Football Ferns vs Australia: The Reaction
The Football Ferns are at a crossroads right now... in fact they’ve been there for a wee while. Ever since the World Cup in 2023, this team has been trying to figure out where they’re going having previously given absolute focus to that co-hosted tournament. The Ferns spent a good chunk of the intervening time with an interim coach (who was later hired properly). Only 2 of 26 games post-WC have been hosted in New Zealand. Very limited fan connection, very limited media accountability. They skipped out on multiple international windows entirely – not to mention the Chinese Taipei debacle. Lots of retirements and new players stepping into leadership roles amidst what really needs to be seen as a rebuilding phase. Plenty of things have been happening but they’ve been happening slowly and largely out of sight. Meaning that, somehow, with the next World Cup only 18 months away, the Football Ferns are still only in the early stages of this tournament cycle.
The first game of this two-match series against Australia laid bare all the negativity. All the ways in which this team seemed to be set up to fail were on display: key players being left out of squads, games against far better opponents, constantly playing away from home. Even Michael Mayne’s 3-5-2 formation which has looked decent in other contexts and which at least was worth a crack as something different from what had been tried before (in fairness, Tom Sermanni used to alternate between a back three and back four so it’s not completely fresh – although only about half this squad can remember that long ago) appeared to be a hurdle holding them back as Australia rolled through the Ferns defences time and time again.
But perhaps losing 5-0 to Australia (following a 6-0 loss to USA) was the snap-to-attention moment that they needed because game two came with some encouraging changes and a much more cohesive performance. Despite losing 2-0, the display in Adelaide suggested a framework that the Ferns can move forward with. Not only that but it showed a coaching staff willing to adapt to find the best structures for the team that they’ve got. Add in the improved defensive resilience and yeah that’s much more like it. We can work with that.
Game One – The Problems
Based on some fantastic crowds, it seems like the Aussies really embraced these games whereas across the ditch, Ferns Fatigue meant that you’d be forgiven for not even knowing they were happening... until we lost 5-0 at Gosford. Some shambolic defending meant that Australia were ahead early and never under any threat as the Ferns got completely outclassed. To be honest, we should have lost by more. The Matildas were sloppy with their finishing, even missing a penalty, which hides how often they were able to slice through the New Zealand defence at will and from every angle.
It wasn’t all chaos. There were some decent signs in possession from the NZers who were able to progress the ball into the midfield. Anna Leat had an excellent game in her first appearance since the Olympics which included that late Steph Catley penalty save (Leat was caught out of position for multiple Matildas goals but those were more down to her defenders giving the ball away cheaply – she was positioned to be an option in the build-up, not to make saves, because that’s the phase of play her team was supposed to be in). Gabi Rennie was close to snatching a goal at the death while Indi Riley was once again, as is almost always the case these days, the most threatening Ferns attacker. So it’s not as though there were no good things to come out of that match, it’s just that none of the good things could escape the shadows of all the negativity.
Because it was hard not to come away from that game feeling like the Ferns were being set up to fail. For starters, NZ Football continue to schedule them games against much higher ranked opposition that, barring any divine intervention, we’re not capable of getting results from. We did have four games against relatively weaker sides to start the year (a draw and win against Costa Rica; a loss and a win vs Venezuela) but the fact we only won 2/4 of those is proof that the Fernies weren’t ready to give Australia and especially USA any kind of challenge. For a team already low on confidence in front of goal, it wasn’t very helpful to line up a bunch of such games. Gotta walk before you can run. After scoring in four consecutive matches to start the year, the Ferns have now gone two tours and five games without scoring at all.
Keep in mind that this is a team in the process of being rebuilt. Coach Mayne is working on a few fresh ideas, changing the formation, and bringing forth a new core of key players in the wake of retirements and injuries. Kate Taylor, Katie Kitching, Indi Riley, Maya Hahn, Mickey Foster, Claudia Bunge... these are the new leaders in this squad. Annalie Longo hung around a little longer than expected but she’s now retired which further emphasises this point. That leaves only three active centurions (Hassett, Bowen & Stott) and two other players with 50+ caps (Bott & Moore) in the current player pool. Of the 2023 World Cup squad, pretty much a third of them are no longer in the picture.
This is an inexperienced squad and that’s true in the club sense as well as the international sense. Plain and simply, the Football Ferns do not currently have the calibre of players that they’ve had in the past. This isn’t about depth – we’ve got more pros than ever – it’s about the level that our very best players are playing and training at with their clubs. Our presence in the top global leagues has shrunk. There are no kiwis in the WSL (England) this season after several years with multiple and the same could soon be true in the NWSL (USA) unless Milly Clegg can break through. We have players capable of getting to that level but either they’re not there yet or they got there and it didn’t work out (Indi Riley and Macey Fraser, for example).
