The Football Ferns are taking on the might of the world champion United States for the second time in the space of three days.
After losing 4-0 at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Wednesday, they now head to Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday, the venue where they will begin their home Fifa Women’s World Cup campaign in July.
Here’s all you need to know ahead of their second clash with the US, kicking off at 4.05pm on Saturday.
Hannah Peters/Getty Images
United States players celebrate one of their four goals against the Football Ferns at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
The game
International football friendly: Football Ferns v United States
Where: Eden Park, Auckland; When: Saturday, 4.05pm
Live coverage: Sky Sport 7, live updates on Stuff
The squads
Football Ferns: Brianna Edwards, Erin Nayler, Murphy Sheaff; Liz Anton, Mackenzie Barry, Ally Green, Anna Green, Rebecca Lake, Ali Riley, Ashleigh Ward; Hannah Blake, Olivia Chance, Daisy Cleverley, Deven Jackson, Aniela Jensen, Jana Radosavljević, Grace Wisnewski; Ava Collins, Jacqui Hand, Grace Jale, Tayla O’Brien, Gabi Rennie, Emma Rolston, Paige Satchell
United States: Adrianna Franch, Casey Murphy, Alyssa Naeher; Alana Cook, Crystal Dunn, Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Sofia Huerta, Hailie Mace, Becky Sauerbrunn, Emily Sonnett; Sam Coffey, Taylor Kornieck, Rose Lavelle, Kristie Mewis, Ashley Sanchez, Andi Sullivan; Ashley Hatch, Alex Morgan, Midge Purce, Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, Lynn Williams
The form
The world No 24 Football Ferns had a mixed year in 2022, playing a total of 12 matches and winning just two of them, alongside three draws and seven losses.
All six of the losses and one of the draws came against teams ranked higher than them by Fifa, with the other two draws and two wins coming against teams ranked lower than them.
The world No 1 US played 18 matches, winning 14, drawing one and losing three.
Those three losses came in October and November against three European superpowers – England, Spain and Germany.
The US took 52 minutes to get on the board when these two teams met on Wednesday, but were 3-0 up 11 minutes later and eased to a 4-0 win.
The history
The two teams have met 20 times with the US winning 18, the Ferns winning one, and the other a draw.
The six most recent results were all US wins – 4-0 on Wednesday, 5-0 last February, 6-1 at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, 5-0 in May 2019 and 5-0 and 3-1 in September 2017.
This is the second time the two teams have met in New Zealand, after Wednesday’s match. Six of their previous meetings before that came on neutral territory, with the other 13 on American soil.
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