The World Cup is nearing ever closer and the Football Ferns have work to do. A shocker of a series against Portugal and Argentina in February caught them off-guard and now the pressure is on with those co-hosting duties on the horizon.

Things aren’t as bad as they may seem. Injuries in particular have far too often left the Fernies operating with weaker teams than they’d have preferred. The last write-up required a double banger just to bust up a few pervasive myths about this team. But even if the struggles are explainable by injuries, strong opposition, NZ’s relative minnow status, recent retirements, an influx of younger players, etc... they’re still struggles.

The Football Ferns have still not scored a goal in five consecutive matches (and in seven of their last eight). Performances need to improve. Tactics may need tweaking. Backups need to show that they can do a better job filling in for the first eleven crew. The Ferns need to find some quick confidence, especially in the attacking third, if they’re going to capitalise on the benefits of co-hosting a FIFA World Cup. There’ll never be a more convenient opportunity to win a first ever game at a World Cup, maybe even sneak out of the group if possible (though winning a game is the baseline – gotta walk before you can run), however that ain’t gonna happen playing the way that they did against Portugal and Argentina.

Thankfully they’ll get a blessed opportunity to make some amends on their last proper tour before the World Cup. This time they’re heading to Turkey for neutral field efforts, meeting their Euro-based players halfway and thus easing the travel load (which has surely contributed to some of those niggly injuries). After a couple of home tours in a row, both affected by player availabilities, that feels like the right thing to do. As for opponents, we’re talking about Iceland and Nigeria.

Iceland played against the Ferns at the SheBelieves Cup not so long ago. February 2022. It was a close game at the start of that tour with an Erin Nayler error combined with the usual lack of creativity dooming the kiwis to a 1-0 defeat. Iceland didn’t qualify for the World Cup but they do have a sprinkling of players at big clubs around Europe, particularly in England.

Meanwhile Nigeria did qualify as the highest ranked African nation. In fact they’ve been drawn in Australia’s group (alongside Canada and Ireland) which may explain why they’re keen to play against us. Like the New Zealand side, Nigeria are strong in their conference but don’t get too many results outside of it. They recently lost 1-0 to Mexico whom NZ beat 1-0 last September... although they did get a 2-2 draw with Canada last year. Nigeria has players scattered at clubs around the world, including Ashleigh Plumptre who’s a teammate of CJ Bott’s at Leicester City and Uchenna Kanu who now plays alongside Abby Erceg at Racing Louisville. However their star player is undoubtedly Asisat Oshoala of Barcelona.

Two strong teams but neither as good as Portugal or the USA. More in that Argentina mould and we know that the Ferns could’ve gotten something out of those games with more luck, health, and confidence. These are the right types of games for this team to be playing at this time, in other words. Difficult but winnable. Competitive games where the quality of their performance will reflect whether they can get over the line or not, no false confidence/misleading gloom on offer. An opportunity to serve a proper response after the disappointments of the previous get-together.

Because, let’s be honest, if the Football Ferns win a game or two at the World Cup then nobody at all, not a sweet soul, is going to care that they got thrashed by Portugal a few months earlier. This is all preparation for that. And whether or not you agree with all the points made in this or previous articles, we’ve all got the same vision in mind: seeing the Ferns do well at the World Cup. Stay chilled, support the team. There’s still plenty of time to figure things out.

Albeit not enough time to make wholesale changes to the squad. First of all, if the coach has identified the bulk of the best players then those players need to have room to repay that trust with improved performances. Nobody’s under any illusions now. The Portugal/Argentina games did seem to catch this team off guard but now the whole squad realises that if it doesn’t get better then their spots are on the line. Second of all, not sure now is really the time to be ripping up the playbook and blooding a heap of new players. It’s not like we’ve got an abundance of seasoned international veterans out the outer to summon up – we’d be talking about youngsters and amateurs who are not going to have the immediate impact desired. And third of all... there actually is quite a lot of difference between this squad and the last one.

