Football Ferns vs Mexico/USA: Squad Yarns & Preview
The Football Ferns need more games, we’ve all been saying it. They took a couple of windows off after the Olympics which has left them playing catch-up under a new coach. Then they also ended up in the silly position of playing in Chinese Taipei a few months back where they had to cancel their only proper game because the pitch conditions were so rubbish. That one never got much explanation but Claudia Jenkins did pop up on a podcast a wee while ago in which she offered some context from a player’s perspective...
“When we went over there, we got to the field and the field was just covered in rocks and then they had these kids, like probably eleven kids out there picking up rocks and putting them into bags. So, there was like a turf training field that we trained on instead. We were supposed to train on the grass. It sort of looked like asphalt, the field, but it wasn't quite ready to train on or play on. So we trained on turf and then quite a few girls got injured from it. One girl did her ACL so yeah so the game got off unfortunately.”
That was Jana Radosavljevic who did her ACL. Real shame for Rado having earned a chance back in the national team after a spell in the wilderness. Not fun... and an odd chapter in what’s been a strange time for the Fernies. Coming off the coaching dramas of the last tenure, Michael Mayne has thus far had games against Costa Rica and Venezuela (and that game-less tour to Taiwan) leading to two wins, a draw, and one loss. Those tours have come with encouraging talk about new ideas and a different formation... offset by constant chat about ‘building out depth’ (aka not picking all of our best players). Mayne has said similar things about this tour... but he’s also brought back CJ Bott and Katie Bowen for the first time since Paris 2024 (a span of 15 months in which they’ve only missed four matches).
In other words, this feels like the tour where the Football Ferns get to return to being a serious entity. Not only is this the strongest squad that Mayne has picked this year, they’re also going to extra lengths to get more games. You almost never see this but they’re going to play three times on this tour! Two against Mexico and one against the USA. Three games in seven days with only two rest days between each. Doesn’t leave much time to hit the training pitch but it’s the games that we need the most. And it is the games that we shall get. The is about the same workload as the Olympics group stage, whereas the World Cup gave us eleven days for the same quantity. Hectic stuff.
The USA game is lame. We seem to play them more than anyone and it’s never any different. The Americans love that we offer them a good physical battle that usually ends with them winning 5-0. They seem to think it’s worthwhile but what do we gain from these fixtures? Nothing, really. Look at this nonsense:
Lost 5-0 in Auckland in January 2023
Lost 4-0 in Wellington in January 2023
Lost 5-0 in California in February 2022
Lost 6-1 in Tokyo (Olympics) in July 2021
Lost 5-0 in St Louis in May 2019
Lost 5-0 in Cincinnati in September 2017
Lost 3-1 in Denver in September 2017
Lost 2-0 in Belo Horizonte (Olympics) in August 2016
Lost 4-0 in St Louis in April 2015
There’s no novelty when we play them this often (that’s more games against America during the past ten-and-a-bit years than we’ve had against Australia in that same span). It also doesn’t offer much room for tactical growth when we’re just stuck on defence the whole time. Things have changed a wee bit since Emma Hayes took charge but traditionally the Americans have thrived on athleticism and ruthlessness and we just don’t match-up well against that. That’s probably a big part of why USA soccer scene hasn’t been very nice to kiwi players in recent years. This from TNC’s Substack newsletter a few weeks back summarises the evidence...
Macey Fraser signed with Utah Royals for a record A-League fee but only played sparsely throughout two years, with ankle injuries partly to blame but almost no explanation from the club in either season. Returned to fitness and trained with the team a few months ago but wasn’t considered for games for some obscure reason. Then got an early release to return to the Wellington Phoenix. Utah were among the worst teams in the NWSL in both years.
Katie Bowen only played 91 minutes all season for NC Courage in 2022... then instantly became a regular starter for Melbourne City and leveraged that into a move to Inter Milan where she’s helped them qualify for European competition (though NCC do get credit for specialising her as a CB).
Milly Clegg joined Racing Louisville in 2024 and made one substitute appearance late in the season for a non-playoff team, despite being available on the bench for the whole second half of the year. They loaned her out for 2025.
Grace Wisnewski joined USL Super League club Lexington SC and only finally got a run of starts towards the end of that season despite Lexington finishing last. She then joined a Champions League club in Denmark where she very quickly became a regular in the starting line-up.
Gabi Rennie went underrated at her college teams then was promptly awesome as a professional in both Finland and Sweden. Same deal with Maggie Jenkins in Turkey. Others, like Jacqui Hand, Hannah Blake, and Daisy Cleverley, had much more successful college careers but couldn’t earn any draft buzz at all only to end up with great opportunities in Europe instead (in Blake’s case after a couple years in the A-League).
