The line-up, which will be trimmed to 18 for each of the two matches, is drawn from leagues in six countries with the German Bundesliga alone providing six players.
The first leg of the play-off takes place at Toll Stadium in Whangarei on Saturday from 5pm local time while the second will be held at Port Moresby’s PMRL Stadium on April 4.
Papua New Guinea reached the play-off after winning stage one of the OFC Women’s Olympic Qualifier in Tonga earlier this month, while New Zealand have been seeded to this stage after romping through 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers with a goals for and against record of 50-0 across their five matches, including an 11-0 win over Papua New Guinea in the final.
New Zealand coach Tony Readings is happy to shoulder the tag of favourites but a tough 2-0 Olympic-qualifying win in Port Moresby four years ago serves as a reminder of the importance of making the most of home advantage.
“We go into this game as favourites, especially with it being at home, and I guess that’s a position we have earned in respect to games against Oceania opposition. But we know from the 2008 Olympic qualifier how tough it can be up there,” he says.
“Being in professional environments week in and week out has only increased our players’ determination to do what they need to win, and the job in front of us is to take the tie away from Papua New Guinea before we travel to their conditions.
“We have big expectations of this team for London but we need to qualify first and we can take a big step this Saturday in front of a home crowd in Whangarei.”
The squad assembles in Auckland today.
New Zealand squad for Olympic Play-off
Goalkeepers
Jenny BINDON (Hibiscus Coast – 65/0)
Rebecca ROLLS (Fencibles United – 12/0)
Defenders
Katie BOWEN (Glenfield Rovers – 6/0)
Hannah BROMLEY (Glenfield Rovers – 6/0)
Abby ERCEG (Adelaide United, AUS– 67/4)
Anna GREEN (Leipzig, GER – 45/5)
Ria PERCIVAL (FFC Frankfurt, GER – 64/7)
Ali RILEY (Malmö, SWE – 57/1)
Rebecca SMITH (VfL Wolfsburg, GER – 63/3)
Midfielders
Katie HOYLE (Bad Neuenahr, GER – 56/6)
Annalie LONGO (Three Kings United – 37/0)
Holly PATTERSON (Claudelands Rovers – 1/0)
Betsy HASSETT (Univ. California Berkeley, USA – 32/3)
Hayley MOORWOOD (Chelsea, ENG – 74/7)
Kirsty YALLOP (Vittsjö GIK, SWE – 55/11)
Forwards
Sarah GREGORIUS (Bad Neuenahr, GER – 22/11)
Amber HEARN (USV Jena, GER – 54/26)
Sarah MCLAUGHLIN (Claudelands Rovers – 11/0)
Rosie WHITE (UCLA, USA – 33/7)
Hannah WILKINSON (Glenfield Rovers – 28/10)
Management Staff
Coach: Tony READINGS
Assistant Coach: Gordon FORREST
GK Coach: Danny ROBINSON
Manager: Julie HOGG
Doctor: Chris HANNA
Physiotherapist: Jen SAYER
Sports Scientist: Brad CONZA
Technical Analyst: Gary CONNELL
Media Officer: Jamie SCOTT
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand Football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz

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