New Zealand women's national football team

This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see New Zealand men's national football team.

The New Zealand women's national football team represents New Zealand in international football competitions, and is governed by New Zealand Football (NZF). They are nicknamed the Football Ferns.

New Zealand

Nickname(s)	Football Ferns[1]
Association	New Zealand Football
Confederation	OFC (Oceania)
Head coach	Michael Mayne (interim)
Captain	Ali Riley
Most caps	Ria Percival (166)
Top scorer	Amber Hearn (54)
FIFA code	NZL
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	32 (6 March 2025)[2]
Highest	16 (December 2013, July 2015 – March 2016)
Lowest	32 (December 2024)
First international
New Zealand 2–0 Hong Kong  (Hong Kong; 25 August 1975)
Biggest win
New Zealand 21–0 Samoa  (Auckland, New Zealand; 9 October 1998)
Biggest defeat
North Korea 11–0 New Zealand  (Brisbane, Australia; 24 February 2004)
World Cup
Appearances	6 (first in 1991)
Best result	Group stage (1991, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023)
Olympic Games
Appearances	5 (first in 2008)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2012)
OFC Women's Nations Cup
Appearances	11 (first in 1983)
Best result	Champions (1983, 1991, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Medal record OFC Women's Nations Cup 1983 New Caledonia 1991 Australia 2007 Papua New Guinea 2010 New Zealand 2014 Papua New Guinea Team 2018 New Caledonia Team 1989 Australia 1994 Papua New Guinea 1998 New Zealand 2003 Australia AFC Women's Championship 1975 Hong Kong CONCACAF W Championship 1993 United States

The New Zealand national team has taken part in the FIFA Women's World Cup six times, making their debut in 1991.^[3] New Zealand co-hosted the 2023 World Cup alongside Australia.^[4] They have failed to go past the group stage in all occasions.

History

The New Zealand Women's Soccer Association was founded in 1975. By invitation, the team took part in the Asian Women's Championship in 1975 and won the championship.^[5] They have since then played in the Oceanic Championship.

As Australia left the OFC, New Zealand had no serious and competitive rivals in Oceania. This made New Zealand's qualification to the World Cup and Olympics easier having contested every edition of both tournaments since 2007.

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

New Zealand co-hosted the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup along with Australia after being awarded it on 25 June 2020 as the favourites over other bidder Colombia. The Football Ferns automatically qualified as co-host. Despite winning their opening match against Norway, their first World Cup win for either a women's or men's World Cup,^[6] they suffered a shocking loss to debutants Philippines and later drew to Switzerland in their final match, and were eliminated after Norway defeated Philippines and finished above New Zealand on goal difference. This was the first time the hosts were eliminated from the group stage. They only managed to score one goal during the tournament.^[7]

Team image

The New Zealand women's national football team are also known by their nickname the "Football Ferns".^[1] Like their male counterparts, the team has traditionally worn all white kits. For the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, the Football Ferns switched to an all black first choice kit reminiscent of the New Zealand national rugby union team, as well as the country's national teams in other sports, including rugby league, field hockey, netball, basketball, volleyball, and limited overs cricket. The away kit pairs the traditional white shirts and socks with turquoise shorts.^[8]

FIFA world rankings

As of 14 July 2021^[9]

  Worst Ranking    Best Ranking    Worst Mover    Best Mover  

New Zealand's FIFA world rankings
	Rank	Year	Games Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Best		Worst
							Rank	Move	Rank	Move
	22	2021	1	0	1	0	22	0	22	0

Results and fixtures

See also: 2025 in association football, 2025 in New Zealand football, and FIFA International Match Calendar

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.^[10][11]

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixture

2024

New Zealand  v  Tonga

7 February OFC Olympic Qualifying	New Zealand	3–0	Tonga	Apia, Samoa
13:00 UTC+13	Jale 2', 16' Green 13' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: FFS Football Stadium (Field 1) Referee: Ben Aukwai (Solomon Islands)

New Zealand  v  Samoa

10 February OFC Olympic Qualifying	New Zealand	6–0	Samoa	Apia, Samoa
17:00 UTC+13	Hand 8' Taylor 16' Dade 23' (o.g.) Fraser 34' Green 60' Foster 75'	Report		Stadium: FFS Football Stadium (Field 1) Referee: David Yareboinen (Papua New Guinea)