The only advantage to playing against the Americans is that they can afford to pay for everything. At least this time it’s a free hit thanks to the two matches against Mexico earlier in the window, a nation we beat 1-0 when we played them in September 2022 (CJ Bott with the winning goal). The Liga MX Feminil is one of the fastest growing leagues in the world so it’s very likely they’ve improved since then (Abby Erceg is playing for Toluca these days). But those should be good competitive outings. That’s what we’re here for.
Was there a chance that the retiring Ali Riley might have been selected for a swansong? The fact that these games are in North America would have helped her cause but Coach Mayne’s constant emphasis on building into this World Cup cycle probably didn’t. Riley’s literally retiring in a couple of months, she’s not going to be relevant for 2027. With three games in such a short span that means everybody needs to be ready to play big minutes (they’ve picked 24 players with only two goalkeepers). But this decision doesn’t even get that far because while Riley has regained enough fitness to get back into matchday squads for Angel City... she hasn’t gone any further than that yet. The comeback is missing that most crucial element. Bottom line: you can’t pick a player who hasn’t played a minute of competitive football for 15 months. It’s a pity but that’s just how it’s worked out.
The All Whites went on tour with only a small handful of A-League players due to the proximity of the start of that season. This Footy Ferns squad is also short on ALW talent (albeit not to the same extent). Without games being played, or the press release making any mention of it, we don’t know who’s injured and who’s dropped and who’s rested, et cetera, but we do know that Anna Leat hasn’t played a professional game since the Olympics and that Macey Fraser only played sparingly for Utah Royals at the beginning of the year. They’ll be back once their A-League seasons get rolling. For now, they’re a little too undercooked. Not sure where Rebekah Stott is. Nor Claudia Jenkins who’d surely have gotten her belated debut in one of these three games. Grace Jale’s another notable absentee although that one’s easier to understand with Jale having fallen back in the pack over recent tours.
It’s interesting that Betsy Hassett has dipped out after making her motherhood comeback last tour. That could be a concession to the three games in seven days thing but Hassett is super fit and always starts for Stjarnan in Iceland, where she’s been converted to a left-back this year. That’s the position she’s been playing so that’s the position she’s in contention for with the national team (she was used as a left wing-back against Venezuela)... and it might just be that there are better options available. Indi Riley and CJ Bott will probably be the starting wing-backs. Manaia Elliott and Grace Neville offer cover on both edges. Emma Pijnenburg, Jacqui Hand, and Hannah Blake have each been tried there. Gabi Rennie and Deven Jackson could do a job. We simply didn’t need another one. As for Liv Chance, who hasn’t played for NZ since the World Cup, she probably is a concession to the three games in seven days issue.
GOALKEEPERS
Vic Esson – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (28 caps/0 goals)
Alina Santos – University of Denver, USA (0/0)
Usually there would be three goalkeepers in any squad - FIFA’s rules state that you have to have three within a 23-player World Cup squad. Here, though, the Football Ferns have only picked two despite adding a 24th option to the touring party... and one of them is an uncapped university player. There is some continuity here with Alina Santos having been part of the last couple of trips, so clearly they’ve seen something they like from her. But it’s a curious one. Is Santos ready to play if Vic Esson gets injured? She’s going to need to be.
Michael Mayne’s quest for depth has affected the goalkeeping ranks more than anywhere else. With Anna Leat having been out of action (this should be the last tour where that’s the case, since she’s had a running start for her Newcastle Jets campaign by playing a few impressive months as the goalie for Eastern Suburbs), we’ve seen a bunch of options brought into recent camps. Alina Santos is part of a collection that also includes Claudia Jenkins, Brianna Edwards, and Geo Candy. Plus Murphy Sheaff if you want to go back as far as the Olympics. None of them have played. Edwards got one game back in Feb 2024 against Tonga and otherwise Esson and Leat have started 27 of the last 28 games between them (going back to Erin Nayler’s last appearance in Feb 2023)... soon to be 30/31 unless we see a Santos debut.
Jenkins has had a couple of injuries which have prevented her from taking full advantage of her switch in allegiances during Leat’s hiatus. This timeframe also aligned with Edwards having a rough year with Sydney FC, leading to an early termination. Edwards has since moved to Western Sydney while Jenkins has re-upped with Adelaide on a long-term deal... but that’s going to overlap with Leat returning to the mix so the timing hasn’t been ideal for them. Geo Candy wasn’t re-signed by Melbourne Victory meaning she’s out of the frame. Sheaff and Santos are both still uni students over in the States. Brooke Neary and Aimee Danieli are at the Wellington Phoenix but are both still very young (younger than Sheaff or Santos). Una Foyle has been over in Ireland with Cork City but she didn’t get picked while things were going well for her so she’s definitely not going to have a shot since being dropped to the bench with her club on course for relegation.
