The Football Ferns were unable to find the goal they needed. Photo / AP
The Football Ferns were unable to find the goal they needed. Photo / AP
OPINION:
Kris Shannon outlines five reasons why the Football Ferns blew a golden chance at the Fifa Women’s World Cup.
1. Knockout blow
First, some necessary caveats. Before a ball was kicked, the Football Ferns would’ve taken four points from three games, thrilled to concede a solitary goal.
Recording thiscountry’s first Fifa World Cup win, in front of home fans, must’ve featured in many players’ dreams since New Zealand won co-hosting duties three years ago.
The team celebrated Hannah Wilkinson’s opening-night goal in the corner of Eden Park where I was sitting with my family; it was a great Kiwi sporting moment.
All of that is true and will remain true despite any disagreeable columnist. But also true: the Ferns blew a golden chance to surpass the feats of any New Zealand football side.
Instead of becoming the first to reach the knockout rounds of a senior World Cup, they became the first host nation to miss that stage in nine editions of the Women’s World Cup.
For the milestones achieved, the progress this tournament undoubtedly made, what happened in the last week would hurt.
The most revealing result in group A was on Sunday night but not in Dunedin, where the Ferns drew a costly Swiss blank. At Eden Park, in front of thousands of hopeful Philippines fans, world No 12 Norway finally showed up with a 6-0 thrashing that clarified both teams’ quality.
The scoreline reinforced both New Zealand’s fortune in catching the Europeans early and, pivotally, their failure against the Asian side.
Freak results happen; it’s part of what makes football compelling. But the Philippines are ranked 46 and in the last decade had recorded one victory over a nation currently inside the top 30, beating a developmental Australia team at home in 2022.
Tuesday in Wellington, on a winter night with 30,000 in the stands, was a must-win match for the 26th-ranked Ferns. Or at least a must-not-lose match, given a point would’ve smoothed their path to progression.
3. Squad goals: score goals
If New Zealand had scored in their final three hours of football, the party would have rolled on another week.
But as everyone who watched the Ferns before the tournament knew, and as everyone who watched the Ferns during the tournament discovered, scoring wasn’t among their strengths. Heading into a 2-0 warmup win over Vietnam, they had found the net twice in 10 previous matches, including a run of almost 10 luckless hours.
In fairness, they were a little unlucky at the World Cup. Or more precisely, Jacqui Hand was unlucky.
The 24-year-old grew into the team’s best and only attacking threat, combining pace with a perfect cross to set up Wilkinson before illustrating a full range of finishing — right foot, head, left foot — to collect two dinged posts and a disallowed goal.
Hand’s looping volley against Switzerland was particularly adroit — and a few inches from perhaps becoming the most important strike in New Zealand football history.
Unfortunately for the Aucklander, the ball bounced clear. Unfortunately for the Ferns, Hand alone shone under the spotlight of full stadiums.
Jacqui Hand thought she had equalised against the Philippines. Photo / photosport.nz
4. Don’t dream, Klimkova
Few others were granted the chance in an attack-shy team.
The small aside of one momentous goal, Wilkinson endured a tough tournament often isolated up top. Other creative players given real minutes — Indiah-Paige Riley, Betsy Hassett, Annalie Longo and Olivia Chance — were largely ineffective, while fullbacks Ali Riley and CJ Bott rarely added threat.
More on the bench deserved a shot to try. Grace Jale played half an hour in three games and nearly equalised against the Philippines, while Phoenix favourites Michaela Foster and Milly Clegg remained on the sidelines.
Foster trained for the Swiss match, having missed the first two through injury, and her set-piece delivery seemed desirable as an abundance of dead balls produced one decent chance.
Clegg is 17 but last year scored at two age-group World Cups before grabbing four goals in the A-League, displaying an ability to create space for her own shot or beat a defender and play in a teammate.
Battling to break down Switzerland and desperately seeking those qualities, coach Jitka Klimkova stuck with known quantities, boosting the attacking numbers with only one of her five subs. The Czech’s 28-game tenure has reaped five wins and 14 goals.
5. One-time offer
The Football Ferns didn’t lose to Switzerland but they did lose a magical Saturday afternoon in Auckland.
After a moment of magic edges the Swiss in group A, New Zealand earn a round-of-16 clash with world No 6 Spain, providing the hosts a chance to avenge poor Palmerston North.
It appears a hasty exit is likely, given the Spaniards put eight past Costa Rica and Zambia, but the Ferns’ defensive base has been solid all tournament, and you just never know.
Maybe New Zealand sneak an early goal, approaching Grant Elliott levels on the Eden Park spectrum. Maybe they then lose 3-1. But who cares, it’s still a World Cup knockout game at home.
Now, it’s something no Kiwi will see. This was a one-time deal. Women’s football is exploding around the globe and the tournament will soon outgrow us, like the men’s event steering clear of Australia in its near-century existence.
This was an invigorating fortnight for women’s football in New Zealand, and the show goes on. But ultimately, it was also an opportunity lost.
