Football Ferns in World Cup Qualifying, Phase One: The Reaction
The Football Ferns don’t lose games in Oceania. The last time they played within the region was the Olympic Qualifying tournament in 2024, almost exactly two years ago, and they won all five games with 32 goals scored and 1 goal against. The time before that was World Cup qualifying in 2018 where they scored 43 goals and conceded zero. You have to go back to 2008 for the last time the Ferns won by less than three goals against an OFC nation. Other than when Australia was still in the confederation, the last non-victory was a 1-1 draw against Papua New Guinea in 1996. The last defeat? Unless you count when Taiwan was part of Oceania for a wee while in the 1980s... there isn’t one.
There’s always chat about the gap closing between New Zealand and the rest of Oceania. That depends on how you look at it. Good investment, increased opportunities, diasporic involvement, international coaching, and a whole lot of FIFA money have without doubt raised the bar in the region – we saw that in this window where all three opponents (but especially American Samoa) played relatively effective low blocks against the Aotearoa side, able to frustrate them for long portions of each game. But that doesn’t make them any more likely to win, it just means that the scorelines didn’t get too hectic. The Ferns cruised to all three wins with a squad where several key players unavailable/injured/rested on top of what was already a bit of a rebuilding phase instigated by frequent retirements. They picked the least experienced attacking group for nearly two decades and still scored 19 goals in three games, never even coming close to conceding in any of them.
So whether the gap is closing or whether it’s just the politically correct thing to say... the Football Ferns remain the regional powerhouses by a massive margin. Still undefeated against current OFC opposition. But you know what? That’s why it’s important to keep showing face in Oceania, putting in time for the confederation, keeping feet-on-the-ground within the region that we represent at FIFA tournaments. It’s our duty to do so. And it’s also fun – when else do we get to see the Footy Ferns scoring bundles of goals? They’d been held scoreless in five consecutive games before this onslaught. The job isn’t done in qualifying for this one, still a semi and a final to follow next month at home. But the first phase is complete and coach Michael Mayne ought to be reasonably satisfied with what he saw.
The Games
Not much point going too deep on a trio of fixtures that all kinda resembled attack vs defence games in one half of the field. The Ferns overwhelmingly dominated each match, beginning with an 8-0 victory against Samoa. The Samoans were coached by Paul Ifill and included a couple of players familiar to National League followers – most notably Angelique TuiSamoa of Western Springs who had a blinder in goal. The fact that she still conceded eight times tells you how one-sided this match was. Kelli Brown scored with a cross/shot inside the opening minute and would have herself a hat-trick inside the first half... those were her first three goals for the senior national team. Not quite as emphatic as when she scored ten for the NZ U19s against Samoa back in 2019. Credit to Samoa, it was only in the last ten minutes that fresh NZ substitutes stepped on the accelerator and turned a 4-0 score after 80 minutes into an 8-0 score at full time.
There was rotation between every fixture so the team that faced hosts Solomon Islands was very different... yet the same pattern followed. An early goal to ease any pressure (this time scored by Milly Clegg), then a fallow period through the middle, before the subs came on and the score blew out from 3-0 after 60 minutes to 8-0 at full time. Yeah, another 8-bagger. This time it was Hannah Blake who got the hatty. Same as with Brown, those were her first goals for the national team and she did so with a three-for.
By far the trickiest of the three opponents was American Samoa. Both teams had already booked their passage into the next round, with AmSam having won 1-0 against each of the other teams in the group. They’re coached by 55-cap USA international Amanda Cromwell with a squad overwhelmingly picked from the American university and semi-pro scene and, unlike the other two teams, were able to nail down their low block for the full ninety minutes. Of course the kiwis still won... but there was no early goal against this lot and their very physically approach did a good job of frustrating the NZers. Except when Maya Hahn got dragged down on a corner kick, allowing Kelli Brown to open the scoring from the penalty spot just before the break (Brown has also scored a couple pens for Newcastle this season – she loves to smash them and that strategy is turning her into a pretty effective taker). New Zealand won 3-0. Should have been more but the same was true of all of these matches. And it’s helpful to have a game where things don’t go all your own way, especially with so many inexperienced players in the group.