Blair Currie is an interesting one to track having just returned to Aotearoa to play for Wellington United during the National League. She was one of Leat’s backups at the U17 World Cup in 2018 (the bronze medallists) which Michael Mayne was an assistant for. She had a tremendous career at Spring Arbor University and has also played semi-pro in America and at Victorian NPL level in Australia. Could be one to track if she kicks on and gets a professional gig somewhere (but not before then). There’s potential for some serious goalkeeping stocks to emerge within a season or two... but for now it’s entirely on Vic Esson’s shoulders. Fortunately she has strong shoulders.
DEFENDERS
Liz Anton – Kolbotn, NOR (23/0)
Mackenzie Barry – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (20/1)
CJ Bott - Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (50/3)
Katie Bowen – Inter Milan, ITA (113/4)
Claudia Bunge – Melbourne Victory, AUS (35/0)
Michaela Foster – Durham, ENG (25/1)
Meikayla Moore – Calgary Wild, CAN (71/4)
Grace Neville – Ipswich Town, ENG (12/0)
Kate Taylor – Dijon FCO, FRA (25/2)
The 3-5-2 formation that we’ve seen in the Mayne Era wreaks havoc with these positional breakdowns because some wing-back options feel defensive, others feel like midfielders, and a lot of them are basically attacking players. In four games so far we’ve seen Indi Riley, Grace Neville (twice), and Jacqui Hand start at RWB, and we’ve seen Hannah Blake, Indi Riley, Grace Jale, and Manaia Elliott start at LWB. Look at those names and you can tell that those positions are not defensive ones even though they do come with a lot of defensive responsibility.
Those four games happened without Katie Bowen or CJ Bott’s involvement. CJB is surely the right-sided preference where despite her tackling being her world class trait, she’s got a powerful long shot and some much-improved crossing as well as the engine to make those overlapping runs and the experience from her time in the WSL to link up with midfielders and forwards. Bowen is also a quality RWB (and has featured a little bit there for Inter Milan lately) but the preference is to see her anchoring in the back three.
Quite a few of these players are in preseason with A-League clubs which could be a worry against very battle-hardened Mexican and American players whose seasons are nearing their playoffs. Combine that with the three-game-window and we should continue to see lots of wing-back rotation. Grace Neville’s been a regular for Ipswich Town on the right edge of their defence. She can cover both sides, as can CJB. But others who’ve played fullback in the past, like Mack Barry and Meikayla Moore and Mickey Foster, probably won’t be seen as wing-back options in this formation considering the more attacking demands.
Foster will be an interesting case since she has started three games in midfield under Mayne but has been converted to a centre-back for Durham this season. Kate Taylor is one of four players to have started all four Mayne games. Vic Esson, Annalie Longo, and Katie Kitching are the others. Taylor’s been used as the middle CB each time. She and Bowen may rotate there, though Bowen is usually RCB for Internazionale so they can just as easily cohabitate. Foster and Anton are the LCB specialists. Moore and Barry are RCBs. Claudia Bunge can play either side (or in the middle). That feels like a lot of centre-backs... which makes you wonder if somebody has been picked for a different role. Foz in midfield is the obvious candidate.
Katie Bowen and Meikayla Moore have been a little in and out of their club teams lately. For Bowen, her Inter Milan side are competing in Europe and have at least five really good CB candidates so no shame there. She’ll get her chances. Moore’s a little more of a pesky situation in the new Canadian league but she had an awesome start to that season and has still started most games. Interesting that her teammate Ally Green hasn’t been picked. Admittedly, Calgary have conceded a lot of goals this year, missing out on the top four in a six-team league. Liz Anton is a regular for Kolbotn in Norway alongside Liv Chance and Jacqui Hand... where they’re battling hard to avoid relegation. Neville’s Ipswich Town have struggled too. But on the flipside Kate Taylor was part of a Dijon defence that only lost 1-0 to PSG last week because of a dodgy penalty. Top choice back three? Probably Bowen, Taylor, Bunge. An available Rebekah Stott should nudge out Bunge although remember Stotty played midfield in the most recent game (a 2-1 win vs Venezuela).
MIDFIELDERS
Maya Hahn – Viktoria Berlin, GER (4/1)
Deven Jackson – Melbourne City, AUS (2/0)
Katie Kitching – Sunderland, ENG (18/6)
Annalie Longo – Auckland United, NZ (140/15)
Emma Pijnenburg – Feyenoord, NED (3/0)
Grace Wisnewski – FC Nordsjælland, DEN (3/0)
The midfield stock do kinda look sparse without Macey Fraser or Malia Steinmetz. But hey that’s what Maya Hahn and Grace Wisnewski are for. The Wiz has already replaced Steinmetz at Nordsjælland where she’s become a first choice player pretty much straight away, even popping up with a few crucial goals (including an 88th minute equaliser against Midtjylland on the weekend). Steinmetz is still with FCN so we might see her joining Wisnewski out there in a couple of months depending on how the ACL recover is going. But let it be known that Grace Wisnewski is one of our most in-form players right now and is absolutely pushing for a starting role with the Ferns despite only having three caps. She didn’t play after being recalled last tour but that was before her FCN momentum began.
