The New Zealand Football has announced the Women’s U-20 team will play two internationals against hosts Australia.

The matches are in preparation for September’s 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Poland, with the tournament draw taking place next week.

Both fixtures will be held at AIS Arena in Canberra on Wednesday 20 May and Saturday 23 May, however the matches won’t be livestreamed.

The first match will be played behind closed doors (no friends or family). The second match is open - friends and family are welcome.

The 24-player squad includes 16 members of the New Zealand U-19 squad which qualified for this year’s FIFA World Cup after winning the OFC Women’s U-19 Championship last year in Tahiti.

Head Coach Callum Holmes says this month’s matches are a great opportunity to build on their work from the OFC Women’s U-19 tournament.

“We’re excited about the challenge that comes from playing Australia on their home soil. While they didn’t qualify for this year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, Trans-Tasman matches are always testing experiences.

“We’re confident these two matches will allow us to continue fine tuning the work we’ve been making with this side ahead of travelling to Poland for the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup later this year.

“We have a strong core group of players which continue to develop off the back of last year’s success in Tahiti at the OFC U-19 Championships and we’re looking forward to get stuck into our work in what’s a massive 2026 for us.”

The 24-player squad for the games in Australia:

Mikaela BANGALAN - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Grace BARTLETT - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Laura BENNETT - Melville United, New Zealand

Zoe BENSON - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Daisy BRAZENDALE - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Lily BRAZENDALE - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Penny BRILL - Xavier University, USA

Mary BROWN - Melbourne City, Australia

Amber DE WIT - North Dakota State University, USA

Freya DES FOUNTAIN - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Grace DUNCAN - Washington Women’s Soccer, USA

Charli DUNN - Middle Tennessee State University, USA

Alyssha EGLINTON - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Scarlett GRAY - Central Coast Mariners, Australia

Mackenzie GREENE - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Ela JEREZ - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Emily LYON - West Coast Rangers, New Zealand

Charley MARCH - Auckland United, New Zealand

Charlotte MORTLOCK - Northern Tigers, Australia

Brooke NEARY - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Poppy O'BRIEN - Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand

Phoebe RILEY - Gladesville Ravens, Australia

Riley SHELDON - Incarnate Word University, USA

Lily Joy TAYLOR - Bulls FC Academy, Australia  

Match 1: Wednesday 20 May
KO: 3:30pm
Venue: AIS

Match 2: Saturday 23 May
KO: 10:45am
Venue: AIS

Article added: Friday 08 May 2026