New Zealand take on their fellow Olympic qualifiers, who are coached by former Football Ferns boss John Herdman, in Châtel-St-Denis in the opening game of the Matchworld Women’s Cup and coach Tony Readings says the clash will mark a step up from both the series win against China and a draw and narrow loss to Australia.
“The performances against those countries were an important marker for us but Canada are a step above,” Readings says.
“They are peaking for the Olympics and are exactly the sort of test we need this close to London. They will also be similar to Great Britain in many respects so they will be a good dress rehearsal for our opening game in Cardiff. There’s also a chance we could meet again in the knockout stages so it will be a useful sighter for us.”
Football Ferns staff will also get a valuable look at Brazil, who take on Colombia in the day’s later kick-off. New Zealand play Colombia in the Matchworld Cup next week but will not meet Brazil until their second Olympic group match in Cardiff on July 28.
The team set up camp in Switzerland this week and shook off the jetlag on Wednesday with a 10-0 win over the women’s team of Swiss club Young Boys FC, a side that reached the last 32 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League last season.
Readings has a fully fit squad to choose from for the Canada match, including Ali Riley and Kirsty Yallop, who both missed the games against Australia due to club commitments.
“Our plans are taking shape and these final two games in Switzerland will help make those final decisions we need to before we meet Great Britain.”
The match kicks off at 2am on Sunday morning New Zealand time while the Oly Whites play their second warm-up game against Korea Republic in Seoul just a few hours earlier at 9pm Saturday night.
Matchworld Women’s Cup
New Zealand v Canada
Châtel-St-Denis, Switzerland
July 14, 4pm (2am July 15 NZT)
New Zealand: (from) 1-Jenny BINDON (GK), 2-Ria PERCIVAL, 3-Anna GREEN, 4-Katie HOYLE, 5-Abby ERCEG, 6-Rebecca SMITH (captain), 7-Ali RILEY, 8-Hayley MOORWOOD, 9-Amber HEARN, 10-Sarah GREGORIUS, 11-Kirsty YALLOP, 12-Betsy HASSETT, 13-Rosie WHITE, 14-Kristy HILL, 15-Rebekah STOTT, 16-Annalie LONGO, 17-Hannah WILKINSON, 18-Rebecca ROLLS (GK)
Coach: Tony READINGS
Canada: (from) Karina LEBLANC (GK), Erin MCLEOD (GK), Emily ZURRER, Carmelina MOSCATO, Robyn GAYLE, Lauren SESSELMANN, Rhian WILKINSON, Candace CHAPMAN, Chelsea STEWART, Kaylyn KYLE, Diana MATHESON, Desiree SCOTT, Sophie SCHMIDT, Kelly PARKER, Jonelle FILIGNO, Christine SINCLAIR (captain), Melissa TANCREDI, Brittany TIMKO
Coach: John HERDMAN
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football.
For more on New Zealand Football visit www.nzfootball.co.nz

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