Well, maybe not the squads, per se. But certainly with the teams that’ll be selected. There are two players here who weren’t in the last group: Milly Clegg and Jacqui Hand. Plus Michaela Foster, arguably, but she was added to the last squad after they’d already assembled when Rebekah Stott had to withdraw. So Fozzy doesn’t really count... although she has retained her spot at the expense of Liz Anton which is notable.

Victoria Esson and Anna Leat are in this squad. The two best goalies that we’ve got. Both had to pull out of the last tour after picking up injuries on club duty. Rebekah Stott was injured last time and didn’t play despite travelling. She’s back. CJ Bott and Ali Riley each only played the first game because of knocks. They’re both in this squad. Claudia Bunge only played 45 minutes of the initial two games as she managed a return from concussion. Jacqui Hand is back having not been a part of the last few groups. Olivia Chance couldn’t play the third game of that window because Celtic summoned her back early. Heck, the NZF write-up even quoted Jitka Klimková as saying: “Ria Percival was close to being able to return for this window but will be spending the time continuing her recovery with her club.”

Technically speaking there are two maybe three changes to the squad. Practically speaking there are about ten changes compared to how they finished up against Argentina. Including several nailed-on starters who were only able to play partial roles if they played any roles at all back then. That’s not insignificant. It’s actually the most significant thing that we could have gotten from this squad announcement, especially with the optimism about Ria Percival as well. Now let’s look at that squad itself.

GOALKEEPERS

Victoria Esson – Rangers, SCO (12 caps/0 goals)

Anna Leat – Aston Villa, ENG (9/0)

Erin Nayler - IFK Norrköping, SWE (83/0)

Honestly, there isn’t much to say about a very clearly established goalkeeping hierarchy here. Victoria Esson is the number one and the team’s results over the last two years when she starts versus when she doesn’t is absolutely drastic. Here’s a repeat of a stat from the previous Ferns piece...

Night and day. Dunno why that is. Esson’s an excellent keeper but that still seems too excessive to be proper. Obviously Nayler’s goal count isn’t helped by having to stand between the sticks for all three meetings with the USA during this span (combined scoreline of 14-0) but the undeniable fact is that the Ferns are a far better team when Vic Esson plays and she’s now fit and raring to go again after an inconvenient month out with injury.

Esson’s only started once for Rangers since her return. That will change before the squad assembles as RFC have been on a rotation thing with their two goalies all seasons – and the goalie mistake from Jenna Fife that cost them a 99th minute equaliser against Celtic last game probably helps Esson’s case even more. Anna Leat has only sat on the bench since recovering from her own injury, England backup Hannah Hampton using that run of starts to rediscover her best form. But her chance will come around again soon enough. As for Erin Nayler, the Swedish season started last weekend and she was on the bench for Norrköping. Clearly not ideal on any of those three counts however the Football Ferns hierarchy is already set in stone and nothing’s gonna change before the World Cup (barring more injuries – knock on wood).

DEFENDERS

Mackenzie Barry – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (6/0)

CJ Bott – Leicester City, ENG (37/2)

Katie Bowen – Melbourne City, AUS (90/3)

Claudia Bunge – Melbourne Victory, AUS (18/0)

Michaela Foster – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (2/0)

Meikayla Moore – Glasgow City, SCO (63/4)

Grace Neville – London City Lionesses, ENG (3/0)

Ali Riley – Angel City FC, USA (150/2)

Rebekah Stott – Brighton & Hove Albion, ENG (87/4)

Kate Taylor – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (8/0)

This is a 24-woman squad that’s been picked and at a World Cup that’s going to need to dip back to 23 players. Ria Percival will be added before then and probably not at the expense of a midfielder. Annalie Longo is still an outside chance of recovering. Let alone anyone who wasn’t picked for this tour but may yet stake a claim before the time comes – although most of them are in the A-League which is about to finish so sketchy times for that lot.

Realistically, we know at least 16 of those 23 players right now already and that’s probably a conservative estimate. This close to the World Cup, that’s how it should be. There’s no time to do anything drastic. The manager has had time to assess the options and has chosen who she thinks are the best options, the most talented players. Results haven’t reflected that yet... but counter-point is that with all the pesky injuries we haven’t actually seen the best possible Ferns team for a long time.

