Captain Alyssha Eglinton says her New Zealand are “super ready” for their opening game at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
New Zealand meet Nigeria’s Flamingos in their opening Group A game at tournament in the Dominican Republic.
“I think as a team, we’ve really come together over the past 10 days that we’ve been here, and over the past year,” Eglinton told FIFA.com.
“So I think together we’re super ready and quite confident in ourselves and our ability.”
New Zealand famously finished third at the 2018 U-17 World Cup in Uruguay, and are keen to produce another strong performance, having participated at every FIFA U-17 tournament since its inception in 2008.
Nigeria finished third at the last FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, held in India.
Nigeria’s head coach Bankole Olowookere goes into the tournament with cautious optimism.
“I have confidence in the girls to deliver the goods at this competition. We have come well-prepared to do even better than we did in India. The Nigeria Football Federation has done everything to prepare the team well, with a two-week final camping here in the Dominican Republic,” he said.
“We do not under-rate any of our opponents. However, we will take it one match at a time and produce our best in each game in order to go all the way.”
In her interview with FIFA.com, Eglinton said the New Zealanders would also take their campaign one game at a time.
“I think every opponent is different and so we’ve got a different game plan for each country.
“I think everyone is definitely a lot more challenging than what we’re used to. Taking one game at a time is the way we’re going to go, but the drive in our team to really want to do well in this tournament is really good to see.”
Eglinton said the New Zealand team’s goal was to get out of their Group and progress as far as they could.
“We really want to build a playing style that we’re proud of and all of our qualities together will help with that. We’re all really excited to be able to build on our team and have our own separate playing style.”
Acknowledgement
We thank FIFA for providing information for this story.
New Zealand
Mikaela Bangalan – Fencibles United, Aotearoa New Zealand
Grace Bartlett – Wellington Phoenix, Aotearoa New Zealand
Laura Bennett – Melville United, Aotearoa New Zealand
Mary Brown – FC Bulleen Lions, Australia
Sophie Campbell – Hamilton Wanderers, Aotearoa New Zealand
Katie Chellenbron – Milton Keynes Dons, England
Amber De Wit – Nomads United, Aotearoa New Zealand
Charli Dunn – Western Springs, Aotearoa New Zealand
Alyssha Eglinton – Wellington Phoenix, Aotearoa New Zealand
Emily Humphrey – Wellington Phoenix, Aotearoa New Zealand
Ela Jerez – Wellington Phoenix, Aotearoa New Zealand
Millee Loxton – Fencibles United, Aotearoa New Zealand
Charley March – Hibiscus Coast, Aotearoa New Zealand
Kyra Morgan – Western Suburbs, Aotearoa New Zealand
Harriet Muller – Moturoa, Aotearoa New Zealand
Brooke Neary – Wellington Phoenix, Aotearoa New Zealand
Katie Pugh – Wellington Phoenix, Aotearoa New Zealand
Maddison Sawkins – Gungahlin United, Australia
Hannah Saxon – Eastern Suburbs, Aotearoa New Zealand
Pia Vlok – Auckland United, Aotearoa New Zealand
Natalie Young – Hamilton Wanderers, Aotearoa New Zealand
FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
Sixteen qualifying nations will compete at the tournament scheduled to be staged in the Dominican Republic from October 16-November 3, 2024.
In their group, New Zealand are the most experienced nation at this level, with the team making their eighth appearance this year, and having a best placing of third, in Uruguay in 2018.
First game opponents Nigeria have been to six previous tournaments Nigeria’s best placing was a third at the 2022 tournament.
The Dominican Republic and Ecuador will be making their first appearances at a U-17 Women’s World Cup.
A match schedule is available here and fixtures, venues and kick-off times will soon be aligned with the groups drawn.
READ MORE: Venues, schedule and an emblem revealed for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup >>>>
Draw for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup
Group A
Dominican Republic
Coach: Betzaida Ubri
Qualification: Host nation
Participations: None
Best finish: NA
Ecuador
Coach: Eduardo Moscoso
Qualification: Finished third at the South American U-17 Women’s Championship
Participations: None
Best finish: NA
New Zealand
Coach: Alana Gunn
Qualification: Won the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship
Participations: Seven
Best finish: Third place (2018)
Nigeria
Coach: Bankole Olowookere
Qualification: Beat Liberia in their CAF play-off
Participations: Six
Best finish: Third place (2022)
Group B
Spain
Coach: Kenio Gonzalo
Qualification: Won the UEFA U-17 Women’s Championship
Participations: Five
Best finish: Champions (2018, 2022)
United States
Coach: Katie Schoepfer
Qualification: Won the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship
Participations: Five
Best finish: Runners-up (2008)
Korea Republic
Coach: Eunjung Kim
Qualification: Finished third at the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup
Participations: Three
Best finish: Champions (2010)
Colombia
Coach: Carlos Paniagua
Qualification: Finished second at the South American U-17 Women’s Championship
Participations: Five
Best finish: Runners-up (2022)
Group C
Korea DPR
Coach: Sung-Gwon Song
Qualification: Won the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup
Participations: Six
Best finish: Champions (2008, 2016)
Mexico
Coach: : Jimena Rojas
Qualification: Finished runners-up at the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship
Participations: Six
Best finish: Runners-up (2018)
Kenya
Coach: Mildred Cheche
Qualification: Beat Burundi in their CAF play-off
Participation: None
Best finish: NA
England
Coach: Natalie Henderson
Qualification: Finished runners-up at the UEFA U-17 Women’s Championship
Participations: Two
Best finish: Fourth (2008)
Group D
Japan
Coach: Sadayoshi Sirai
Qualification: Finished runners-up at the AFC U-17 Women’s Asian Cup
Participations: Seven
Best finish: Champions (2014)
Poland
Coach: Marcin Kasprowicz
Qualification: Finished third at the UEFA U-17 Women’s Championship
Participations: None
Best finish: NA
Brazil
Coach: Simone Jatoba
Qualification: Won the South American U-17 Women’s Championship
Participations: Six
Best finish: Quarter-finals (2010, 2012, 2022)
Zambia
Coach: Carol Kanyemba
Qualification: Beat Morocco in their CAF play-off
Participations: One
Best finish: Group stage (2014)
Fixtures
Game to be played on Thursday October 17, 2024 (NZT)
New Zealand v Nigeria
Cibao University Stadium, Santiago de los Caballeros, 9am (NZT)
Game to be played on Sunday October 20, 2024 (NZT)
Dominican Republic v New Zealand
Cibao University Stadium, Santiago de los Caballeros, 12pm (NZT)
Game to be played on Wednesday October 23, 2024 (NZT)
Ecuador v New Zealand
Cibao University Stadium, Santiago de los Caballeros, 12pm (NZT)
Changes planned for future U-17 World Cups
The U-17 tournament will become an annual event for 24 nations in 2025 and will be held in Morocco from 2025-29.
Oceania will have two qualifying teams. Other slot allocations will be AFC (4), CAF(5), Concacaf (4), CONMEBOL(4), UEFA (5).
READ MORE: Key decisions made as FIFA releases women’s international calendar >>>>
READ MORE: New Zealand’s pathway to future FIFA U-17 World Cups gets easier >>>>
Previous winners
2008: DPR Korea
2010: Korea Republic
2012: France
2014: Japan
2016: DPR Korea
2018: Spain
2022: Spain
This story was first published on October 16, 2024.
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