The Football Ferns need a jumpstart and players from the under-20 team could help. Photo / Photosport
The Football Ferns need a jumpstart and players from the under-20 team could help. Photo / Photosport
The team that can save a team.
That's the mission for the Junior Football Ferns ahead of the Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica, with their first game on Thursday morning.
Fifa's various age group tournaments are always interesting spectacles, though they tend to get lost with everythingelse happening in the professional game, especially at this time of year.
But this one is more important than most – especially for football in this country.
In case anyone had forgotten, the 2023 Women's World Cup will be staged in Australia and New Zealand, with the opening game less than a year away.
As a host nation, it's vital that the Football Ferns seize the moment – which will likely never come again, given the growth of the event – and produce a series of compelling performances to put the sport on the map in this country.
It's a unique opportunity, where players could become household names for the first time, like their netball, cricket and rugby equivalents.
Since the last World Cup the Ferns have won one of 19 matches, with three draws.
There was an encouraging victory over South Korea last November in the fourth game under new coach Jitka Klimková, but little since then.
The She Believes Cup in the United States in February was a golden opportunity missed, as the team seemed to regress, while the two-game series versus Australia in April was one sided.
Perhaps the most worrying sign was the inability to bank a win against Wales (0-0) in June, a team far removed from Europe's top table.
That game came a few days after the Ferns were outplayed by Norway (0-2), with the Scandinavian side then smashed 8-0 by England less than a month later at the Euros.
The upshot?
The Ferns desperately need a jumpstart.
They desperately need some new faces in the squad, to help change the culture and push many of the senior crew that have been around forever.
Some players from the Junior Football Ferns could provide that.
The Junior Football Ferns team ahead of a friendly against Australia in June. Photo / Photosport
To her credit, Klimková has introduced more new personnel than her predecessor Tom Sermanni, though she could have gone further at times.
Everybody knows what the old guard are capable of, many of whom are in the twilight of their careers.
So what can the next generation do?
Time is fast running out to experiment, but strong performances in Costa Rica could change the equation.
Attacking midfielder Alyssa Whinham is an obvious contender – given the Fern's struggles in the final third – and surely needs a chance soon, while captain Kate Taylor and striker Ava Collins have already been part of the senior environment.
But who are the wildcards?
Hopefully two or three others will emerge, with individual performances so captivating they force Klimková's hand. As we have seen with other international teams, young talent often just needs a chance to blossom.
It won't be easy for Gemma Lewis' team, with three tough games in the space of seven days.
Mexico, who finished runners-up to the United States in their regional competition, will be a difficult first up opponent. Then there will be barely time to rest and recover before New Zealand take on European powerhouses Germany.
Their final group match is against Colombia, the second ranked team in South America behind Brazil.
New Zealand's best performance from seven previous appearances at this tournament came in 2014, when wins over Paraguay and Costa Rica saw them reach the knockout stages for the first time.
Junior Football Ferns at the Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup
vs Mexico (Thursday 11 August, 8am) vs Germany (Sunday 14 August, 5am) vs Colombia (Wednesday 17 August, 11am)
