World Cup Group A: Defensive Norway fancied in even group containing hosts New Zealand

New Zealand

Overview

New Zealand’s top footballers are facing a similar predicament to their world champion rugby counterparts of 2022 – entering the biggest tournament of their lives on home soil on the back of a run of poor form.

Amazingly, the Black Ferns turned that around in Auckland to retain their rugby crown but no one is suggesting the Football Ferns will achieve anything remotely similar. Their Fifa world ranking has slipped to its lowest ever point of 26th, from a high of 16 in 2015. Making the knockout rounds for the first time ever from a group containing Norway, the Philippines and Switzerland is the ambition but the omens are not good.

In the first 14 games after Jitka Klimkova was appointed national coach in 2021 New Zealand won just one, leaking 35 goals while scoring just five. It is a grim record far removed from Klimkova’s promise on her appointment that she would not be depending on the traditional playing style of New Zealand teams: tough defensively and then relying on the long ball to score goals. “Whoever we are up against, New Zealand will be a team that plays to win,” she told Fifa.com.

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New Zealand qualified automatically from the Oceania region as the host nation (alongside Australia) but if a goal drought and defensive lapses have not been bad enough, key players, including midfielders Olivia Chance, Betsy Hassett, Ria Percival, Annalie Longo and defender CJ Bott have suffered injuries that have sidelined them for months before gradually returning to their clubs and World Cup contention.

Injuries have opened doors for exciting newcomers such as striker Millie Clegg who at just 17 attracted the coach’s interest after “brilliant performances” at the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups.

Much will depend on the veterans though, including captain and right-back Ali Riley (capped 152 times) who at 35 will play at her fifth World Cup. She has been in fine form for her US club, Angel City, and is optimistic the national team will deliver for fans. “I hope that we live up to the slogan of ‘beyond greatness’ by creating a legacy for the Ferns who come after us,” she said.

The coach

Klimkova, who took on the role via coaching the youth teams of New Zealand, USA and her native Czech Republic, has not backed away from a positive approach. “We want to play attacking football that results in taking our chances in front of goal and be greedy in defence and win the ball back further up the field.”

The improvements during the World Cup build-up have been substantial, according to the coach, especially once overseas players such as Bott returned and by late June she was confident injured players would have completed their rehab. Training sessions were revealing sharpness in front of goal, improved fitness and the ability to change styles to address how their opposition would play, she said. As for playing at home: “The fans will be our 12th player and that’s so important to our team. We will grab this opportunity.”

Star player

Regarded as the Ferns’ best player for her speed and aggression, CJ Bott’s presence was sorely missed as she recovered from injuries during the build-up. With 34 caps to her name, the Leicester City player is well regarded for her defensive abilities as well as her willingness to spearhead attacks.

She had a tough apprenticeship before proving herself as a first-choice player. She understudied her mentor, Ria Percival, for about four years before seizing her chance. Bott said a home World Cup will be the pinnacle. “That’s just something that wasn’t even an option growing up,” she told Sky Sport. “No matter what team I ever play for that’s going to be the biggest moment of my career. I’ll be so proud.”

Rising star

Michaela Foster has risen to senior status this year on the back of a sparkling debut season with her Wellington club, the Phoenix. She’s the daughter of All Blacks coach Ian Foster and made her New Zealand debut at the stadium in her hometown, Hamilton, where her dad still holds the record for the most caps in Waikato rugby. “It’s my stadium now Dad,” she said. “I have a lot of good memories, family memories, there, mostly with rugby.” A full-back, her set-piece ability off both feet is among her strengths.

Did you know?

Striker Hannah Wilkinson is not only the squad’s go-to guitarist and singalong leader, she is a talented mural artist who uses art to escape from the pressures of being an elite athlete. To mark three women’s World Cups being held in New Zealand within two years (cricket, rugby and football), she was commissioned to create a mural at Eden Park – the venue for several World Cup matches. “It was amazing, such a cool experience,” she said.

Standing of football in New Zealand

Almost 40,000 girls and women were playing in 2018 – a five-fold increase in 30 years, however, well behind the 350,000 who play the most popular sport, netball. Women’s football was played briefly in the 1920s but once the FA in England banned it, New Zealand followed suit and it took half a century to return. By 1973, official club-based women’s league competitions were being played in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

As they mark a 50-year milestone, veteran players can recall how times have changed – from fighting for grounds, changing rooms, and gear to programmes set up to encourage more female coaches, referees, mentors and administrators as well as pathways for more professional players. As well, the formation of a Wellington Phoenix women’s side that competes in the A-League (with Australian club teams). It was fast-tracked to enable more opportunities for top players and has also resulted in an increase in the limited TV coverage of the women’s game.

Realistic aim at the World Cup?

