New Zealand’s Football Ferns meet Vanuatu in the opening match at 1pm while Cook Islands face Tahiti shortly afterwards at 3.30pm.
Here’s a look at how the teams are shaping up before their first games:
New Zealand vs Vanuatu
Defending champions New Zealand are overwhelming favourites to win the tournament and the inexperienced Vanuatu have a very tough task on their hands to get anything from this match. Football Ferns coach John Herdman has a stack of talent to choose from, including overseas professionals Hayley Moorwood (Chelsea, ENG), Ali Riley (FC Gold Pride, USA), Kirsty Yallop (Kristianstads DFF, SWE) and Rebecca Smith (Vfl Wolfsburg, GER), and his squad will be the envy of every other coach in Auckland.
OFC Women’s Player of the Year Riley is racing against the clock to be ready for the match. She starred in the Pride’s 4-0 USA Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) League final win over the Philadelphia Independence on Sunday but did not have time to celebrate with her team mates. Instead, she headed straight to the airport to catch her long-haul flight to New Zealand. Soon after touching down, the WPS Rookie of the Year will then have to make her way to the training ground to prepare with the rest of the Ferns.
Vanuatu coach Richard Iwai can only dream of having a player of Riley’s class at his disposal. His squad is dominated by players from the Tusker club and their familiarity with each other’s style of play should prove to be an advantage. But Vanuatu have never competed at a senior women’s event before and Iwai’s main job will be to make sure they are not overawed by the occasion. Goalkeeper Rose Yolou and her defence are likely to be busy and their aim will be to restrict New Zealand’s potent attack to as low a score as possible while strikers Serah Thompson, Elodie Samuel and Joella Avock will do their best to trouble Jenny Bindon at the other end.
“It’s going to be very tough,” Iwai says. “I never expected to play New Zealand first and I didn’t want to be in the same pool as them. They are on a much higher level to us so our aim is just to do our best.”
Cook Islands vs Tahiti
This match is a lot more evenly poised than the opener and both sides are in with a real chance of starting with a win. Cook Islands coach Jimmy Katoa can call on four New Zealand-based players in Teariivahine-Iteuaterai Henry (Onehunga-Mangere United), Apii Nicholls (Otahuhu College), Dayna Napa (Western Suburbs) and Tekura Tutai (Waitakere City) and their familiarity with the climate and surroundings will be a welcome boost.
The squad is a young one – 13 of the players took part in the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship in January – and two up-and-comers to keep an eye on are Liz Harmon, who represented her country as a 15-year-old at the 2007 South Pacific Games, and Regina Mustonen, second equal top-scorer at the U-20s event. They will go into the game with plenty of confidence after beating strong Auckland club side Three Kings United 2-1 in a warm-up match on the weekend.
Tahiti do not have much senior experience either and are an unknown quantity to Cook Islands and their other Group A rivals. They did not compete in the last OFC Women’s Nations Cup in 2007 and there are only three players in the squad who took part in the South Pacific Games that year. Coach Ralph Apuarii does have four players in their 30s to rely on though and he will be hoping some of their experience rubs off on youngsters Kahana Maruae and Tihani Tokoragi, both just 16.
Both teams will find it very difficult indeed to take any points off New Zealand so will see this match as a must-win. It gives them the perfect chance to get off to a good start and stake an early claim for the group’s second semi-final berth.
For full schedule and results click here
For official team lists click here