Former USA player Briana Scurry during the FIFA Women's World Cup Trophy event held at Eden Park. Photo / Dean Purcell
Former USA player Briana Scurry during the FIFA Women's World Cup Trophy event held at Eden Park. Photo / Dean Purcell
Former Fifa Women’s World Cup winner and United States football icon Briana Scurry has some vital advice for the Football Ferns, ahead of the tournament which starts in just 47 days.
Scurry was part of the team which lifted the trophy in 1999, with her penalty shootout save in thefinal against China proving decisive, in a match played in front of 90,000 fans at the Rose Bowl in California.
Scurry made a staggering 173 appearances for the United States, participating in two Olympic Games and four World Cups, but will never forget the feeling of achieving ultimate success on home soil.
While the Ferns are in a different category – especially compared to the American behemoth – Scurry admits having such a massive tournament on your shores can be a double-edged sword for the players.
“It’s two-sided,” Scurry told the Herald. “It can boost and buoy you to doing way better than you thought, because the energy and excitement and expectations are positive, or you can be crushed by it.
“The advice I would give to the Ferns is just to enjoy it, go out there and play to your strengths. Play to whatever it is that you feel you are strongest at, enjoy the moment and let it flow. Because if you get too much in your head about all the eyes, the expectations and social media it can be too much.
“Put all of that out of your mind; you are a footballer, go out and play football. That’s all you need to do and just have your most attention, your best game and your skills; do the jobs that you are meant to do and everything else will take care of itself.”
The World Cup starts next month in New Zealand. Photo / Dean Purcell
Scurry was at Eden Park on Saturday in her capacity as a Fifa legend, as part of the trophy tour, which will see the precious object paraded around all four host cities, along with venues in Australia, over the next month.
“You go so many years without feeling what you felt then,” said Scurry, after lifting the trophy for the cameras. “Today was really neat. In my mind I went right back to us hoisting the trophy and being so excited to be able to do that.”
More than two decades on, Scurry is often reminded about the profound impact of that 1999 event, as the United States claimed the ultimate prize for the first time.
“You don’t realise your effect on people you will never meet,” said Scurry. “All these years later, people coming up to me saying ‘Hey I watched a game with my daughter now she has been so inspired by you’.”
She expects the 2023 event to have a similar legacy, especially in Australasia.
“Having the World Cup in your backyard creates immeasurable excitement,” said Scurry. “To be physically able to go to a game, to experience it as someone in the stands. Young boys have always had inspiration from male professional athletes for decades; this is opportunity for young girls here to see what greatness looks like and to aspire to it. There is really no substitute for being in the stadium.”
Women’s World Cup chief executive Dave Beeche told the Herald that “operationally everything is on track”.
He added that more than 900,000 tickets have been sold across the two countries, with a further 250,000 to be released for sale on Tuesday.
That batch will include newly issued tickets for the opening game on July 20 between New Zealand and Norway in Auckland, after all existing allocations had sold.
“Eden Park will be a full house,” predicted Beeche.
There is also heavy demand for the United States versus Netherlands group clash in Wellington, a replay of the 2019 final.
“Nothing has been available for that for a while”, said Beeche.
Some of the other matches have been “challenging” in terms of sales but Beeche is confident that an upcoming marketing push and the buzz of the event will translate into healthy attendances at all games. He said that the overall target of 1.5 million spectators across the tournament will be “easily achieved”.