This matchup could easily be repeated in the grand final next window – to that point, it’ll be New Zealand vs Fiji in one semi-final and American Samoa vs Papua New Guinea in the other. Those games are in Hamilton on 12 April, with the final taking place in Auckland (North Harbour Stadium) on 15 April. The champion qualifies directly for next year’s World Cup while the runner-up gets a second chance in the inter-confederational playoffs.
NZ 8-0 Samoa (Brown 1’, 14’ 37’, Kitching 65’, Own Goal 81’, Elliott 83’, 90’, Jackson 90+6’)
NZ 8-0 vs Solomons (Clegg 2’, 81’, Riley 7’, Blake 16’, 65’, 73’, Jale 61’, Vlok 75’)
NZ 3-0 vs American Samoa (Brown 44’ [p], Bunge 51’, Riley 71’)
The Squad
These games make for gentle nice step up into international football, hence we got four new debutants across the window: Charlotte Lancaster, Pia Vlok, Suya Haering, and Maddie Iro. In a 23-player squad, everybody started at least one game and nobody started all three. Only three players appeared in all three. There were ten different goal scorers. Here’s how the squad breaks down in terms of minutes played, goals and assists, team goal difference during their minutes, and their individual goals and goals+assists per ninety minutes...
| Minutes | Goals | Assists | Team G/90 | Ind G/90 | G+A/90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claudia Bunge | 180 | 1 | 1 | 5.50 | 0.50 | 1.00 |
| Hannah Blake | 180 | 3 | 1 | 5.50 | 1.50 | 2.00 |
| Michaela Foster | 169 | 2 | 5.86 | 0.00 | 1.07 | |
| Manaia Elliott | 162 | 2 | 6.11 | 1.11 | 1.11 | |
| Grace Jale | 157 | 1 | 1 | 7.45 | 0.57 | 1.15 |
| Katie Kitching | 155 | 1 | 1 | 4.65 | 0.58 | 1.16 |
| Milly Clegg | 153 | 2 | 8.24 | 1.18 | 1.18 | |
| Charlotte Lancaster | 153 | 3 | 7.65 | 0.00 | 1.76 | |
| Indiah-Paige Riley | 146 | 2 | 1 | 4.93 | 1.23 | 1.85 |
| Rebekah Stott | 146 | 1 | 6.78 | 0.00 | 0.62 | |
| Maya Hahn | 143 | 6.92 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Emma Pijnenburg | 137 | 1 | 6.57 | 0.00 | 0.66 | |
| Meikayla Moore | 123 | 6.59 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Grace Wisnewski | 123 | 4.39 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Kelli Brown | 117 | 4 | 3.85 | 3.08 | 3.08 | |
| Liz Anton | 115 | 1 | 7.83 | 0.00 | 0.78 | |
| Pia Vlok | 95 | 1 | 8.53 | 0.95 | 0.95 | |
| Vic Esson | 90 | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Deven Jackson | 90 | 1 | 1 | 8.00 | 1.00 | 2.00 |
| Alina Santos | 90 | 8.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Maddie Iro | 90 | 3.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Suya Haering | 79 | 6.84 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Mackenzie Barry | 77 | 5.84 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Kelly Brown scored 4 goals in 117 minutes while Milly Clegg scored twice in 153 minutes with those two sharing the striker duties. Those are the individual numbers... but the Ferns only scored five in total while Brown was out there whereas Clegg got to enjoy those substitute rampages, with the team scoring at a rate of 8.24 goals per ninety with her on the park (Brown was way down at 3.85 g/90... she had the highest individual rate and the second lowest team rate behind goalie Maddie Iro who only played the AmSam game). The only player with a team goals per ninety stat higher than Clegg was Pia Vlok (also benefitting from those same sub rampages). Vlok went off injured in the first half against American Samoa – she didn’t return after a drinks break, seems like it may have been a concussion sub since they used a sixth substitution in that game.