Vanuatu  v  New Zealand

13 February OFC Olympic Qualifying	Vanuatu	0–5	New Zealand	Apia, Samoa
16:00 UTC+13		Report	Hand 12' Hassett 21' Riley 30', 43' Fraser 50'	Stadium: FFS Football Stadium (Field 2) Referee: Kavitesh Behari (Fiji)

New Zealand  v  Fiji

16 February OFC Olympic Qualifying	New Zealand	7–1	Fiji	Apia, Samoa
17:00	Riley 6', 45+6' Hand 24', 45+4' Jale 45+2', 67', 83'	Report	Nasau 90+3'	Stadium: FFS Football Stadium (Field 1) Referee: David Yareboinen (Papua New Guinea)

Solomon Islands  v  New Zealand

19 February OFC Olympic Qualifying	Solomon Islands	1–11	New Zealand	Apia, Samoa
17:00	David 55'	Report	Hand 12' Wilkinson 20', 56' Bowen 25' Jale 37', 63' Riley 45+1', 52' Kitching 70', 76' Nathan 88'	Stadium: FFS Football Stadium (Field 1) Referee: Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)

New Zealand  v  Thailand

6 April Friendly	New Zealand	4–0	Thailand	Christchurch, New Zealand
15:00 UTC+13	Wilkinson 17' Hand 64' Kitching 71', 87' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Rugby League Park Attendance: 6,031 Referee: Casey Reibelt (Australia)

New Zealand  v  Thailand

9 April Friendly	New Zealand	0–0	Thailand	Christchurch, New Zealand
19:00 UTC+12		Report		Stadium: Rugby League Park Attendance: 3,503 Referee: Rebecca Durcau (Australia)

Japan  v  New Zealand

31 May Friendly	Japan	2–0	New Zealand	Murcia, Spain
16:00 UTC+2	Tanaka 45+2' Koga 47'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina Referee: Jason Barcelo (Gibraltar)

Japan  v  New Zealand

3 June Friendly	Japan	4–1	New Zealand	Murcia, Spain
16:00 UTC+2	Hamano 49', 60' Fujino 66' Chiba 80'	Report	Clegg 22'	Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina Referee: Jason Barcelo (Gibraltar)

New Zealand  v  Zambia

13 July Friendly	New Zealand	1–1	Zambia	Vichy, France
17:00 UTC+2	Kitching 67' (pen.)	Report	Chileshe 49'	Stadium: Stade Louis Darragon Referee: Audrey Gerbel (France)

Canada  v  New Zealand

25 July Olympics GS	Canada	2–1	New Zealand	Saint-Étienne, France
17:00 UTC+2	Lacasse 45+4' Viens 79'	Report	Barry 13'	Stadium: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Attendance: 2,674[12] Referee: Tess Olofsson (Sweden)

New Zealand  v  Colombia

28 July Olympics GS	New Zealand	0–2	Colombia	Décines-Charpieu, France
17:00 UTC+2		Report	Restrepo 27' Santos 72'	Stadium: Stade de Lyon Referee: Kim Yu-jeong (South Korea)

New Zealand  v  France

31 July Olympics GS	New Zealand	1–2	France	Décines-Charpieu, France
21:00 UTC+2	Taylor 43'	Report	Katoto 22', 49'	Stadium: Stade de Lyon Referee: Edina Alves Batista (Brazil)

2025

Costa Rica  v  New Zealand

22 February Friendly	Costa Rica	1–1	New Zealand	Santa Ana, Costa Rica
17:00 UTC−6	Chinchilla 20'	Report	Riley 45+2'	Stadium: Estadio Piedades de Santa Ana Attendance: 1,550 Referee: Astrid Gramajo (Guatemala)

Costa Rica  v  New Zealand

25 February Friendly	Costa Rica	0–1	New Zealand	Alajuela, Costa Rica
19:00 UTC−6		Report	Hahn 89'	Stadium: Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto Referee: Merlin Soto (Honduras)

