New Zealand will meet Venezuela, Japan and European champions Spain in Group C and their opening game is in Couva on September 7.
To get his squad ready, head coach Dave Edmondson is seeking to leave home comforts behind in the side’s first international matches since winning April’s OFC U-17 Women’s Championships in Auckland.
“Getting that overseas experience is one of the main objectives for this trip and certainly something we see as of major importance before heading to Trinidad and Tobago,” Edmondson says.
“Not only have some of these girls not been on a tour before – some of them haven’t even been out of New Zealand. So it’s important to get used to the processes involved with international travelling and getting into new habits with training, eating, sleeping and living in environments that are a little bit unfamiliar.”
The Young Football Ferns will play the New South Wales Institute of sport twice in three days before rounding out the trip with a stern test from W-League outfit Sydney FC.
“With just eight weeks before the World Cup it’s really about embedding positional relationships and partnerships we’ve built up over the last few weeks,” Edmondson says.
“Early on it was about giving players opportunities but we’re pretty well settled now on what our best side is. Now it’s about getting those players to play under pressure and we certainly will be under pressure in the next three games.”
New Zealand U-17 squad for Australia tour
Goalkeepers
Chloe-May GEURTS (Hawera)
Jessica REDDAWAY (Metro)
Defenders
Katie BOWEN (Glenfield Rovers)
Sivitha BOYCE (Metro)
Kate CARLTON (Claudelands Rovers)
Rachel HEAD (Metro)
Megan LEE (Lynn Avon United)
Tessa MCPHERSON (Lyn Avon)
Midfielders
Rebecca BURROWS (Metro)
Hannah CARLSEN (Metro)
Olivia CHANCE (Claudelands Rovers)
Kate LOYE ( Claudelands Rovers)
Evie MILLYNN (Eastern Suburbs)
Holly PATTERSON ( Claudelands Rovers)
Ashleigh WARD (Coastal Spirit)
Forwards
Michelle WINDSOR (Metro)
Grace PARKINSON (Claudelands Rovers)
Hannah WONG (Claudelands Rovers)
Coach: Dave EDMONDSON
New Zealand U-17 Women Australian Tour Schedule
New Zealand U-17 v NSW Institute of Sport
Sydney
Sun 11 July
New Zealand U-17 v NSW Institute of Sport
Sydney
Tue 13 July
New Zealand U-17 v Sydney FC
Sydney
Thurs 15 July
Story courtesy of NZF Media.
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