So which spots are still up for grabs? The defensive ones, it seems. Love seeing Michaela Foster included again. Foz’s set pieces have been a marvel at ALW level but her game goes way deeper than that. Strong defensively. Very tidy in possession. Good positional sense. Great mentality. Of course it’s a huge leap from the A-League to World Cup footy but Foster’s doing all she can.

Which has come at the very surprising expense of Liz Anton. Eight consecutive squads prior to this one now she’s been dropped. At least it’s clear why that’s happened: Anton had been in the team as a backup left-back and now Foster has jumped ahead of her and there are only so many fullbacks you can carry in a squad. It’s the same thing that had seen Anton continue to be picked while Ally Green and Ashleigh Ward had tumbled off the back of the bus. Tough decisions had to be made. This is the burden of having actual professional depth for the first time ever.

Anton might still have made it as a centre-back, the position she predominantly plays for Perth Glory, but now we know she’s behind Kate Taylor in that consideration... and they’re both behind the four main options competing for starting spots: Claudia Bunge, Rebekah Stott, Katie Bowen, and Meikayla Moore. Probably in that order, granted Stott’s only actually started twice under Klimková due to injuries/fitness. She is playing at the highest standard though. Gotta see that Bunge/Stott CB combo again – the two times we got it were against Norway (0-2) and Wales (0-0) with Vic Esson in goal... but Moore and Anton at fullback.

On a similar note there’s only been two instances of Esson, Bott, and Riley (of the Ali variety) all starting together and they were a 0-0 draw with Czech Republic and a 1-0 win over Mexico. Do you see how much it matters to have the best players available? Needless to say there has never been an Esson/Bott/Bunge/Stott/Riley defensive group... now would be a pretty good time to trial it.

Not sure if there’ll be room for both Mackenzie Barry and Grace Neville in the World Cup squad. Neville is a specialist fullback who has looked alright in her limited moments so far and has been playing professionally in England for several years already. Barry can play anywhere across the back four though will only be making her 30th professional club appearance in the Welly Nix’s season-ender on the weekend.

One thing to keep aware of: Meikayla Moore hasn’t played in Glasgow City’s last few games. Not even on the bench so there’s potential of another ‘ruled out due to minor injury’ drama there. In this case that’d be worse for Moore than for the Ferns, as her spot in the squad is about as vulnerable now as it has been for several years. She certainly seems to have stalled from having been a first-choice starter at the last Olympics... two straight seasons of limited club starts haven’t helped at all. If Moore does miss out then Liz Anton is the obvious next one up, although Marisa van der Meer should be right up there too.

MIDFIELDERS

Olivia Chance – Celtic, SCO (41/2)

Daisy Cleverley – HB Køge, DEN (29/2)

Betsy Hassett – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (141/14)

Malia Steinmetz – Western Sydney Wanderers, AUS (16/0)

The Wellington Phoenix really stepped it up when Betsy Hassett moved from an eight into a ten role in their midfield. But with the Ferns there is no ten role for her – also an issue for Liv Chance. Hence why the 3-5-2 shape they tried against Portugal was so interesting because it seemed to allow both Hassett and Chance the room to really cook through the middle with Malia Steinmetz shielding behind them... as well as putting key players Bott and Riley into more influence.

But they got thrashed that day so the formation got canned. Or maybe it was only parked because Bott and Riley didn’t play against Argentina and that shape doesn’t really work with our other wide defenders? Probably the former but we’ll soon see. There’s still plenty of potential there if JK’s willing to try it again.

Ria Percival is going to be back for the World Cup, all things going to plan, and the way that Malia Steinmetz has been playing it probably ought to be her to partner RP. That’s fine for Percy, who’d therefore be able to flex her unwithstandable pressing abilities even higher up the pitch knowing there’s a disciplined CDM behind. No dramas for Liv Chance as she’ll just slide back to the left-wing if the 4-4-2 shape is the go. Yet would this squeeze Betsy Hassett out? Perhaps not because against Argentina we got extended glimpses of Hassett being used as a wide player where she looked more than handy and a continuation of that would be the closest thing to mirroring her Welly Nix influence.

