The Football Ferns Have Named Their Squad For The 2023 FIFA World Cup
After nine weeks of training camp, beginning with a long-list of over 40 contending players, Jitka Klimková has now unveiled her 23-strong Football Ferns squad for the World Cup. FIFA didn’t require the final squad confirmation until 9 July, less than two weeks out from the first game, though most nations got in there much earlier with many naming their final groups more than a month before the deadline (although not Australia who waited a couple more days to release theirs). Of the 32 competing teams, around 75% of them had already made their teams public prior to the comrades of Aotearoa being revealed – JK and her team giving themselves as much time as possible to make up their minds.
Because there were a few tough decisions to be made. Most of the squad picked itself, although several injuries kept everyone on their toes, but those final few spots could have gone in a number of directions. This is tournament football after all. Lots of games in a short space of time means a need for a certain balance across the positions that isn’t necessarily the same as a two game tour to Europe.
For example, this team’s weaknesses with scoring goals might ordinarily mean dropping a forward or two... but in a World Cup you’re way more likely to want to bring on attacking subs than defensive ones so instead the question was more whether a defender might have to make way to create space for more attacking variety (which is what happened). There were also injury/fitness clouds hanging over several players but in the end they all recovered in time to make the team.
So without any further ado, here is that squad...
The announcement was made at Eden Park with an impressive amount of panache. There were multiple speeches followed by player-by-player unveilings. Each Football Fern was named in order of their squad number, summoned on stage to have their jersey presented by a former international as well as a fern brooch passed along by someone personally special to them (mostly parents/family). It was a smooth operation... and at the end of it we had answers to all those pesky selection questions.
Yes, Annalie Longo recovered in time to make the group despite tearing her ACL last September. That was five months after Ria Percival’s own ACL injury and RP only returned to the pitch for Spurs about two months ago... however Percival’s injury was considered more serious (a meniscus tear along with the ACL) so Longo, fortunately, didn’t need quite as long. Granted, as a free agent player she did have to do the grassroots recovery process compared to Percy having the medical expertise of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club at her disposal. But she made it. Happy days.
Yes, they did pick that extra forward. Milly Clegg retained her spot after debuting on the previous tour while Indi Riley, Gabi Rennie, and Paige Satchell all held their places despite the addition of Percival and Longo to the midfield. Daisy Cleverley made the cut too meaning that it was the defenders who had to make way.
That’s where we find the one true surprise omission from this group: Meikayla Moore. However a closer look reveals that this maybe isn’t the shock that it first appears. Moore is another of those who has been battling injury over recent months. That’s not a factor in her availability but it has been a factor in her playing just 11 minutes of league football for Glasgow City since mid-February. The three-own-goal game against USA didn’t help but even aside from that her form hasn’t been particularly sharp over the last couple years. She’s dropped below Claudia Bunge and Katie Bowen in the centre back rankings for the national team and prior to Glasgow City she wasn’t getting much game-time for Liverpool either.
With 63 caps, Moore has plenty of experience and there have been some outstanding performances for the Ferns (particularly in that span between the 2016 Olympics and 2019 World Cup). Yet over the past 15 months she’s made as many starts at right back (5) as she has at centre-back (5) under Klimková’s management and there’s already enough cover at right back... otherwise they’d have picked another specialist.
To put it bluntly: form and fitness have both counted against Moore. Others with fitness concerns, such as Longo and Percival, were commanding first eleven selection when available. Others with sketchy form have either been a little better or are joining Moore on the outside looking in. It was a brace and understandable decision from the coach, keep that in mind if folks try to tell you that JK just picks the same old players regardless of performance (a criticism that was never true to begin win – just look at the player turnover since JK took over).
No matter the reasons, this is a bummer on an emotional level because Moore tore her achilles tendon on the eve of the 2019 World Cup and now is the most high-profile omission for the 2023 edition. Agonising absences twice in a row. The lesson here is that there’s growing depth in kiwi football these days because not only has Moore dropped out of the top 23 but in order to get back there in the future she’s also going to have to compete with the likes of Kate Taylor, Mackenzie Barry, Marisa van der Meer, and whoever else emerges. Fortunately, Moore is only 27 years old. She’s got another couple World Cup cycles in her if she’s keen.
The returns of Longo and Percival are big deals (JK referred to Percy as “co-captain” during the presentation) yet spare a thought for Rebekah Stott who since the last World Cup has only gone and beaten cancer. Getting selected for a World Cup is a personal triumph under any circumstances but to do so after undergoing chemotherapy just a year and a half earlier is a triumph amongst triumphs.
Will they rue the lack of that extra fullback? No, they won’t. There are two left-backs in the group in Riley and Foster. Riley has played more right back than left back for Angel City this season so if CJ Bott isn’t starting on the right (or is playing higher up the flank) then Riley and Foster can easily be the wide defenders. At a pinch Katie Bowen, Ria Percival, Rebekah Stott, and Liz Anton can all do a job at fullback – in fact Anton’s fullback experience is probably what edged her over Moore. Should add that Moore, Kate Taylor, and Ava Collins will remain with the squad as training players.