Chinese Taipei  v  New Zealand

5 April Friendly	Chinese Taipei	Cancelled	New Zealand	Taiwan
		Report		Attendance: 0 (Behind closed doors)
Note: The match was called off due to issues with the pitch.[13]

Chinese Taipei  v  New Zealand

8 April Friendly	Chinese Taipei	Cancelled	New Zealand	Kaohsiung, Taiwan
18:30 UTC+9		Source		Stadium: Kaohsiung Nanzih Football Stadium
Note: The match was called off due to issues with the pitch.[14]

New Zealand  v  Venezuela

31 May Friendly	New Zealand	v	Venezuela	San Pedro Alcántara, Spain
18:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Marbella Football Center

New Zealand  v  Venezuela

3 June Friendly	New Zealand	v	Venezuela	Spain
18:00 UTC+2		Report

• New Zealand Fixtures and Results – Soccerway.com

Coaching staff

See also: Category:New Zealand women's national football team managers

Current coaching staff

Position	Name
Technical director	Andrew Boyens
Head coach (interim)	Michael Mayne
Assistant coach	Natalie Lawrence

Manager history

^[15]

• Dave Farrington (1975–1979)^[16]
• Ken Armstrong (1980)^[17]
• Dave Boardman (1981–1982)
• Roy Cox (1983–1987)^[18]
• Dave Boardman (1988–1994)^[18]
• Jeff Coulshed (1994)^[19]
• Nora Watkins (1995)^[20]
• Maurice Tillotson (1995–1998)^[21]
• Douglas Moore (1999–2000)^[22]
• Sandy Davie (2001–2003)^[23]
• Fred Simpson (2003)
• Alison Grant & Wendi Henderson (2004)^[24]
• Mick Leonard (2005)^[25]
• John Herdman (2006)^[26]
• Allan Jones (2006–2007)^[27][28]
• John Herdman (2007–2011)^[29][30]
• Tony Readings (2011–2017)^[31][32]
• Andreas Heraf (2017–2018)^[33][34]
• Tom Sermanni (2018–2021)^[35][36]
• Jitka Klimková (2021–2024)^[37]
• Michael Mayne (2024–)

Players

Main article: List of New Zealand women's international footballers

See also: Category:New Zealand women's international footballers

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against  Chinese Taipei on 5 and 8 April 2025. ^[38]

Caps and goals are current as of 25 February 2025, after the match against Costa Rica . ^[39]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Victoria Esson	(1991-03-06) 6 March 1991 (age 34)	26	0	Rangers
	1GK	Claudia Jenkins	(1998-06-20) 20 June 1998 (age 26)	0	0	Adelaide United
	1GK	Alina Santos		0	0	University of Denver,
	2DF	Elizabeth Anton	(1998-12-12) 12 December 1998 (age 26)	22	0	Canberra United
	2DF	Claudia Bunge	(1999-09-21) 21 September 1999 (age 25)	33	0	Melbourne Victory
	2DF	Manaia Elliott	(2005-04-21) 21 April 2005 (age 20)	1	0	Wellington Phoenix
	2DF	Michaela Foster	(1999-01-09) 9 January 1999 (age 26)	24	1	Durham WFC
	2DF	Meikayla Moore	(1996-06-04) 4 June 1996 (age 28)	69	4	Calgary Wild
	2DF	Grace Neville	(2000-04-09) 9 April 2000 (age 25)	12	0	London City Lionesses
	2DF	Kate Taylor	(2003-10-21) 21 October 2003 (age 21)	23	2	Dijon
	3MF	Maya Hahn	(2001-02-07) 7 February 2001 (age 24)	2	1	FFC Turbine Potsdam
	3MF	Katie Kitching	(1998-11-30) 30 November 1998 (age 26)	16	5	Sunderland
	3MF	Annalie Longo	(1991-07-01) 1 July 1991 (age 33)	138	15	Wellington Phoenix
	3MF	Emma Pijnenburg	(2004-09-13) 13 September 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Feyenoord Rotterdam,
	3MF	Jana Radosavljević	(1996-11-04) 4 November 1996 (age 28)	3	0	C.S. Marítimo
	3MF	Grace Jale	(1999-04-10) 10 April 1999 (age 26)	34	9	Wellington Phoenix
	4FW	Hannah Blake	(2000-05-05) 5 May 2000 (age 25)	7	0	Adelaide United
	4FW	Kelli Brown	(2001-02-21) 21 February 2001 (age 24)	2	0	Perth Glory
	4FW	Milly Clegg	(2005-11-01) 1 November 2005 (age 19)	13	1	Racing Louisville
	4FW	Jacqui Hand	(1999-02-19) 19 February 1999 (age 26)	32	8	Sheffield United
	4FW	Ruby Nathan	(2005-10-11) 11 October 2005 (age 19)	5	1	Canberra United
	4FW	Indiah-Paige Riley	(2001-12-20) 20 December 2001 (age 23)	29	7	Crystal Palace

