Football Ferns

Football Ferns set to face ambitious newcomers, the Philippines

The Football Ferns who scored a surprise 1-0 win over Norway last Thursday will face the Philippines in their second match at the Wellington Regional Stadium on Tuesday.

The latter were beaten 0-2 by the other Group A side, Switzerland, in their tournament opener in Dunedin on Friday night.

     

Football Ferns name new coach

Klimkova starts in the Football Ferns head coach role in October, replacing Tom Sermanni who stepped down following the Tokyo Olympics.

Klimkova will move to New Zealand from her base in the Czech Republic for the job.

She will be looking ahead to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup to be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.

The former Czech Republic defender has coached the the New Zealand side at the FIFA 2014 U-17 Women's World Cup and served as assistant coach to the women's U-20s and the Football Ferns.

Gruesome ankle injury ends Football Fern Nicole Stratford's Olympic dream

The three-cap international faces a minimum six-week recovery time after dislocating her right ankle while competing for the ball with another player while in camp with the Football Ferns in Auckland last week.

This story includes an image that may be upsetting.

Stratford said the ill-timed injury, which left her ankle “disfigured”, was not as bad as it looked, suffering some ligament damage but escaping without any fractures.

“It was just a freak accident really,” she said.

Football Ferns striker Hannah Wilkinson completes Sporting Lisbon move

The 27-year-old has signed a one-year contract with Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon and said there are pictures of Ronaldo everywhere she turns.

"That was one thing that kind of gives me chills every time I step into the academy because in the meeting room it's just his face and pictures of him playing at the same place you're training in right now and how he developed through the ages at that very place," she said.