Lots of midfielders here. Percival and Longo’s lack of ninety-minute fitness probably had something to do with that, with Betsy Hassett, Daisy Cleverley, and Malia Steinmetz all picked alongside them. Not to mention Katie Bowen and Liv Chance whose preferred positions are as central midfielders even if they’re asked to do slightly different things for the Ferns. On that point it’ll be interesting to see if Hassett, who might drop out of the starting team if Longo and Percy are both able to start, sees more time at central midfield or out wide as more of a creative playmaker. With three group stage games in the space of a week and two midfielders coming off serious knee injuries you can see why they’ve played it safe with their midfield options.
It’s a relief to see them also keep the attacking stocks full. It’s a risky move for a team that has only scored 2 goals in their last 10 games, but you need that variety off the bench in a World Cup. A starting front four of Chance and Jale out wide with Wilkinson and Hand up front is decent. They’ve only had one game together and it was a solid 1-1 draw against Iceland. Get to that sixty minute mark still in need of a goal, well a quick squizz at the bench would reveal Hassett, Indi Riley, Gabi Rennie, Milly Clegg, and Paige Satchell. A tidy selection of options who all do something unique. From Satchell’s raw pace to Rennie’s engine to Clegg’s finishing to Hassett’s guile to Riley’s genuine winger skillset (arguably the only pure wide forward in the group).
A handful of players who’d previously been aligned with other nations switched allegiances in recent times. Ally Green and Grace Neville had played for Australia and England at age grade level respectively, though each with a kiwi parent to allow them to swap eligibility. Neither made this squad. Problem was, they’re both fullbacks and that’s one position where the Ferns are pretty settled. Each are good enough to have professional gigs in Europe so maybe next time. Indi Riley, on the other hand, did make the cut. She’d gone further and played at senior level for the Matildas yet always retained a strong connection to Aotearoa where she was born and lived for a number of years before the whanau relocated. In her case the switch worked out sweetly with World Cup selection.
Above all else there’s one thing to say about this squad which is more important than anything: it’s a full-strength group. Everybody was available. An injury-free top twenty-three. Such a thing is rare in the international game so this is indeed a blessing... but especially so for a team that has been absolutely plagued by injuries in recent years, from long-termers to those niggly ones that happen during the international window. It’s one of the most emphatic defences of feeble Footy Ferns form to say that Jitka Klimkova has never had a full-strength squad to choose from. Not once. Usually not even close. But she will for this World Cup (knock on wood).
Ali Riley, Ria Percival, and Annalie Longo first experienced a World Cup back in 2007. This will be their fifth time at FIFA’s showcase event, while Katie Bowen, Hannah Wilkinson, Betsy Hassett, and Erin Nayler will each be embarking upon their fourth. At the other end of the scale there are ten players who’ll be partaking in the World Cup experience for the first time: Bunge, Foster, Steinmetz, Rennie, Hand, Jale, Anton, I.Riley, Clegg & Leat. That also means there are 13 players returning from the 2019 squad (there were 16 common players between the 2015 and 2019 tournaments and 15 from 2011 to 2015).
Four of this squad are centurions. A further four still have single-figure caps tallies. Also don’t forget Jitka Klimková who’ll become the fourth person to coach the New Zealand at a Women’s World Cup following on from David Boardman, John Herdman (twice), Tony Readings, and Tom Sermanni. 14 out of 23 players have played in the A-League with 11 of those having featured in the most recent season. Only five of those have played for the Wellington Phoenix.
Klimková mentioned during her speech that she’s called up 50 different players since getting this job. Covid restrictions forced her to dip deep into the bag for the first few tours but even still that’s a lot. She’s given debuts to 14 separate players with four of them making the cut for this group (Tom Sermanni had six debutants and three are in this squad). There were 41 players involved in the wider training camp over the last nine weeks, with Katie Rood also scheduled to be there prior to her ACL injury. That’s a lot of depth, unprecedented depth, and even if you believe the top end talent in the first eleven isn’t quite where it has been in the past the potential of the new generation breaking through is hugely exciting.
Klimková’s taken over at a time when the national team needed an injection of youth after the retirements of several important players exposed a lack of nurtured depth behind them. You get a good glimpse of what that looks like within this squad where the best of JK’s youngbloods are mixed with the familiar veterans yet there are only four players in that 30-80 cap range.
This is a team in transition. Many of their recent results have made that starkly obvious and chances are we’ll lose a few more of the vets to retirement after this tournament (although perhaps not as many as you might assume). Ideally, we’d have been co-hosting the next one or the previous one in order to have this team in prime condition for results... but since when do things ever work out in ideal fashion? This is an extraordinary opportunity and for literally the first time since Klimková took over she’s been able to select a full-strength squad. They’ve had two months of training camp preparation with most of the players. You’d best believe they’re ready to surprise a few people.
If you appreciate the yarns on TNC, get amongst our Patreon to support the mahi
Also helps to whack an ad, sign up to our Substack, make a donation, and tell your mates about us
Keep cool but care