Which is why it’s so crazy that the Football Ferns have not been picking all of their best players. Since the Olympics, Michael Mayne’s put an emphasis on expanding the player depth by trying different options. Okay, fair enough. There’s quibbling to be had about how and where he’s gone about that but the overall idea is legit – 39 different players have been in squads this year, with 32 of them getting on the pitch. But, like, it’s hard enough taking on the Aussies at the best of times let alone with Katie Bowen and Rebekah Stott watching from afar. Particularly Bowen who is a regular starter for an Inter Milan side that finished second in Italy last season and have recently been battling away in Champions League qualifiers and Europa Cup. She is our top professional player and she’s been in one (1) squad this year.
Nobody’s entitled to national team selection and a coach is empowered to make such decisions. But fans also deserve to know what the situation is. Up until this tour, the implication had been that this is just early cycle rotation and it’ll all ramp up properly next year. But Michael Mayne had a press conference after the first game in Oz during which (courtesy of Australian media) he was asked about Stotty’s absence and his response was this:
In other words, this is on her. She’s been dropped.
It’s Stott who is getting the focus because she’s got a high profile in Australia as captain of Melbourne City but we have to assume the same applies to Katie Bowen. It’s baffling stuff. Poorly explained and contradictory. What makes it even stranger is that they were each picked once this year (non-simultaneously) so it’s not like this has been a blanket ban. Stott was there for the Venezuela games and Bowen was there for the Mexico/USA tour… and they were each dropped again afterwards.
Also, when they were picked they were used almost exclusively as midfielders where neither has been playing for the past couple years at club level. Meanwhile, Annalie Longo was in every single squad this year after being coaxed into delaying her retirement. Her abilities do justify that… but she was never going to be part of the World Cup picture. Unlike Bowen and Stott. Very confusing.
After that, you can chuck the lack of home fixtures on the pile as well. Not only would more home games give them a better chance of getting some results, it’d also allow them to reconnect with fans and perhaps face a little more media scrutiny over those controversial selections. None of these negatives need to be dealbreakers on their own, the problem is having all of them at once. It’s just a wee bit too much dysfunction… and getting thrashed away against Australia, conceding silly goals without two of our best ever defenders being picked, brought everything to the forefront.
Game Two – The Solutions
Then came a much happier game two performance, where for the very first time we saw some flexibility in Michael Mayne’s tactics. Sure, he was interim boss at the Olympics when they played a 4-4-2 shape... but ever since then it has been three at the back, with wing-backs ahead of them, two eights and a ten in midfield, with two strikers. Call it a 3-5-2... it was the only set-up that we’d seen from the Fernies in 2025 until Mayne bit the bullet and switched to a 4-1-4-1 against the Aussies in Adelaide.
That meant CJ Bott and Mickey Foster at fullbacks outside Meikayla Moore and Claudia Bunge in central defence. Kate Taylor stepped up into a holding midfield role – similar to what we saw in her last season with the Wellington Phoenix... and although she hardly ever plays there for Dijon, she did play CDM in their most recent game prior to this window. Katie Kitching and Grace Wisneski (the latter making her first start for the national team) were therefore given a little more freedom in midfield while Gabi Rennie and Indi Riley started on the wings with Milly Clegg up top. Even as a wing-back, Indi Riley is usually NZ’s most potent creative player and this formation leaned into that by allowing her to operate closer to the opposition goal with fewer defensive responsibilities to drag her away from that task. It also put Rennie in the role that she’s had so much success with in Sweden over the past twelve months.
In other words, this shape allowed more players to line up in the positions that best suit them. Same is true of CJ Bott at fullback and Moore and Bunge in a back four (Mickey Foster is too versatile to worry about such things). That did put a lot of pressure on Kate Taylor as the fulcrum... but in a match-up like this the CDM job isn’t much different from central defence in a three, just a little further up the pitch. Taylor was made captain for this game and she lived up to the billing with a great performance. Hopefully Malia Steinmetz is healthy again by the time the Ferns next play to give us another option there but Taylor made it work.