New Zealand has played 15 matches in all World Cups and won none so reaching the knockout stage may be too tall an order. A win over the 46th-ranked Philippines shapes as a realistic target, while draws or narrow losses to Norway (ranked 12) and Switzerland (20) would be encouraging.

The former NZ international Maia Jackman (capped 50 times) believes the tournament has come too soon and the team’s peak will coincide with the next World Cup. But the buzz of playing in front of families and fans may restore some grit. “World Cups bring out the best in players and I believe come July 20th [the tournament’s opening match against Norway] we’ll see a different Football Ferns outfit,” she says.

Written by Maree Mahony for RNZ in New Zealand. Additional reporting by Newsroom’s Locker Room.

Norway

Overview

The Norwegian side has gone through a big transitional phase from last year’s Euros, where they crashed out of the group stage and suffered a humiliating 8-0 defeat against England. Out went the coach, Martin Sjögren, and his aim to dominate play with a 4-4-2 formation. In came Hege Riise and a more cynical approach where defensive stability is the key to success in a 4-3-3 or 5-4-1 set-up.

“We have to acknowledge where we stand at the moment and work from that,” Riise said upon being appointed in August. She did not have the best of starts, it is fair to say. The day after her first squad selection, Barcelona’s Caroline Graham Hansen announced she would take a break from international duty due to fatigue. Just weeks later another of the team’s super stars, Ada Hegerberg, got injured and was out for seven months. The captain Maren Mjelde and Barça’s Ingrid Syrstad Engen have also been out for spells, but all four are back in time for the World Cup.

And despite their absence, Riise’s “new Norway” produced some good performances in friendlies against strong teams such as the Netherlands, France, England and Sweden. By that time they had already secured qualification for the World Cup, topping Group F thanks to a 1-0 win against Belgium in September last year.

Riise has clearly got them playing the way she wants, as the midfielder Guro Reiten told TV 2 Norway after the 0-0 draw against France in February: “We’re difficult and annoying to play against – just like we want to be.” It will be fascinating to see how they get on this summer, merely a year after their implosion in England.

The coach

Crowned World Player of the Year in 1995, Hege Riise was one of the major contributors to Norway’s golden years in women’s football. They won the 1993 Euros, the World Cup two years later and added Olympic Gold in 2000. She started out as a coach at Team Strømmen before making LSK Kvinner an attacking force, winning four league titles and three cups on the way. Was appointed interim coach for England and team GB in January 2021 and led the team at the Olympics later that year.

She called it an honour but the team went out in the quarterfinals to Australia. In her subsequent role with the Norway Under-19s at the 2022 Euros, she showed her ability to adapt in a tournament environment. After being comprehensively beaten 4-1 by England in their opening game, the team changed their approach to a more defensive style and went on to beat Germany, Sweden and France on their way to the final, where they lost 2-1 to Spain.

Star player

Ada Hegerberg. The first ever female Ballon d’Or winner has made a mark not only on the pitch but also with her fight for equality between men and women and boys and girls. A six-time Champions League winner with Lyon, she quit international football in 2016 after becoming frustrated at what she perceived as a lack of support for the women’s team and for the development of women’s’ football in Norway. “I hope I did everything for my sport to be appreciated, respected and left in a better way than what I found it in. It’s much bigger than me” she told the LA Times last year.

Rising star

Anna Jøsendal is the first ever female international from the town Odda (4,800 inhabitants) and definitely one to watch at the World Cup. The explosive left-footed winger has already drawn attention from foreign clubs and competition for her signature will only have increased after an impressive start to the 2023 season with Rosenborg. The 22-year-old is high up in the goals and assists charts and is expected to move abroad soon. Her contract runs out at the end of the year.

Did you know?

Pretty much the entire Norway squad has become gripped by a particular pastime during camps in the recent 12 months, namely crosswords. The press officer Halvor Lea started printing and handing out crosswords to anyone who wanted one and the activity became more and more popular. “We help each other out if anyone gets stuck so it has become a really social thing for us,” the goalkeeper Guro Pettersens said.

Standing of women’s football in Norway

Since the Norwegian FA acknowledged female football in 1971 the activity has become the most popular sport for women in the country with approximately 73,000 registered female players. Media coverage is on the rise with a new TV deal in which NRK and TV 2 share rights to broadcast matches in Toppserien. Every Saturday at 3pm TV 2 also have a Goal Show, covering all the games being played at the time.

Realistic aim at the World Cup

“It shouldn’t be a load on the players. They have to feel free and feel like they are challenging, not that they are favourites in this tournament – it has been many years since we were,” the Norway FA president, Lise Klaveness, said at the same time as, er, saying that they are expected to win group A and reach the last 16.

To be fair, anything else would be a major disappointment for a team desperate to prove themselves after last year’s disappointment. Once in the knockout stage, tough opponents await, but anything is possible for this group of players.