Recent call-ups

The following players were called up to the squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Brianna Edwards	(2003-01-27) 27 January 2003 (age 22)	1	0	Sydney FC	v.  Costa Rica, 25 February 2025
GK	Geo Candy	(2001-04-29) 29 April 2001 (age 24)	0	0	Melbourne Victory	v.  Costa Rica, 25 February 2025
GK	Anna Leat	(2001-06-26) 26 June 2001 (age 23)	22	0	Unattached	2024 Summer Olympics
GK	Murphy Sheaff ALT	(2003-09-12) 12 September 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Jacksonville Dolphins	2024 Summer Olympics
DF	Mackenzie Barry	(2001-04-11) 11 April 2001 (age 24)	20	1	Wellington Phoenix	v.  Costa Rica, 25 February 2025
DF	Ali Riley INJ	(1987-10-30) 30 October 1987 (age 37)	163	2	Angel City	2024 Summer Olympics
DF	Katie Bowen	(1994-04-15) 15 April 1994 (age 31)	113	4	Inter Milan	2024 Summer Olympics
DF	Rebekah Stott	(1993-06-17) 17 June 1993 (age 31)	106	4	Melbourne City	2024 Summer Olympics
DF	CJ Bott	(1995-04-22) 22 April 1995 (age 30)	50	3	Leicester City	2024 Summer Olympics
DF	Ally Green	(1998-08-17) 17 August 1998 (age 26)	17	2	AGF	2024 Summer Olympics
MF	Macey Fraser	(2002-07-11) 11 July 2002 (age 22)	8	2	Utah Royals	v.  Costa Rica, 25 February 2025
MF	Malia Steinmetz	(1999-01-18) 18 January 1999 (age 26)	35	0	Nordsjælland	2024 Summer Olympics
MF	Daisy Cleverley	(1997-04-30) 30 April 1997 (age 28)	39	2	HB Køge	v.  Japan, 3 June 2024
FW	Gabi Rennie	(2001-07-07) 7 July 2001 (age 23)	40	2	Åland United	2024 Summer Olympics
FW	Hannah Wilkinson	(1992-05-28) 28 May 1992 (age 32)	125	32	Melbourne City	v.  Japan, 3 June 2024
FW	Paige Satchell	(1998-04-13) 13 April 1998 (age 27)	49	2	London City Lionesses	v.  Thailand, 9 April 2024
Notes ALT = Alternate INJ = Withdrew due to injury PRE = Preliminary squad / on stand-by PER = Withdrew due to personal reasons RET = Retired from national team TOP = Train-on player UNV = Made themselves unavailable for selection

Captains

^[40]

• Ali Riley – 50 matches (2017– ) †
• Abby Erceg – 49 matches (2013–2017)
• Rebecca Smith – 45 matches (2003–2007, 2011–2012)
• Hayley Moorwood – 43 matches (2007–2011)
• Barbara Cox – 19 matches (1975,1984–1987)
• Terry McCahill – 14 matches (1995–1998)
• Marilyn Marshall – 12 matches (?)
• Wendi Henderson – 9 matches (2000, 2006–2007)
• Maureen Jacobson – 9 matches (2005–2006)
• Ali Grant – 6 matches (1981–1983)
• Ria Percival – 6 matches (2017, 2019, 2023– ) †
• Leslie King – 5 matches (1991)
• Viv Robertson – 5 matches (1998–1991)
• Rebekah Stott - 7 matches

†Current New Zealand co-captain

Records

Main article: List of New Zealand women's international footballers

See also: Category:New Zealand women's international footballers

Bold players are still active.

