The first event of the London Olympics – the match is two days before the opening ceremony – marks the first time a Great Britain women’s team has ever played at the Games and is the first Great Britain match at any Olympics since 1960. There is therefore an extra sense of occasion about the fixture, something only amplified by the iconic Welsh venue.
But the Ferns are showing little sign of being distracted or overawed by that and captain Rebecca Smith says the team are now just ready to play.
“We’ve been preparing for this game for a long time,” Smith says.
“We’ve played some pretty big teams in the build-up, had some decent results and improved with every game so from a performance stand-point we’re confident we can give the best performance we’re capable of.
“Being here in Cardiff and being part of the Olympics is an amazing experience and the players are excited, feeling fresh and ready to go out and play.
“Great Britain are a great side but as the host nation there will be a lot of pressure on them. They are the better team on paper so we’ve got nothing to lose by going out there and playing our game.”
Great Britain and England coach Hope Powell has added only two Scottish players to an otherwise all-English squad, giving the Great Britain team a familiar look despite their Olympic debut. New Zealand have met England twice since 2010, drawing the first encounter and losing 2-1 at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup after leading for most of the match.
New Zealand coach Tony Readings has a full squad to choose from with Ali Riley back to full training after missing last week’s international against Colombia through injury.
He has two more sessions to settle on a starting line-up but says whoever gets the chance to get New Zealand’s 2012 Olympic campaign underway will embrace the honour.
“We are always proud to pull on the New Zealand shirt and to do it at the Olympics is even more special because you are representing not just the football people of New Zealand but the whole country and part of the wider Team New Zealand,” Readings says.
“To be the first New Zealand athletes to compete is magic for us and we’re really looking forward to it. I guess there could be some added pressures but for us there’s more pressure on the hosts in front of an expectant crowd.
“For us it’s just another game of football. We’ve played in front of big crowds many times now – we played in front of 55,000 at the World Cup in 2007 – so it’s not something that fazes our players anymore. We play most of our games away from home so this one is no different.
“It’s a proud moment but one that we’re relishing and we can’t wait to get on the pitch.”
The Football Ferns take on Great Britain at 3am on Thursday (NZT) with Group E rivals Brazil and Cameroon clashing at 5.45am (NZT), also in Cardiff.
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
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