The finishing throughout left a lot to be desired although remember that they were playing in the Solomon Islands in February/March and two of these were afternoon games and the pitch took plenty of wear and tear across three matchdays. Some semi-tropical rains even started tumbling in the third game. Not the easiest conditions... hence it’s gotta be mentioned that Indi Riley was able to make a huge difference in the American Samoa match, coming on and actually being able to dribble past defenders after everyone else kept getting tackled. That combo of pace and skill has made her NZ’s most threatening attacker over the last twelve months. Overall she was a little quiet on this tour but her class was there to see when compared to some of her greener teammates.
Charlotte Lancaster was the pick of the debutants. Pia Vlok and Suya Haering had their moments (Iro barely touched the ball, same as Esson and Santos in their appearances), with Vlok guiding a Mickey Foster strike into the net for a sneaky first international goal, but Lancaster’s power and directness on the left wing had the most significant impact. Three assists for her and it could easily have been double that. One of the traits of these Michael Mayne Era squads is their range, with players like Lancaster, Vlok, Foster, Riley, Grace Jale, Maya Hahn, Kelli Brown, and Grace Wisnewksi all possessing genuine scoring ability from outside the box. All of those listed footballers have scored goals from distance at club/national level this season.
All three goalkeepers got a game each. None of them had much to do. Vic Esson got things started for her 32nd international cap, then Alina Santos earned her second, and Maddie Iro her third. Cool for Iro to debut in the Solomon Islands given her Solomons heritage. It’s been a difficult quest trying to find goalkeeping depth over the past 18 months with Santos and Iro among the chunky list of backup options who’ve been brought into camps. Nice to see them actually getting to play. For Iro, that was a matter of convenience since we wouldn’t normally use our GK3. But Santos was good on debut against the Aussies and seems to have snuck ahead of the other candidates behind Esson and Anna Leat.
To the back three, it was Rebekah Stott in the middle for the first two games and then Mickey Foster took over. Claudia Bunge, Meikayla Moore, Liz Anton, and Mackenzie Barry also made starts at CB. Bunge was the most impressive of them, showing a willingness to get that ball moving from the deep areas and even nodding in a goal from a corner in the trickier American Samoa game. This position is the most hotly contested of all, with Kate Taylor usually the preferred middle CB and the likes of Katie Bowen, Marisa van der Meer, and Rebecca Lake also competing for spots. Stott, Bunge, and Foster were the trio who made multiple starts so Barry, Moore, and Anton are the ones who’d appear to be at risk when the squad for the knockouts is picked (ranked in that order for riskiest to safest).
Further Reactions
It was inevitably going to happen after recent retirements. Even if Katie Bowen had been picked for these games, it was just a matter of time now that she and Rebekah Stott are the only ones still charging along from this crew. Stotty kept it going for two more games during this window but was in sneakers for game three and that was that. We’re talking, of course, about an incredible statistic dug up for the preview article of this tour, a streak which has now come to an end:
Since Abby Erceg became the first NZer to reach 100 caps, on 25 October 2014, every Football Ferns game for the next 11 years and 121 matches involved at least one centurion
The streak began with a 16-0 win against Tonga, with Erceg playing the next several fixtures before being joined in the 100-club by Ria Percival and a steady progression of centurions from there kept it going for over a decade. There were only been two instances of there not being a 100-capper in the starting line-up during that time. The first was the opening game of OFC Olympic Qualifiers in Feb 2024, coincidentally also against Tonga, in which Rebekah Stott earned her 97th cap. Katie Bowen played off the bench that day to maintain the streak. And the second was... the last game that New Zealand played prior to this tour. That was a 2-0 loss to Australia in Adelaide in which Annalie Longo featured as a substitute. It was Longo’s last international game and Betsy Hassett has also since retired (her last international game turned out to be the match immediately before that). That leaves Katie Bowen and Rebekah Stott as the only active centurions. The next closest is Meikayla Moore with 76 caps. Nobody else in the current squad even has 50 caps. So while it’s a shame to see that streak end, it was going to happen sooner or later.
