For about seventy-five minutes that was an incredible, enthralling, enjoyable, and encouraging performance from the Nixies... and then it got very weird very quickly. From a 1-0 lead against the top side looking every bit worth the advantage to losing 3-1 and not entirely understanding how it happened.
Put simply we’ll never get a better chance to do well at a World Cup. Hence the pressure begins immediately to ensure we’ve got the best possible team out there to make it happen.
It looks like a relatively routine one, right? The Woodsman playing off the bench again in his second game back, coming on a bit earlier this time in the 58th minute as Burnley did what needed doing in beating West Ham 1-0.
The point’s been made plenty over the last week or two but the next few years are going to be incredible for women’s sport in Aotearoa. The Cricket World Cup and the Rugby World Cup are both coming here in 2021... then the Football World Cup co-hosted with Australia in 2023.
This is going to be one of those regularly occurring weeks where a decent amount of Flying Kiwis time is devoted to saying how amazing Abby Erceg is.
The end is nigh. The end of the A-League hiatus, that is. While a quick peek at the news channels might give you the impression that the apocalypse is upon us, the return of sports is picking up speed.
Two losses from two to start the season meant Viking weren’t in the prettiest position. Hence the gaffer made a few changes for game three. In came new signing Jefferson de Souza. Also included was 17 year old Sondre Auklend... oh yeah and Joe Bell too.
Got ‘em, yes, get in! The FIFA World Cup is coming to Aotearoa (and Australia) in 2023 with the most prestigious and highest standard tournament in women’s football on it’s way Down Under.
It had to happen eventually. After five straight games as an unused sub, Sarpreet Singh was bound to get out there sooner or later and when it finally did happen it was even better than expected. This was no five minute cameo, matey.
Eight in a row. Bayern Munich’s title reign continues after a 1-0 win over Werder Bremen gave them an unassailable lead at the top of the table with two games still remaining.
There you go, back in the pool and straight in at the deep end. Hannah Wilkinson spent last season in Portugal with Sporting CP but cut that time short after a heap of goals as the pando struck and she’s been working hard in beautiful Northland ever since.
The Wellington Phoenix want to put a women’s team in the Aussie W-League. Not saying they’re going to or that they’re any closer to making it happen but they still want to and they made that clear with a little statement on their website (and beyond) this week.
What in the sweet smell of success is going on with Matty Garbett? Already one of the rising stars of the Flying Kiwis ranks but a few whispers on the interwebs reckon he might be about to take it even further out
Remember the Wellington Phoenix? Remember how well they were going? Old mate Uli Davila pulling strings, David Ball hustling up top, Libby Cacace tearing down that left flank, Big Stef saving anything that came near him, Stevie T holding it all together at the back... so good.
Football is slowly coming back and no country has been more efficient about it than Germany, true to reputation. Not only have the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 been back for three weeks now but they’ve also as of this week brought back the third tier as well as the women’s Bundesliga.
As the first major league to get back into it after a pando interruption, the Bundesliga’s been enjoying some boosted support from footy fans around the world as it carries the torch. Sarpreet Singh’s Bayern Munich, to use the club’s full Aotearoa translation, have picked up where they left off with three wins from three.
The Netherlands put a dead halt on all pro sports from the date of that announcement in late-April until September. Considering how that overlaps with what would have been the start of next season, it was therefore determined that the 2019-20 Eredivisie could not be completed.
Major League Soccer has become the place to be for kiwi footballers lately, there are almost enough All Whites jokers there to build a first eleven. There would be if you included the four dudes currently signed in the USL Championship one tier below... and also if you could get a goalie in on loan.
In the end there must be a winner. It’s those stakes that make top level sport what it is so, ultimately, somebody’s gotta win and somebody’s gotta lose and one way or another we have to find that resolution.
What we have here is a unique set of dudes from which 20 out of 21 have played professionally as some stage and 14 of them are full internationals. Hence their respective journeys over the past five years offer a fascinating look at the life of the career footy player from Aotearoa.