The difference between this and a 4-4-2 is that Taylor’s presence sweeping between the two blocks of four means that the midfield block can push higher. That’s what we saw with the Ferns setting up flat across that Rennie – Kitching – Wisnewski – Riley line to try and stymie the Australian build-up, which they did to relatively good effect. The Ferns did concede after 19 minutes when Alana Kennedy scored (doing a similar thing to Taylor as a defender evolving into a midfielder), though it wasn’t until 70’ that Hayley Raso finally moved the Tillies clear with a second goal. This was a Ferns display with a foundation of defensive solidity, embracing their underdog status rather than going toe-to-toe with stronger teams. Necessary pragmatism.
Where it could have come loose was with debutant Alina Santos in goal, given her chance after an injury to Vic Esson (who also missed the subsequent Wellington Phoenix match). Santos had gone on three tours in a row but this was her first chance to play, the USA college student getting in amongst it with the pros (having been selected ahead of several A-League goalkeeping options). And you know what? She did really well. Looked sturdy and confident. Perhaps a bit slow to move for the second goal but that’s being harsh. Coach Mayne sorta owed it to us to give her a game so we could at least learn why she’s being picked ahead of Claudia Jenkins or Bri Edwards or whoever... that opportunity came along and now we’ve seen something. Santos had a breakthrough 2025 season with Denver University and has one more year there before graduation.
The footballing ramifications of that formation change were nice but there’s another equally valuable aspect. Because while Mayne seems like a genuine bloke doing his best to make this team a success... he also got elevated to the job after being an assistant to an unpopular predecessor, has seemingly dropped a couple of key players, could be argued to be playing favourites with others, and if he stuck firmly to his pre-prescribed new formation even in the face of diminishing results then that sorta stubbornness would have started to be a problem. Not to mention his tendency towards meaningless coachspeak, talking about bland positives and campaign plans. It’s still early days with this regime, we’re only learning, but in a team notorious for dodgy coaches (of various definitions) he was leaving some ammunition out there for the haters.
However, with this second outing against Australia, Michael Mayne showed his malleability, finding a compromise with his team that led to a much-improved performance. The fact that he was willing to make adaptations is as crucial as anything we saw from the players. And with that, the Football Ferns now have something they can build upon when they return in February-March-April for Oceania World Cup qualifiers. They’re still at the crossroads... but at least the path has gotten clearer.
Notes & Reaction
Shout out to Annalie Longo on a wonderful international career. Very rude of the Aussies to give her the tallest mascot to stand behind for the first game. But they gave her a lovely reception when she was subbed on in Adelaide so that was nice.
It remains to be seen if the 4-1-4-1 shape was a one-off for the occasion or the new status quo but assuming the latter, there could be ramifications with some selections. Genuine fullbacks like Grace Neville and wingers like Hannah Blake should benefit. Our centre-backs will too, since most of them aren’t quick enough to be fully comfortable in a three, although of course this would mean one fewer CB spot in the starting eleven. That CDM role might be the compromise that eases Bowen or Stott back in there. On the flipside, Kelli Brown and Milly Clegg are now in direct competition for one spot… although that’s fine since it’s not like either has commanded first eleven status.
Vic Esson was the number one at the World Cup, starting all three games. Anna Leat was the number one at the Olympics, starting all three games. In between those tournaments, Leat got 8 starts, Esson got 5 starts, and Bri Edwards got 1 start. Since then it’s been entirely Vic Esson up until this tour but that was because Leat was unavailable. Now that she’s back on the scene, playing well for Newcastle Jets and impressing in her game against Australia (despite minimal protection from her outfielders), it seems likely she picks up where she left off as GK tahi… though regardless it’s good to have two high-class keepers available again. Side note: Leat’s Jets lost 4-1 away to Central Coast on the weekend so she might never want to visit Gosford again in her life.
