The best young female players in New Zealand are about to test themselves on the global stage and coach Gareth Turnbull is hoping they can make the most of their time in the shop window that the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup provides.

“It’s an opportunity for them to benchmark themselves against the best players in the world of their age group,” he says of the prestigious tournament in France, which kicks off for New Zealand overnight with a clash against the Netherlands.

“A lot of them are pushing for future professional careers and there will be professional clubs scouting this tournament. You have to be able to compete against your peers on the world stage if you want to go into the professional ranks,” he adds.

“Transitioning to a senior Ferns spot is not far off the horizon for them as well. So that should be their motivation from an individual perspective.”

The production line of high-class female talent coming out of New Zealand has cranked up a notch in recent years with many Football Ferns now starring in some of the biggest leagues in the world. For example, the recently-retired Abby Erceg is one of the leading defenders in the top flight of the United States and is joined in America by the likes of Katie Bowen, Rosie White and Rebekah Stott.

Across the Atlantic in Europe, a host of fellow Ferns are also making their mark, including Ali Riley and Ria Percival – who have just signed for a pair of famous English clubs in Chelsea And West Ham United respectively.

That pathway to the top is now even clearer for those at U-20 level with the Future Ferns Domestic Programme (FFDP) helping a batch of players – such as CJ Bott, Meikayla Moore, Jana Radosavljevic, Aimee Phillips, Katie Rood and Emma Rolston – transition from the amateur game to the professional ranks, despite the ground-breaking initiative being established by New Zealand Football only last year.

Many members of the New Zealand squad that has headed to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup are part of the FFDP group – which is also overseen by Turnbull with support from Gemma Lewis, one of his assistant coaches in the U-20 set-up. They are therefore already on that potential path to making a living from the game but catching the eye in France would fast track the process and thrust them into the international spotlight.

Their opponents in the opening match will be looking to do the same though and have even more reason to make an immediate impact. Surprisingly for a country of their footballing standing, the Netherlands have never featured in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and will be making their tournament debut against the Kiwis.

In contrast, New Zealand are veterans of this event after taking part in each of the previous six editions but that pedigree is likely to count for little against a side of the Netherlands’ class. While Dutch football is currently going through a crisis in the men’s game, the women are flying high and are the reigning European champions at senior level.

Their younger counterparts appear to be just as talented after going through the group stages of the 2017 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship undefeated and showing a keen eye for goal. Playing in a pacey, offensive manner, the Netherlands scored no fewer than two goals in each of their games and were finally knocked out 3-2 by eventual champions Spain in the semi-finals.

It doesn’t get any easier for New Zealand after the Dutch challenge with hosts France looming ominously in their second match of Group A. But Turnbull wouldn’t have it any other way and feels his charges are capable of making it past pool play, a feat last achieved by New Zealand in 2014.

“There’s never an easy draw at a World Cup and we’re excited to test ourselves against three sides we think are among the best here,” he says.

“Holland are senior European champions and France have always been strong in the women’s game so those two in particular will be a real challenge to get any points on the board from but that’s our aim. We feel each team will have a couple of areas we can exploit so we’re going to try to beat each of those two teams and then, based on how many points we accumulate, that will determine our strategy going into Ghana.”

New Zealand FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup squad

1. Anna Leat (GK), 2. Sarah Morton, 3. Rebecca Lake, 4. Elizabeth Anton, 5. Michaela Foster, 6. Nicole Mettam, 7. Hannah Blake, 8. Malia Steinmetz (c), 9. Samantha Tawharu, 10. Grace Jale, 11. Jacqui Hand, 12. Rose Morton, 13. Paige Satchell, 14. Claudia Bunge, 15. Tiana Hill, 16. Gabi Rennie, 17. Dayna Stevens, 18. Aneka Mittendorff, 19. Maggie Jenkins, 20. Nadia Olla (GK), 21. Una Foyle (GK)

Head Coach: Gareth Turnbull              
Assistant Coaches: Gemma Lewis, Owain Prosser
Goalkeeping Coach: Duncan Reed                  
Sports Scientist: Juan Roman                      
Physiotherapist: Emma Mackie               
Team Doctor: Colleen Winstanley      
Team Manager: Angelina Lee-Hussien

New Zealand FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup fixtures (all NZ time)

New Zealand vs Netherlands
Monday 6 August, 2.30am
Stade de la Rabine, Vannes
Live on SKY Sport

New Zealand vs France
Thursday 9 August, 5.30am
Stade de la Rabine, Vannes
Live on SKY Sport

New Zealand vs Ghana
Monday 13 August, 2.30am
Stade Guy-Piriou, Concarneau
Live on SKY Sport

Article added: Sunday 05 August 2018