New Zealand need only a draw in Kobe to book their passage into the second round for the first time at an age-group FIFA women’s tournament after beating Switzerland 2-1 last Sunday then stunning hosts and heavyweights Japan with a 2-2 draw on Wednesday night.
Mexico are one point behind the Kiwis and need to win to leapfrog them into one of the two quarter-final spots available in Group A, something New Zealand coach Aaron McFarland says will work in Mexico’s favour in what he expects to be a tight affair.
“The Football Ferns played them at the World Cup last year in a pretty even contest,” McFarland says.
“The U-20s have the same coach but what’s different is that Mexico need to chase the game so depending on the circumstances it could play out quite different. We have to play like we want to win and make the most of our possession. That’s been key in both games so far – it’s what we can do we when have the ball.
‘We will play for the win but will have balances in place to make sure we are not caught out unnecessarily. We put players out there with an attacking mindset. We know the game will get stretched and there will be opportunities for those players to get on the ball and hurt them.”
While the Central American nation is known for players full of flair, two thirds of their U-20 squad are based north of the border, lending itself to a more physical and direct American style of play.
“We’re expecting them to play the same as they did against Switzerland. They will play very direct and will want to create chaos. They want to play a pretty low-risk game but get players forward and get the ball in those areas.
“Our job is to prevent the ball getting to those areas in the first place and take advantage of the game being stretched because that will happen from the outset.”
The team travelled to Kobe on Friday but took time on Thursday to visit a shrine in the area of Miyagi devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. The solemn surroundings have had a calming effect on the team helping to keep emotion levels in check as they build towards an exciting opportunity.
“The whole team was pretty silent during the visit and I think New Zealand’s own experience of disaster recently helped give some context to the massive and devastating impact of what happened in the area,” McFarland says.
The focus since a draining defensive performance against Japan has been on recovery, something aided by an extra day’s rest before Sunday’s showdown with Mexico.
“The recovery has been very good. Most of the players used have had two lots of 90 minutes but those players are also our most experienced and are used to what is required to get themselves ready for the next match. We’ve monitored their levels, had a pool recovery on Thursday and they’ve had plenty of opportunities to rest.
“We’ve been well looked after by the medical staff and everyone is available to play, we’ll be 100 percent on game day.”
New Zealand’s match against Mexico kicks off at 10.20pm on Sunday (NZT) with live coverage on Sky Sport 1.
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup
New Zealand v Mexico
Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium, Kobe
August 26
7.20pm (10.20pm NZT)
Live on Sky Sport 1 from 10.05pm
New Zealand: (from) 1-Erin NAYLER (GK), 2-Bridgette ARMSTRONG, 3-Rebecca BURROWS, 4-Nadia PEARL, 5-Tayla O BRIEN, 6-Evie MILLYNN, 7-Holly PATTERSON, 8-Olivia CHANCE, 9-Georgia BROWN, 10-Kate LOYE, 11-Katie ROOD, 12-Steph SKILTON, 13-Rosie WHITE (captain), 14-Katie BOWEN, 15-Tessa BERGER, 16-Ashleigh WARD, 17-Hannah WILKINSON, 18-Caitlin SMALLFIELD, 19-Lucy CARTER, 20-Corina BROWN (GK), 21-Jess REDDAWAY (GK)
Coach: Aaron McFARLAND
Mexico: (from) 1-Cecilia SANTIAGO (GK), 2-Arianna ROMERO, 3-Christina MURILLO, 4-Bianca SIERRA, 5-Valeria MIRANDA, 6-Olivia JIMENEZ, 7-Nayeli RANGEL, 8-Ariana MARTINEZ, 9-Sofia HUERTA, 10-Natalia GOMEZ JUNCO, 11-Chrystal MARTINEZ, 12-Alejandra GUTIERREZ (GK), 13-Ashley KOTERO, 14-Kenia SANCHEZ, 15-Mariel GUTIERREZ, 16-Amber HERNANDEZ, 17-Amanda PEREZ, 18-Yamile FRANCO, 19-Tanya SAMARZICH, 20-Daniela SOLIS, 21-Itzel GONZALEZ (GK)
Coach: Leonardo CUELLAR
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand Football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz

Share