New Zealand Head Coach, Alana Gunn has expressed confidence about her team’s chances at this year’s FIFA U-17 women’s World Cup in Dominican Republic.
New Zealand will begin their campaign at this year’s tournament against Nigeria’s Flamingos, on Thursday, October 17.
Gunn will be parading the bulk of the players who were part of New Zealand team that won the 2023 OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) U-16 Women’s Championship.
Speaking ahead of the game against Nigeria, Gunn told www.nzfootball.co.nz:“It is going to be a privilege to lead the team at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and I’m really pleased with the squad we have assembled after a competitive selection process.
“Having a number of the squad be part of the group for the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2024 last month has been good preparation for us, so we are looking to continue building on that momentum and challenging ourselves at the highest level.
“We know Aotearoa New Zealand has obviously done great things at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup so we want this generation to take inspiration from that success and we look to proudly represent the country in Dominican Republic.”
After taking on Nigeria in their opener, New Zealand will face hosts Dominican Republic on 20 October, and Ecuador on 23 October.
New Zealand’s best performance at the U-17 women’s World Cup was a third place finish in 2018.
Nigeria’s Flamingos also finished third at the 2022 edition in India.