The midfield dearth also explains why Annalie Longo keeps getting picked even after retiring from professional footy. She hasn’t retired from all footy though... she played for Cashmere Technical during the second half of the South Island League and helped turn them into a menace winning nine in a row to end that campaign. They did lose to the WeeNix in the Kate Sheppard Cup semis but then Longo joined the team that beat the Nix in the final: Auckland United. That’s a full circle thing for Flea, who came up playing for Three Kings United as a teenager. She featured off the bench in the Women’s Champions Cup against Wuhan Jianghan (Asian Champions League holders) and we could see her play some National League too. This is a place-holding situation as far as the national team is concerned but the fact is there’s a place that needs holding. We still need Longo’s experience and guile until Fraser and Steinmetz are available again.
Deven Jackson’s move to Melbourne City seems to have cemented her Footy Ferns spot. She’ll either play as a ten or a striker so perhaps ought to be in the forwards section. Maya Hahn will also be a ten while Katie Kitching has played as an attacking midfielder and a striker for the Ferns same as she does for Sunderland. Kitch has been typically great for the Black Cats, scoring a few mint goals. Hahn is a regular starter for Viktoria Berlin in the German second tier although they have been drawing a lot of games since being promoted. Emma Pijnenburg, a bench player at Feyenoord, is too raw to be seeing minutes as the six or eight but she could play as a ten... or as a wing-back reserve. And there’s also Mickey Foster as a midfield alternative if we’re looking for that more defensive presence.
FORWARDS
Hannah Blake – Durham, ENG (7/0)
Kelli Brown – Newcastle Jets, AUS (4/0)
Milly Clegg – Halifax Tides, CAN (15/2)
Manaia Elliott - Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (3/0)
Jacqui Hand – Kolbotn, NOR (35/9)
Gabi Rennie – Eskilstuna United, SWE (40/2)
Indiah-Paige Riley – Crystal Palace, ENG (29/7)
You know who massively deserves her recall? Gabrielle Rose Rennie, that’s who. She’s been unreal for Eskilstuna United as they charge towards promotion to the top division in Sweden. She either scored or assisted every single goal that her club mustered during the month of September. Six goals and 10 assists in 22 matches overall this season. The only question is where she fits in because most of her 40 caps have been earned as a striker despite that not being the position in which she thrives. In Sweden she’s very much a touchline hugging winger and with her workrate and crossing that could open the door for wing-back minutes. Especially off the bench if we’re chasing a goal. Then again, with two up front there’s room for one of those strikers to drift and maraud. We shall see what Mr Mayne has in mind.
Milly Clegg finally scored her first goal in Canada the other week. It was also her first goal at club level since leaving the Wellington Phoenix. But despite the slog she’s been through trying to prove herself in North America, she’s starting to look comfortable for the Ferns having started seven of the last nine (and scoring goals against Japan and Venezuela). Kelli Brown is also in contention. Her move to Newcastle Jets should allow her to build upon a breakthrough campaign with Perth Glory. Clegg brings smoothness and finesse. Brown brings power and combativeness. Both know exactly where the net is. They’re the number nine challengers.
The others are more about versatility. Manaia Elliott is here as an attacking wing-back, having started at LWB in the last game. Hannah Blake plays right midfield for Durham and has been really excellent when given the chance this year, already with a couple of assists (their most recent game was a 3-0 win against Nottm Forest where all three goals stemmed from Blake’s work out wide). However, the one game she played at wing-back for the Ferns she looked out of place. Ideally she’s been picked as a striker or ten... which might explain why Grace Jale has dropped out (Ruby Nathan too but that’s less surprising since she played zero minutes on either of the previous two tours). Jale has never locked down a consistent position for the Ferns and it seems that’s finally caught up with her... although a positional shift to the midfield towards the end of the last Wellington Phoenix season could be her avenue back once she’s had a few more games to show it.
You know what Indi Riley does. Early signs suggest that she’s going to be a crucial player for the Mayne Ferns as a dynamic wing-back. It’s a position she’s played a lot for Crystal Palace since joining them... although not this season. This season she’s been stuck on the bench most weeks, only appearing in one of their six games to date. You also know what Jacqui Hand does. Hand is probably New Zealand’s most consistently reliable source of goals and assists over the past three years and she’s starting to get it done at club level too despite being in the awkward situation of facing three consecutive relegations with three different clubs. She scored again for Kolbotn in her last game so they’re not going down without a fight, not if JH has anything to say about it.
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