The second game against Australia back in early December saw Michael Mayne, for the first time, shift away from his 3-5-2 preferred formation and into a more defensively sound 4-1-4-1. That was encouraging to see, since it showed the coach was willing to adapt to the players he has and the opponent he was facing... so it was going to be interesting which way he went for this tour. Turns out it was immediately back to the 3-5-2. But in fairness, that was the way to do it against these opponents. Pick some attacking wing-backs and let them stay high and stretch the pitch, keeping an overload in the midfield areas and with two strikers to hunt in the penalty area. Makes sense.
A few players who boosted their Ferns Stocks during this tour:
Hannah Blake’s been in and out of squads under Mayne and is currently in a tough spot at club level where she’s struggling badly for appearances. She made the most of this opportunity though. Used either as a second striker or an attacking midfielder, it was in the latter spot where she was most effective dropping into pockets and pulling strings with her layoffs. Tends to be used as a right-winger at club level where her lack of pace can be a detriment, which is a pity because her vision and intelligence are awesome.
Charlotte Lancaster was the pick of the debutants, whipping in crosses from deep or bursting past defenders to get to the byline. She brings a bit of power and range to this position. Lancs is having a very tidy season with Newcastle Jets and the more she settles in the A-League, the more we’ll see her for the national team where she also offers a point of difference at LWB by being a genuinely left-footed player. There’s been a procession of LWBs tried by Mayne since the Olympics. Indi Riley’s easily been the best of them with Blake, Elliott, Jale, Haering, and CJ Bott also given starts there. Ally Green is another in the wider mix. Not a lot of other lefties in there.
Grace Jale, don’t forget, was dropped for a lot of last year. Heaps of chances as a forward or wide midfielder over her career but others had outperformed her and she found herself on the outer. Then the Wellington Phoenix revived her as a midfielder and she’s had a brilliant ALW season in a position that it now seems clear she should have been playing all along. Straight back into the Fernies. Started two games in the mids and looked great. Scored a very nice goal. That’s what we’re talking about.
Also shout out to Emma Pijnenburg who was sharp in her minutes and who, in her tenth cap, finally made her first international start during the last game of this window. EP was the only player who made more than three appearances last year without starting a game.
Players used as wing-backs on this tour: Indi Riley (RL), Manaia Elliott (RL), Charlotte Lancaster (L), Suya Haering (RL).
Katie Kitching captained for the first two games, then when she wasn’t in the starting team for the third match it was Claudia Bunge who took the armband.
As an indicator of the players who were rested/injured/rotated/not picked for this tour, here’s a Football Ferns Shadow Squad to show what we’re working with (all are either current professionals or else they played professionally last season, while 13/23 have been previously capped)...
GK – Anna Leat (Newcastle Jets), Claudia Jenkins (Adelaide Utd), Bri Edwards (Western Sydney)
DEF – Kate Taylor (Dijon), Marisa van der Meer (Wellington Phoenix), Ally Green (FC Copenhagen), Grace Neville (Ipswich Town), Zoe McMeeken (Melbourne Victory), Rebecca Lake (N/A), Jana Niedermayr (Union Kleinmünchen), Lara Wall (Wellington Phoenix), Olivia Page (Newcastle Jets)
MID – Katie Bowen (Inter Milan), Malia Steinmetz (FC Nordsjælland), Liv Chance (N/A), Lara Colpi (FC Thun), Daisy Brazendale (Wellington Phoenix)
FWD – Jacqui Hand (FC Basel), Gabi Rennie (Eskilstuna Utd), Emma Main (Wellington Phoenix), Zoe Benson (Wellington Phoenix), Ava Collins (Western Sydney), Maggie Jenkins (Auckland United)
Players who scored their first international goal during this window: Kelli Brown, Manaia Elliott, Pia Vlok, Deven Jackson, Claudia Bunge... meanwhile Grace Jale scored her tenth, which in the wake of the retirements of Betsy Hassett and Annalie Longo since the previous window means that she’s now the top active goal scorer for the Football Ferns. 10 goals doesn’t sound like a lot but there are only 11 players in history who’ve reached 15 goals for this team. Jacqui Hand and Indi Riley are on nine each.
Maya Hahn does some crazy stepovers.
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