Football Ferns Appearances in 2025
| Start | Sub | Total | Goals | Start | Sub | Total | Goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kate Taylor | 9 | 9 | Deven Jackson | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||
| Katie Kitching | 8 | 1 | 9 | 1 | Grace Neville | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Kelli Brown | 5 | 4 | 9 | Katie Bowen | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Mickey Foster | 8 | 8 | Betsy Hassett | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Annalie Longo | 7 | 1 | 8 | CJ Bott | 2 | 2 | |||
| Milly Clegg | 6 | 2 | 8 | 1 | Mackenzie Barry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Maya Hahn | 4 | 4 | 8 | 1 | Rebekah Stott | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Vic Esson | 7 | 7 | Macey Fraser | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Indi Riley | 7 | 7 | 1 | Hannah Blake | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Claudia Bunge | 5 | 2 | 7 | Grace Wisnewski | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Meikayla Moore | 3 | 4 | 7 | Ally Green | 2 | 2 | |||
| Emma Pijnenburg | 7 | 7 | Lara Wall | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Liz Anton | 6 | 6 | Anna Leat | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Jacqui Hand | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | Alina Santos | 1 | 1 | ||
| Manaia Elliott | 2 | 3 | 5 | Grace Jale | 1 | 1 | |||
| Gabi Rennie | 2 | 3 | 5 | Liv Chance | 1 | 1 |
2025 Results:
D 1-1 vs Costa Rica (A)
W 1-0 vs Costa Rica (A)
L 1-3 vs Venezuela (N)
W 2-1 vs Venezuela (N)
L 0-1 vs Mexico (A)
L 0-2 vs Mexico (A)
L 0-6 vs USA (A)
L 0-5 vs Australia (A)
L 0-2 vs Australia (A)
Breakthrough Players of 2025:
Maya Hahn – Having had a crack at making the Germany U20s a few years back (her chances spoiled by covid), Hahn flipped back to Aotearoa this year and quickly became a regular presence in the midfield, showing great technical ability, some decent defensive work, and scoring the winner against Costa Rica. With Longo’s retirement, Hahn’s profile is only going to rise further.
Kelli Brown – Debuted this year and went on to play every game. Still searching for a first goal for the national team but it’s clear her hustle and workrate have made an impression on her coaches. Probably not a starter but she’s now a regular squadie.
Emma Pijnenburg – She’s someone who the casuals (aka non-Flying Kiwis readers) may not have even heard of yet but EP played in 7/9 games this year. All off the bench. Sometimes at wing-back but increasingly in her preferred midfield position as the year went on. Another good technical player in that area, still young and trying to earn more minutes at Feyenoord in the Netherlands but she’s on the right track.
Michael Mayne was asked at game two press conference to elaborate on what he said about Rebekah Stott getting her necessary feedback over selections. The feedback thing seems to have been more of a point about having team protocol ensuring good communication with players but make of this what you will (if you can make anything of it at all)...
“I think we've we've done a good job to shift internally our processes so that players are getting the feedback they need. We have a really strong campaign plan that takes us through to ‘27 and beyond. That needs clarity for players. Like I said the other night, it's not just Stotty. There's other players that have feedback in terms of where we're at, what we're trying to shift, and what they can do. It's different for each player. I can't elaborate because that's a conversation between me and the players. But what I'd say is, like, Stotty’s a class player. She's been around this team for a long time. There's other players that aren't here as well that have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into that shirt. As you can probably see, even tonight, because we had to manage some players, I haven't been afraid to change that team up and test them at the highest level and that's probably where we're at in our program. This year was a big piece around understanding what we've got in that wider squad and it's yeah there's things that me and Stotty have have discussed around where she's at and what she needs to do and it's the same for every every player. So I think, again, it's part of our process. It's giving the players the information they need and then we get another window and we see what happens.”
Goals conceded by minute for Football Ferns in 2025
8’, 10’, 11’, 13’, 16’, 19’, 20’, 24’, 25’, 34’, 40’, 41’, 44’, 55’, 66’, 70’, 70’, 71’, 84’, 86’, 90+2’
The only game they scored first in was the 1-0 win against Costa Rica and that was an 89th min winner from Maya Hahn. They were 1-0 down after 20 mins against Costa Rica in the previous meeting. They were 1-0 down against Venezuela after 25 mins and then 41 mins (they did win the second of those games 2-1). They were 1-0 down after 10 mins and 11 mins against Mexico, then 2-0 down after 16 mins of the second meeting. USA took the lead after 8 mins. Australia after 13’ and then 19’. These early concessions have grown into a very serious problem during the Mayne Era.
Retirements Of Football Ferns Centurions
Ria Percival (166 caps) – Last cap July 2023
Ali Riley (163) – July 2024
Betsy Hassett (160) – ACTIVE
Abby Erceg (146) – February 2022
Annalie Longo (143) – December 2025
Amber Hearn (125) – June 2018
Hannah Wilkinson (125) – May 2024
Katie Duncan (124) – June 2019
Katie Bowen (116) - ACTIVE
Rosie White (111) – October 2021
Rebekah Stott (108) - ACTIVE
Kirsty Yallop (104) – September 2017
Sarah Gregorius (100) – March 2020
After Tuesday night, that’s 10/13 centurions who have retired in the past eight years, with four of those in the last three years. The highest-capped current players other than Hassett, Bowen, and Stott is Meikayla Moore with 73 caps... and CJ Bott is the only other one with more than 50 (she has 52). Liv Chance (48) and Gabi Rennie (45) are slowly getting up there.
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