Goalkeeper Rebecca Rolls comes back into the side after missing the last two tours while fullback Anna Green and midfielder Hayley Bowden also return from respective injury layoffs.
Readings said the additions to the squad help to freshen things up for a group which is peaking towards the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada in June.
“Rebecca has been unavailable for the past two tours so it’s given Cushla [Lichtwark] a chance to come into the squad,” Readings said.
“Now we get another opportunity to look at Rebecca which is really good for us because we’re taking three ‘keepers to the World Cup so it’s important for us to see where they are at so close to the tournament.
“It’s great to have Anna and Hayley back in the squad because they’ve both been unavailable for the last little while due to injury.
“We’ve had a pretty much a full-strength squad to choose from for the first time for a long time. That’s a great sign for the World Cup because we know when we reach that event we are going to need to be peaking physically and that’s starting to take shape now.”
Readings says the April 5 encounter in St Louis provides the chance for his group to continue fine tuning their approach for a tournament they’ve been building towards for the best part of two years.
“We’ve had a lot of games in this campaign since 2013 and we’ve been implementing a lot with our team on and off the pitch and everything is in place now.
“For us it’s just building on that and polishing a few things around the edges for our performance. Those bits that we are polishing are things that can make a massive difference to our team.
“We have our playing model set and the players have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities within the team. It’s now just making sure we’re making the right decisions at the right time on the pitch because we know when we get the World Cup we’re not going to have things our own way.
“We’ve got to make sure that no matter what teams throw at us we can adapt and manage ourselves through games because we know that on our day we can beat anyone in the world.
Readings says the latest test of their abilities in that area will be well-examined by their world number two-ranked opponents as the New Zealand side juggle immediate performance objectives against World Cup dry-running.
“We’re playing a very good team in the USA. We know them pretty well and they know us pretty well,” Readings said.
“For us it’s always a good test to play the teams above us and at the top of the FIFA rankings. It’s so close to the tournament now it’s going to be around us practising the things which we may make look to implement at the tournament and learning from those.”
“We’re using it as a bit of a dress rehearsal for the World Cup but at the same time focussing on this game itself because when you play against the quality of teams we’re playing against, you can’t take your eye completely off them because they are dangerous opponents.
“Also, we know they have got areas we can target and we have been successful in the past playing against them and can we will be looking to be a bit more threatening ourselves against this level of opposition.”
Football Ferns – USA tour
April, 2015
(Caps/Goals/Club)
Goalkeepers
Erin Nayler (26/0 – Norwest Utd, NZL)
Rebecca Rolls (21/0 – Three Kings Utd, NZL)
Defenders
Abby Erceg (111/5 – Chicago Red Stars, USA)
Anna Green (56/7 – unattached)
Meikayla Moore (10/0 – Eastern Suburbs AFC, NZL)
Ria Percival (101/11 – USV Jena, GER)
Ali Riley (91/1 – FC Rosengard, SWE)
Rebekah Stott (37/2 – unattached)
Midfielders
Hayley Bowden (92/10 – Fencibles Utd AFC, NZL)
Katie Bowen (24/0 – University of North Carolina, USA)
Daisy Cleverley (3/2 – Forrest Hill Milford Utd AFC, NZL)
Katie Duncan (100/1 – FC Zurich, SWI)
Betsy Hassett (77/8 – Fencibles Utd AFC, NZL)
Annalie Longo (76/6 – Coastal Spirit FC, NZL)
Kirsty Yallop (88/12 – Vittsjo GIK, SWE)
Forwards
Sarah Gregorius (64/21 – AS Elfen Saitama, JPN)
Amber Hearn (97/45 – USV Jena, GER)
Jasmine Pereira (6/0 – Three Kings Utd, NZL)
Rosie White (67/14 – Fencibles Utd AFC, NZL)
Hannah Wilkinson (67/22 – University of Tennessee, USA)
Management staff
Head coach: Tony Readings
Assistant coach: Aaron McFarland
Assistant coach: Danny Robinson
Manager: Claire Hamilton
Sports Scientist: Harriet Steele
Performance Analyst: Gary Connell
Doctor: Julie Shamlaye
Physiotherapist: Catherine Porteous
Match schedule
United States v Football Ferns
Saturday 4 April, 2.30pm (Sunday 5 April, 7.30am NZ time)
Busch Stadium, St Louis
Courtesy NZF Media. For more on New Zealand football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz.

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