The Football Ferns are one win away from qualifying for the 2027 World Cup after a 5-0 win over Fiji in their Oceania qualifying semi-final in Hamilton.
A dominant first half laid the platform for New Zealand and they never looked like surrendering the lead as they set up aclash with Papua New Guinea on Wednesday at North Harbour Stadium, with the winner automatically qualifying for the World Cup, while the loser heads to an intercontinental playoff.
Kelli Brown, captain Kate Taylor, Michaela Foster, Katie Kitching and Hannah Blake scored the goals, and they would have found the back of the net more if not for some great saves by Fijian keeper Mereseini Waqali.
“We all worked hard today and proved what we can do,” Kitching told Fifa+ after the match.
“It’s going to be hard picking the next team for the next game because we all did really well.
“We all dream of playing in World Cups and playing in finals and playing in front of home crowds is even better. We’re really looking forward to Wednesday.”
The match was meant to be played on Sunday but was brought forward 24 hours because of the looming threat of ex-Tropical Cyclone Vaianu.
It took the Ferns five minutes to open the scoring when Grace Jale’s long-range shot was deflected by Waqali straight to the feet of Brown who smashed it home.
Taylor added the second when she headed home Foster’s cross into the bottom left corner.
Foster went from provider to scorer when her cross found the back of the net, while Kitching struck home a close-range shot to give the Ferns a 4-0 lead at the break.
Kitching was denied a second for being offside as New Zealand continued to pester the Fiji goal but couldn’t seem to find a breakthrough. Blake managed to eventually add a fifth when she fired home a powerful shot from just inside the penalty box.
The Football Ferns celebrate their win over Fiji. Photo / Photosport
Football Ferns coach Michael Mayne said there are plenty of positives they can take into Wednesday’s clash, but he wants them to start converting more of their opportunities.
“We scored five very good goals, but we probably missed just as many and that’s the challenge for us at the moment is ‘how do we convert those?’ and that scoreline would look much different,” Mayne told Fifa+.
“That’s just part of the process we’re going through at the moment, but there are players standing up all over the pitch and there are some really nice bits of play in there.
“Credit to Fiji, I think they fought right to the end and I think their keeper made some outstanding saves as well tonight.”
The 2027 World Cup will be played in Brazil.
The last World Cup was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia, during which the Ferns claimed their first tournament win by beating Norway in the opener.
Seven teams have already qualified for next year’s tournament, including hosts Brazil and Australia.
Papua New Guinea punched their ticket into the Oceania final after a 1-0 win over American Samoa earlier today, thanks to a first-half goal from Keren Kalapai.
