Can the New Zealand Female Team Get To the Finals?

New Zealand and Australia, the co-hosts of the FIFA Women’s World Cup this year, are eager to make historical changes on their home soil.

The Women’s World Cup, a tournament with 32 participating teams, will be played in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time this year. It will kick start in Auckland and Sydney on July 20, with the Football Ferns of New Zealand and the Matildas of Australia playing their opening matches. You can even find out more from our article discussing more about the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Although excited about the event, Kiwi football fans feel uncomfortable whenever they remember that the Ferns have neither won nor qualified for the knockout stage in the past five FIFA Women’s World Cup events.

However, the team and its coach are determined to change things during the 2023 edition of the Football World Cup. The players see it as an opportunity to erase past failures on their home soil. You can trust that we at NZCasinoClub.com will be covering all you need to know right here.

Ferns in Need of Improvement

Despite their optimism and enthusiasm, the Football Ferns require improvement in several areas of their game. Also, the run of ten winless matches continues to worry players and their fans, who cannot forget that the Ferns succeeded in finding the net only twice during this run. The team’s lack of attacking potency continues to be its biggest weakness.

The Ferns and their coach, Jitka Klimkova, know players must implement improved tactics and approaches. However, with an enormous crowd of roaring fans urging them forward, the Ferns will have plenty of motivation when the Women’s World Cup action finally begins to unfold.

Team Changes Its Approach

Klimkova became the Ferns’ coach in 2021 with a promise that she would end the players’ focus on defense and being difficult to defeat. The 48-year-old coach is a native of the Czech Republic and has coached young players in the US, New Zealand, and her home country.

In an interview with FIFA, she said that the Ferns must learn to play to win, irrespective of who they play against. She stressed the need for changing mindsets and making players understand that they must control the game and keep the ball as much as possible.

Since the coach has always been faithful to her words, hopeful fans can expect a change in the Ferns' approach and tactics. The players have welcomed these changes, although they are yet to show results.

The Key Players

Hopes are on 35-year-old Ali Riley, the captain of the Football Ferns, an experienced defender, and a veteran of four Olympics and four FIFA Women’s World Cups. The Ferns require her understanding of football, enthusiastic personality, and composure to win at the 2023 edition of the Women's World Cup.

The Ferns may also rely heavily on Gabi Rennie, a rising attacking star in their team. Rennie’s performance on the global level was impressive, especially when she scored against the Australian football team at Tokyo Olympics. Based in the US, Rennie was part of the Kiwi team that won a bronze medal at the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup of 2018.

History of the Women's World Cup

Although it is difficult to forget that the Ferns won zero out of the 15 World Cups they played, they have always been a hard team to beat. They have been highly competitive, especially during the latest editions of the World Cup.

In 2015, two out of their three matches resulted in a draw, including the game against Canada, which hosted the event that year. They couldn’t achieve landmark results only in 2019 because of two injury-time goals in France.

But the team wants more than great results. They want their first win, and they need to deliver their finest performance so far to achieve their goals on home soil.

Women’s Football Gains Popularity Worldwide

Women’s football is fast gaining popularity in different parts of the world. This year, Australia and New Zealand, the co-hosts of the World Cup, have called for gender equality in sports and urged fans to support the event.

The opening matches of the Women's World Cup will kick start on July 20, 2023, at Eden Park in Auckland and the Sydney Football Stadium. David Beeche, the CEO of the Women’s World Cup, said that the opening day will not be about football alone but also about celebrating women’s sports and empowerment worldwide.