Written by Christina Paulos Syversen for TV2 Norge.

Switzerland

Overview

This is only the second time Switzerland have reached the Women’s World Cup and despite modest results under new coach, Inka Grings, and an ankle injury to team captain, Lia Wälti, there is a positivity surrounding the team before the tournament starts.

In contrast to some of the top teams at the World Cup, Switzerland have a relatively small squad. In some ways it made it easier for Grings to pick her final 23 but it also means that the star players have to be at their absolute best if they are to cause some surprises in Australia and New Zealand.

Wälti, together with Paris St-Germain’s Ramona Bachmann and the newly crowned Champions League winner, Barcelona’s Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic, are the heart and soul of the team. The dependence on the trio is “damn dangerous” as Grings said in April when a team without Wälti and Bachmann lost 2-1 to Iceland.

The start under Grings has been difficult. The four friendlies in the spring against Poland (two games), China and Iceland ended with no wins and only two goals scored. “The desire in front of goal is still a bit lacking,” admitted the midfielder Seraina Piubel. It is a problem that must be particularly irksome for Grings as it was a quality she was known for.

However, Switzerland can still dream of getting out of the group because the draw was kind to them. They are in group A with hosts New Zealand, Norway, and the Philippines, who are among the five lowest-ranked teams in the tournament. They will be very disappointed not to quality for the knockout stage and some experts back home even believe they can win the group.

This will be Switzerland’s fourth appearance at a major tournament, after qualifying for the 2015 World Cup and the Euros in 2017 and 2022. However, despite some good performances they are yet to reach the knockout stage. It could happen this time because there is a good mix between experience and youthful energy in this squad.

And they know that a good showing is likely to trigger increased interest in the sport and in the team, which is no small matter considering the fact there is a home Euros to come in two years.

The coach

Having succeeded Nils Nielsen at the start of the year, there is a fresh wind blowing through the national team under Inka Grings. She talks in a clear and concise way and while the Dane put a lot of emphasis on a cultivated build-up play and ball possession, Grings is more interested in a straightforward and quick approach from defence to attack.

Grings had a successful playing career, scoring 64 goals in 96 internationals for Germany winning the Euros in 2005 and 2009. As a coach she was in charge of FC Zurich for a year and a half, during which time they won the double and qualified for the Champions League. Players have already said that the training sessions before the World Cup are far more intense than before the Euros.

Star player

Ramona Bachmann or Alisha Lehmann may be better known and Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic more successful, but the most important player of the team is the captain, Lia Wälti – on and off the pitch. She has an outstanding understanding of the game and has authority as a leader. As early as back in 2015 Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, the current Germany coach, said she had the potential to be a world-class player at that year’s World Cup and although it took Wälti a bit longer to reach that status she is certainly there now.

She moved to Arsenal in 2018 and immediately won the WSL title with her new club. And despite the ankle injury in May she is expected to captain Switzerland for the opening game against the Philippines.

Rising star

Seraina Piubel has had her breakthrough season with her goals and assists crucial as FC Zurich defended their league title. The midfielder also came into her own for the national team under her former club coach, Grings. A move abroad is surely imminent but Piubel is phlegmatic about the situation. “Whatever happens, happens,” she says. She was born into a footballing family with her mother, Sandra Piubel, winning one cap for Switzerland and her father, Urs Meier, securing several Swiss league titles with Grasshoppers.

Piubel is extremely versatile and can be deployed in a number of positions, as a No 6, a No 8, a No 10 and even up front. Her favourite position? Just behind the strikers.

Did you know?

Fabienne Humm is unique in Swiss football. In 2015 she made history with the fastest World Cup hat-trick of all time. The logistics businesswoman has decided against a professional career abroad and feels at home in Zurich. She never wanted to give up her day-job. At the 2022 Euros she did some of her work in the hotel room and was absent for some of the World Cup preparations because of work.

Standing of women’s football in Switzerland

In 1970 some pioneers founded the first women’s league in Switzerland but it was not until 1993 that it was integrated into the Football Federation. In 2004, a training centre for girls was opened in Huttwil, which laid the foundation for the successes of the modern era. Switzerland‘s World Cup debut in 2015 and being at the Euros in 2017 and 2022 all increased public interest.

Now more than 34,000 women are licensed players in Switzerland. The trend is clearly upwards. The federation is hoping that hosting the 2025 European Championship will lead to another boom. There will be two women on the federation board from July 2024 but there is still a lot to do when it comes to the daily running of the league: if you want to be a professional you have to move abroad.

Realistic aim at the World Cup?

The draw was kind to Switzerland and finishing in the top two and qualifying for the knockout stage is the clear goal for this team. “We take it step by step,” says Ramona Bachmann but they have said that they have packed enough stuff to last until the final, on August 20th. Realistically the quarterfinals are probably this team’s ceiling.

