AUCKLAND – The Junior Football Ferns are in a race against time to get ready for their FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup opener on November 20.

A hectic 2008 for New Zealand’s women footballers that peaked with an Olympic Games and the inaugural U-17 Women’s World Cup has left the Junior Ferns in danger of becoming the forgotten middle child of New Zealand’s football family.

But despite just four days together as a full squad before flying out for Chile on Friday, the Junior Ferns are counting on the squad’s combined experience of 26 World Cups and Olympic tournaments to achieve the aim of making the quarterfinals.

“It is a bit of a race against time but there’s a little bit of experience there that’s going to help you on the way,” head coach John Herdman said.

“Knowing what to expect means we can focus quite specifically on what needs to be done rather than worrying about all the things we used to be unsure about heading into these events.”

“Is it optimal preparation for a pinnacle event? Probably not. But there’s a lot more positives to outweigh the negatives.”

The Junior Ferns open their campaign against Nigeria on November 20 (NZ time) before facing the hosts (Nov 23) and England (Nov 27) and vHerdman can take some comfort in the knowledge that the squad has already shown an ability to come together quickly and perform against top quality opposition.

“We only had a few days together before our last trip to Chile and got a 3-0 win over Mexico who will also be at the finals, and a draw against the North American champions Canada. I know what this group are capable of with very little preparation, that’s why the goal the players have set of a quarterfinal, minimum, is realistic.”

Nine players from the U-17 World Cup squad, including Annalie Longo and 15-year-old hat-trick hero Rosie White, are making the step up to U-20 level, but their new coach is not worried about a come-down from the high of 10,000 strong home crowds or historic World Cup wins.

“The only danger we face is that it’s too much in one year. For most of the players it’s their second major tournament. There’s been a lot of emotion shed this year, but we’re going into new territory with back-to-back World Cups.”

“Other countries made decisions a long time ago that their best U-17s would only play the U-20s and not take any risks on physical or emotional burnout, but I’m not sure we’ll have that problem.”

“These players coming into camp there’s a real energy there. You can sense the excitement now that the second part of their big year is about to kick off.”

The Junior Football Ferns depart for Chile on Friday.

New Zealand’s World Cup Schedule

All matches live on Sky Sports

Nov 20, 7am (NZ Time)

New Zealand v Nigeria, Coquimbo

Nov 23, 1pm (NZ time)

New Zealand v Chile, Coquimbo

Nov 27, 11am (NZ time)

New Zealand v England, Santiago De Chile

Dec 1: Quarter-finals

Dec 5: Semi-finals

Dec 8: Final

Story provided by NZF Media. For more visit www.nzsoccer.com