New Zealand: Five players to watch

Who will the co-hosts be looking to as they chase a maiden Women's World Cup win? We highlight a few key figures.

While Australia’s quest will be spearheaded by a striker supreme in Sam Kerr, their fellow Fifa Women’s World Cup™ hosts do not have the luxury of such global superstars.

Although New Zealand’s squad is largely made up of lesser-known names at lower-profile clubs, several of those players are well capable of boosting their status by rising to this once-in-a-lifetime occasion.

Better still, some of the fitness concerns around these Football Ferns look to be lifting as the team chase knockout-stage football – and a first-ever Women’s World Cup win – on home soil.

Here, we highlight five players whose form and fortunes at this historic global showpiece will be crucial to the co-hosts’ prospects.

Olivia Chance

Position: Midfielder/winger
Date of birth: 5 October 1993

In a team that can sometimes lack in attacking invention, Chance has emerged as a key creator. When New Zealand ended last year with a 2-0 win in Korea Republic, it was the Celtic star who laid on both goals.

Whether in a midfield role or as a more orthodox winger, Chance’s technique and game intelligence have made her one of the first names on Jitka Klimkova’s team-sheet. She also looks to have shaken off a worrying knee injury picked up in an April friendly against Iceland, so should be fit and firing by the time New Zealand kick off the Women’s World Cup on 20 July.

Nobody can question Chance’s commitment. A recent FifPro study established that, between August 2022 and April 2023, she had travelled further than any other player in the world to represent her national team, clocking up more than 145 000 km across 12 trips between August and March alone.

Ria Percival

Position: Midfielder
Date of birth: 7 December 1989

Percival is another player who, much to Klimkova’s relief, looks to be returning to fitness at just the right time.

The most-capped player in New Zealand’s history spent more than a year on the sidelines, after sustaining a serious knee injury while making her 160th international appearance last April. Percival, however, recently made a successful comeback for her English club side, Tottenham Hotspur, and seems sure to bring her experience, athleticism and tactical acumen to the heart of New Zealand’s midfield.

With over a decade of top-level football in Europe under her belt, the 33-year-old will be one of the players the younger Football Ferns look to for guidance.

Ali Riley

Position: Defender
Date of birth: 30 October 1997

Leading by example will also be expected of the player who will wear the armband for the history-chasing co-hosts.

Riley, who will turn 36 in October, is not merely influential due to her role as captain. The vastly experienced defender – a veteran of four Women’s World Cups and as many Olympics – is still operating and excelling at the game’s elite level with her club, Angel City.

Riley’s game understanding, composure in possession and effervescent personality will be essential ingredients if Klimkova’s vision of a front-foot Ferns team is to bear fruit.

Rebekah Stott

Position: Defender
Date of birth: 17 June 1993

Though she is not a flashy or spectacular operator, few players will gather as much global support as this Kiwi stalwart. Stott’s mere involvement is, after all, something of a fairy tale after she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2021 and spent months in chemotherapy, fighting for her life.

The big centre-back, who has experience playing in Australia, England, Germany, Norway and the USA, is now back in Europe with Brighton – her employers at the time of that cancer diagnosis.

Stott admitted that this World Cup proved a huge source of motivation during her treatment and recovery, and no-one would begrudge her a starring role in front of her friends, family and fellow New Zealanders.

Hannah Wilkinson

Position: Striker
Date of birth: 28 May 1992

Scoring goals has been a recurring problem for this Football Ferns team but it was no surprise that, when they ended a worrying six-game drought in April, it was Wilkinson who provided the finishing touch.

The Melbourne City striker is closing in fast on 30 international goals and is, by some distance, the highest scorer of New Zealand’s current crop.

If the co-hosts are to find the goals that will propel them to the wins and last-16 spot they’re chasing, it’s a safe bet that their 31-year-old spearhead will be among them.