Written by Christian Finkbeiner for Blick in Switzerland

Philippines

Overview

Football in the Philippines has always been in the shadows of basketball and boxing but in the last decade, the women’s international team, the Filipinas, has been steadily on the rise and came close to qualifying for the 2019 World Cup in France.

Last year, the breakthrough finally happened. The Philippines reached the semi-finals of the 2022 AFC Asian Cup with a defensive solidity, resilience and a trademark never-say-die attitude on display all tournament long, and that was enough to qualify for the country’s first-ever World Cup.

Much like their male counterparts, the Philippine diaspora has provided the country with options all across the world, and particularly in the United States. The key to success, however, was the hiring of the experienced former Australia coach Alen Stajcic in 2021. His tactical acumen and tournament team management have been instrumental in taking the Philippines to the next level.

New players joined the squad too, such as Norwegian-born Sara Eggesvik and Canadian-born Jackie Sawicki, and they had no problem fitting in and bonding with the experienced players in the team, such as the defensive linchpin Hali Long and captain Tahnai Annis

They went on to secure their first medal in 37 years at the Southeast Asian games, beating Myanmar to win bronze, before capping their superb run with a first ever major trophy a few months later by winning the 2022 AFF Women’s Championships held in Manila. The biggest victory of them all, though, was qualifying for the World Cup, a moment Stajcic described as “probably the best achievement so far of my coaching career”.

In Group A they face the higher-ranked sides Switzerland, New Zealand and Norway, but they are not going to the World Cup just to make up the numbers. “We are very happy to be there. We are excited, we are proud and we are appreciating every moment”, said Stajcic.

“We are grateful that we have earned the right for this opportunity and we are respectful of an event that brings together the best female athletes on the planet. We have also raised the bar so high in the past 18 months that none of us will put a ceiling on how high that bar can go.”

The coach

The former Matildas coach Alen Stajcic arrived on a three-month contract in October 2021 with the aim to qualify for the World Cup and he exceeded expectations when the team reached Australia and New Zealand without having to go through the play-offs.

The immediate success earned him the adoration of the fans, as well as a hashtag #InStajWeTrust. He has taken Australia to two World Cups and led them to the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics, where they lost on penalties to hosts Brazil. His tournament experience will be vital for the debutants and the players speak highly of him. “He is one of the great assets of this team and we have come a long way because of him,” says Sarina Bolden.

Star player

Sarina Bolden has scored a joint record 22 goals in 37 appearances at the time of writing, as well as the winning penalty that secured World Cup qualification. She sets an example for the rest of the players with her heart-on-sleeve style of play, inspiring others to give their all too. “I’m a player who has energy,” she told fifa.com.

“I try my best to bring that energy and keep the tempo high. And I think I’m a leader on the field. All of that makes me the player that I am.” Having picked up experience from playing in the US, where she was born, Sweden, Taiwan and Japan, she has been with Western Sydney Wanderers since 2022.

Rising star

After impressing in the holding midfield role at the AFC Under-20 World Cup qualifiers, Bella Pasion was rewarded with a call-up to the senior team and the 17-year-old has certainly not looked out of place. Described by the Under-20 coach, Nahuel Arrarte, as a “gritty player”, he added: “She’s very coachable and has a winning mentality. She played with a maturity beyond her years. Very few players can handle that, but she’s on the right track. If she continues to work hard she will achieve great things.”

Did you know?

Having scored so many goals for her country there is no surprise perhaps that Sarina Bolden would be in the GOAT discussion when it comes to female players in the Philippines. So no one was in the least bit surprised when the Instagram account sarina.thegoat.bolden popped up. The player, though, was at pains to point out that she had not set it up. “The Instagram account is not mine”, she said. “My team-mates have known about this account for some time already and they love it.”

Standing of women’s football in Philippines

The football coverage – not to mention women’s football coverage – is regrettably scarce in a country where Steph Curry and Manny Pacquaio reign supreme but the Filipinas’ qualification for the World Cup has sparked renewed interest in the sport among girls, particularly in the younger age groups. There are now all-girls teams playing in most youth divisions in the summer football leagues and the PFF Women’s League is in its fourth year and going strong with 10 participating teams, including five from universities.

Realistic aim at the World Cup?

Fans could be forgiven for feeling optimistic when the Philippines were drawn in a relatively even Group A but despite avoiding some of the traditional football heavyweights on the women’s side it will not be easy for the Filipinas to get out of the group. That said they have left no stone unturned in their preparations with friendlies in Europe and South America in the build-up to the tournament.

As the team manager, Jefferson Cheng, said: “We are dreaming of creating our own Cinderella story. Obviously the odds are against us based on our ranking but I assure you we will represent our country in the best way possible.”

Written by Ryan Fenix for GMA News Online Philippines.