Head coach Alana Gunn says her team is “itching to go” ahead of their vital game against Tonga that will decide whether they qualify for next year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
New Zealand play Tonga at 3pm (NZT) on Wednesday in the semi-final of the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship in Fiji.
The tournament decides which nations will represent Oceania at next year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, with the finalists guaranteed qualification.
“The team’s feeling really excited looking at the semi-final,” Gunn told OFC Media.
“We have had two really good days of rest, which has actually been quite a challenge for some of them to stay off their feet and recover from the pool play.
“So they are itching to go, and really, really excited to have the opportunity to play Tonga and to represent the fern again.
“Our focus on the semi-final over the past two days has really been a reflection of how far we’ve progressed so far in this tournament and how far we can continue to grow and develop as a team on and off the field.
“Off the field, we’ve been really focusing on nutrition, hydration, and rest. And some of the principles we’ve been looking at on the field is just how we continue to develop our playing style, how that looks like when we are trying to play forward and move into really good areas of the pitch.
“And then the girls all have their own individual goals that they want to achieve on game day.”
Gunn says qualifying for the World Cup would be “immense”.
“It’s not something we take for granted, even though the history of this tournament potentially would suggest we could,” she said.
“We definitely are heading into the semi-final to try to qualify for the World Cup and give this group of players the opportunity to be able to further develop next year leading into a World Cup.
“The opportunity to travel and represent the country on the world stage is something that they’re all gunning for.”
Meanwhile, New Caledonia and Samoa meet in the day’s other semi-final, with the winner ensure of a spot at the World Cup.
READ MORE: New Zealand to face Tonga in last four at OFC U-16 Women’s Championship >>>>
Main photo: The New Zealand U-16 women’s team … one win away from World Cup qualification. Photo credit: OFC Media / Phototek.
Acknowledgement
We thank OFC Media for providing information for this story.
Fixtures
Games to be played on Wednesday September 18, 2024
Semi-finals
Samoa v New Caledonia
HFC Bank Stadium, Suva, Fiji, 12pm (NZT)
New Zealand v Tonga
HFC Bank Stadium, Suva, Fiji, 3pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Thursday September 19, 2024
Play-off for 7th
Cook Islands v Tahiti
HFC Bank Stadium, Suva, Fiji, 12pm (NZT)
Play-off for 5th
Fiji v Solomon Islands
HFC Bank Stadium, Suva, Fiji, 3pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Saturday September 21, 2024
Play-off for 3rd
Losing semi-finalists v losing semi-finalists
HFC Bank Stadium, Suva, Fiji, 12pm (NZT)
Final
Winning semi-finalists v winning semi-finalists
HFC Bank Stadium, Suva, Fiji, 3pm (NZT)
This story was first published on September 18, 2024.
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