping up when required (including for the Footy Ferns where she burst into starting contention while Abby Erceg was unavailable). She didn’t play 50 times for her country by accident. She isn’t playing for Liverpool because she won a prize in a Weet-Bix box.
Moore got a tidy ten minutes off the bench of the Czech game and will now go back to the Reds – who are running away with the English second tier competition. All things go to plan and she’ll be playing in the WSL by the end of the year. Y’all ain’t gotta worry about Meikayla Moore.
Paige Satchell’s Emergence
Paige Satchell had made three national team starts out of 23 caps prior to the SheBelieves Cup where she walked on for all three matches. Her role has pretty much exclusively been as a roll of the dice off the bench. Tom Sermanni liked to chuck her on for the last twenty to utilise her raw pace against tired defenders... but to be honest it was always for limited results. Her raw pace is definitely a weapon, she’s absolutely lightning, but the ‘raw’ aspect has tended to be the more defining factor.
Satchell had a bit of time with SC Sand in Germany a couple years back, her first experience as a pro, but it’s at Canberra United and now Sydney FC in the A-League where she’s suddenly and thrilling accelerated her development. We’re starting to see purpose to her pace. She’s not just running fast down blind alleys, she’s using her speed to deliberately create things. That’s what we saw in all three of these matches where nobody improved their Football Ferns stocks more than Satchell did. No kidding, she genuinely might have just made herself a first eleven player with these performances.
Before we go further, gotta pump the brakes and point out that her final ball is still nowhere near good enough. Same as the rest of her team, she seemed to want to get the ball into the area at the first opportunity when she could have kept going, turned the corner and angled back towards goal, and looked to get a higher percentage cut-back situation brewing. Or even draw a foul for a penalty, dunno. Once she masters the one-two (there were a couple beauts with Wilkinson sliding wide) then she’s going to be almost unstoppable at getting into those areas. Three very good defensive teams had trouble with her speed. There’s so much to build from here.
Satchell is still far from the finished article but honestly the progress that she’s made in recent times is nuts. And she’s doing so in a position that has not been a strength for this team. With a skill set that offers something that nobody else on the team has. For a team that’s desperately trying to figure out creative options. Very timely indeed.
Preferred Midfield Three
Malia Steinmetz had a barnstorming game against the Czech Republic. She was out there looking like she did at the U20 World Cup a few years back where any heavy touch in the midfield meant that she was swooping in to take that ball away. Fantastic instincts in the defensive duel and with a workrate and the physical strength to really dominate. That’s what she did against Czechia.
The Ferns probably need a central defensive midfielder in the formation that they’re playing. Only one though, two sixes would leave them too short on attacking options. But if they’ve got someone doing what Steinmetz did in that game, winning the ball over and over and then moving it swiftly, someone who can drop into the defensive line in the build up which allows the centre-backs to drift further apart and thus the fullbacks to push further forward, someone to break up counter attacks... if they’ve got someone like that then it frees up the likes of Katie Bowen and Ria Percival to play further forward and be more influential in attacking areas. Percival especially, who plays that exact role for Tottenham where Maeva Clemaron does the Steinmetz gig – from that position Percival gets to instigate the press and she gets to drift into the penalty area with those dangerous late runs. It’s working at club level. Might as well use it at international level too.
However Malia Steinmetz is not the ideal person for that CDM role. At least not yet. The best fit at CDM is Rebekah Stott. As someone who has primarily been a CB for the national team, Stotty can do all of that good stuff as well as being a quality passer with a superb ability for dribbling through the lines. Fair play to Daisy Cleverley and Betsy Hassett who have both played well for the Ferns in recent times but that Stott/Bowen/Percival trio is where it’s at right now.
Anna Leat > Everybody
The goalkeeping situation was definitely a curious one on this tour. Erin Nayler started two games while Vic Esson got the third start. Lily Alfeld is still awaiting a senior international debut (thought they might give them each one start but nah). As mentioned already, Nayler was rusty to begin with but that was to be expected. Made a few nice saves after that and couldn’t be singled out for anything that went wrong against the USA. Meanwhile Esson had a shaky moment or two against the Czech Republic though overall she was excellent which builds nicely on her performance in the win over South Korea last tour. The Footy Ferns have kept two clean sheets in their last 19 matches... both were in the only two games which Victoria Esson started. How about that?
But nothing has changed at the top of the goalkeeping depth chart because Anna Leat was already number one. If she wasn’t then she should be, she’s a shot-stopper on par with both Nayler and Esson and is easily superior to both as a distributor. When Leat got that run of games for West Ham earlier in the year, it was her pinpoint passing and her composure on the ball that stood out. The Ferns desperately need that from their goalie with the way that they’re trying to build possession from the back.
Leat was unavailable for this tour for personal reasons. Next time they play she’ll most likely be there and we’ll get our confirmation. Anna Leat’s the best option that this team has in goal. (Which means that Lily Alfeld wouldn’t even make a full strength squad... damn, that’s some useful depth).
The Mental Challenge
This is more of a speculative idea. It feels like the Ferns are fully buying into what Jitka Klimková is trying to get them to do... but some of the old instincts do come back in when the pressure is applied. Klimková actually mentioned that prior to this tour. Said that after they concede there’s an element of doubt or panic that creeps in. I’d say that applies when on attack too. They’re too self-aware of their lack of goals and have a tendency to get impatient in the final third.
None of these instincts should be unexpected. The Football Ferns have been in an awkward place where they are far too good for their own confederation but not good enough for the tournaments that they automatically qualify for as a result. It’s a conundrum that has capped their progress for several years and now they’re having to overcome the bad habits of being a losing team. That’s not easy. In fact it’s extremely hard and improvements won’t necessarily happen in a straight line.
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