Not sure we’ll see that in these games with Percival still absent however Daisy Cleverley is around to at least make it possible. Plus Katie Bowen is a midfielder by trade even if she hasn’t started there for the Fenrs since the Wales game last June. Cleverley’s back into club action for HBK again now as they search for a third straight Danish league title (granted they got knocked out in the semis of the cup last week).

Harshest midfield absentee? Grace Wisnewski who is the underground queen in pretty much every positive Welly Nix result. The huge lungs, the rough tackling, the pressing prowess... and a sneaky predilection for goals and assists. Lowkey, she’s the long term successor to Ria Percival. Kinda awkward how the A-League’s going to be over when this tour begins though – those ALW players won’t play again between this tour and the World Cup squad assembling for warm-ups. Surely gonna have some training camp efforts going, at least.

FORWARDS

Milly Clegg – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (0/0)

Jacqui Hand - Åland United, FIN (10/1)

Grace Jale – Canberra United, AUS (15/2)

Gabi Rennie – Arizona State University, USA (23/2)

Indiah-Paige Riley – Brisbane Roar, AUS (7/0)

Paige Satchell – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (40/2)

Hannah Wilkinson – Melbourne City, AUS (111/27)

Ah yes, and now we come to the main attraction: the forward pack of a team that’s scored one goal in eight matches. A group of attacking players of which just one has scored more than two international goals... although that one is also the only of them aged over 24. Already wrote about this last time, Hannah Wilkinson was the last striker left standing after the 2019 World Cup and with the Ferns having failed to develop a second tier over those previous years it left a chasm which had to be filled by much younger players elevated before they were ready.

Like, for example, Gabi Rennie is a very exciting prospect but it’s baffling that she already has 23 caps. Even more so to think that Paige Satchell, a perennial project player, has 40 caps – ninth most in this current squad. Satchell is not a player without some hefty abilities. Her last few games for the Welly Nix have arguably been the best of her club career so far. But there’s no way she’d have played this much in previous eras, not without first demanding it through performances for both club and country.

For that reason it’s curious that Katie Rood’s been left out again. Roodie has been scoring goals at a decent level in Scotland with Hearts and can cover any of the front four spots on the pitch. Only 15 caps but she’s played professionally in Italy, England, and Scotland so can help bridge that experience chasm. Klimková did call Rood up for the trip to South Korea early in her tenure but never again since. Maybe she just doesn’t think Rood fits her vision of the team, in which case okay. That’s a coach’s prerogative. But it would be nice to mix it up between all the 21-24 year olds who run fast, work hard, but don’t really create much.

Hannah Wilkinson remains option tahi, don’t doubt it. She’s a proven goal-scorer and the only one we’ve got. Not proven to the standard of Sam Kerr or Vivianne Miedema obviously but relative to the rest of our options she’s got runs on the board that can’t be denied. She’s also now the leading goal-scorer ever for Melbourne City. Did note that she was left on the bench last weekend after struggling to find her rhythm this season following the early injury but she responded by coming on and supplying a goal and an assist so no dramas there. Wilkie missed a goober or two across the last series but she also got into very good positions. There was a degree of industry to her performances that was really encouraging. Just gotta hope the chances hit the net next time.

For quite a while it was Wilkinson and Satchell up top together... and it never really worked. They couldn’t combine their contrasting styles in any sort of effective way. Therefore last tour saw Gabi Rennie start alongside Wilkie all three times. Yet in amongst that there was also a couple of instances where Grace Jale operated as the second striker and that feels like the combo that needs further testing – especially if Betsy Hassett is being considered for the right midfield spot. That’d mean two strong yet mobile centre-forwards who won’t keep drifting off towards the wings. Also two players with decent goal-scoring records in the A-League. Both can hold the ball up. Both can run in behind. Jale is one of the leading assist-makers in the ALW this term. Put her where the action is.

Also Jacqui Hand is back after missing the last eight games – one with covid and seven with an extended injury. But she’s already scored a few goals for her Finnish club since returning. Fun fact: Jacqui Hand has started all three wins during the Klimková era. Good things happen when Jacqui Hand is around. That sounds like a tenuous thing to say but you know what? It’s the same vibe that Vic Esson gave off on her way to earning the number one goalkeeping duties.

If does turn out to be the case that a forward will need to be dropped to make way for Percival or to cut things to 23 players, then this will be a very funky tour for pretty much all of them. Wilkinson and Jale are the only two who have done enough to guarantee their spot. Satchell’s probably close but you can’t deny she’s sliding backwards in the pecking order after only starting one of the last five games having made 12 consecutive starts before that.

Indi Riley is another one under pressure. Hasn’t shown more than hints in a Ferns jersey so far and also hasn’t quite had the A-League season she’d have liked either. Did score on her return to the Brisbane Roar but has zero goals or assists in nine games since.

A few attacking options that aren’t here...

• Ava Collins, out of the mix after being picked for three squads in a row. Still at college in the States so can’t force her case with club performances. Shown some promising signs though is probably still a couple years away from really cracking it.

• Hannah Blake, who has done very well for Perth Glory since joining mid-season, earning the starting spot on the right wing and scoring three times in the process. Plus she’s made four appearances under Klimková already.

• Michaela Robertson, whose speed, trickiness, and reliable touch have really helped the Welly Nix even if the end product hasn’t quite matched the build-up yet. Uncapped but was part of the wider Olympics squad in 2021.

• Emma Rolston, who has been a regular in past Ferns squads but wasn’t in the last one nor is she in this one. Rollo came back to the Phoenix for more game-time but has missed large chunks of the season through injury and suspension and hasn’t yet scored a goal for the club.

• Deven Jackson and Tayla O’Brien, who debuted against the USA when the squad was stretched and absolutely dominated the last National League with Eastern Suburbs. Not pros but they earned those call-ups the hard way and that extra fizz shouldn’t be ruled out.

• Already mentioned Katie Rood.

Finally bringing us to the main talking point of the squad: Emily Clegg. 17 years old and into the senior national team, celebrating that call-up with a match-winning double in the Nix’s 3-1 win over Adelaide on Tuesday night. Clegg is special. She’s a striker of rare purity, a natural finisher with that ruthless instinct. This very website has already dedicated many words to that idea.

She’s also not the answer to the team’s problems. She’s not going to usurp the competition and go straight into a starting role. The step up from the A-League to internationals is huge and Clegg’s best mahi in the ALW has come on the wing where she’s been able to get more touches and run at defenders. The potential is enormous. Just make sure we don’t go demanding too much from a very fresh player. Right now the benefit is in allowing Clegg to gain experience and maybe provide a spark off the bench in the last 15 minutes of a close game.

Because we’ve seen that the better A-League sides have been able to limit her impact. If you don’t let Clegg cut inside and shoot then there goes a major weapon in her armoury. Stronger teams also have better defenders who won’t be burnt by a quick burst of pace. Plus Clegg has a long way to go physically, as you’d expect from a high schooler. Those aspects are all going to be exaggerated playing international footy. Milly Clegg is not going to be the saviour for the Football Ferns.

To that point, the timing of the selection seems perfectly reasonable. Yeah, they could’ve integrated her last time. No biggie either way. But Jitka Klimková wanted to allow her to finish her first A-League season without overcomplicating things and there’s nothing wrong with that either. Clegg had a whirlwind 2022 between the U20 World Cup, U17 World Cup, winning a Kate Sheppard Cup, FFDP activities, and then the Wellington Phoenix opportunity. Not to mention whatever else she had going on away from football. There’s genuine burnout potential there if we’re not all careful... though it does help that her mum captained the Black Sticks hockey team so she’s got some high performance pedigree. And there will be five other Phoenix players in this group to help her integrate.

Bottom line, it’s a grand thing to see her selected. Regardless of her age, she’s has earned this through what she’s done not only in the A-League but also what she did at the two youth World Cups last year. Clegg’s got a set of skills that set her apart from the competition, she’s a rare player to emerge out of the Aotearoa football scene. Once more for the people at the back: Milly Clegg is special. Don’t get carried away with expectations or anything... but absolutely gotta celebrate this maiden call-up.

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