Statistics as of 19 February 2024.^[40]

Ria Percival is the most capped player

Amber Hearn is the all-time top scorer

Most capped players

#	Player	Years	Caps	Goals
1	Ria Percival	2006–	166	15
2	Ali Riley	2007–	159	2
3	Betsy Hassett	2008–	157	16
4	Abby Erceg	2006–2022	146	6
5	Annalie Longo	2006–2025	133	15
6	Amber Hearn	2004–2018	125	54
7	Katie Duncan	2006–2019	124	1
8	Hannah Wilkinson	2010–	122	31
9	Rosie White	2009–2021	111	24
10	Katie Bowen	2011–	105	4

Top goalscorers

#	Player	Years	Goals	Caps
1	Amber Hearn (list)	2004–2018	54	125
2	Wendy Sharpe	1980–1995	34	51
	Sarah Gregorius	2010–2020	34	100
4	Hannah Wilkinson	2010–	31	122
5	Rosie White	2009–2021	24	111
6	Maureen Jacobson	1979–1996	17	53
	Wendi Henderson	1987–2007	17	64
8	Betsy Hassett	2008–	16	157
9	Pernille Andersen	1998	15	7
	Annalie Longo	2006–2025	15	133
	Ria Percival	2006–	15	166

Honours

Major competitions

• OFC Women's Nations Cup

Champions (6): 1983, 1991, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2018

Runners-up (4): 1989, 1994, 1998, 2003

• AFC Women's Championship

Champions: 1975

• CONCACAF W Championship

Runners-up (1): 1993

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

Main article: New Zealand at the FIFA Women's World Cup

New Zealand's FIFA Women's World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad		Outcome	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	Group stage	11th	3	0	0	3	1	11	Squad		Via OFC Women's Nations Cup
1995	Did not qualify
1999
2003
2007	Group stage	14th	3	0	0	3	0	9	Squad
2011		12th	3	0	1	2	4	6	Squad
2015		19th	3	0	2	1	2	3	Squad
2019		20th	3	0	0	3	1	5	Squad
2023		20th	3	1	1	1	1	1	Squad		Qualified as co-hosts
2027	To be determined										To be determined
2031
2035
Total	Group stage	6/9	18	1	4	13	9	35				32	28	0	4	252	9

FIFA Women's World Cup history
Year	Host	Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Stadium
1991	China	Group stage	17 November	Denmark	L 0–3	Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou
			19 November	Norway	L 0–4	Guangdong Provincial Stadium, Guangzhou
			21 November	China	L 1–4	New Plaza Stadium, Foshan
2007	China	Group stage	12 September	Brazil	L 0–5	Wuhan Stadium, Wuhan
			15 September	Denmark	L 0–2
			20 September	China	L 0–2	Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium, Tianjin
2011	Germany	Group stage	27 June	Japan	L 1–2	Ruhrstadion, Bochum
			1 July	England	L 1–2	Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, Dresden
			5 July	Mexico	D 2–2	Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim
2015	Canada	Group stage	6 June	Netherlands	L 0–1	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton
			11 June	Canada	D 0–0
			15 June	China	D 2–2	Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg
2019	France	Group stage	11 June	Netherlands	L 0–1	Stade Océane, Le Havre
			15 June	Canada	L 0–2	Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
			20 June	Cameroon	L 1–2	Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier
2023	Australia  New Zealand	Group stage	20 July	Norway	W 1–0	Eden Park, Auckland
			25 July	Philippines	L 0–1	Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
			30 July	Switzerland	D 0–0	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

Olympic Games

Main article: Football at the Summer Olympics

Further information: OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament

Summer Olympics record
Year	Host	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Squad
1996	United States	Did not qualify
2000	Australia
2004	Greece	Did not enter
2008	China	Group stage	10th	3	0	1	2	2	7	−5	Squad
2012	United Kingdom	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	0	3	3	5	−2	Squad
2016	Brazil	Group stage	9th	3	1	0	2	1	5	−4	Squad
2020	Japan	Group stage	12th	3	0	0	3	2	10	−8	Squad
2024	France	Group stage	10th	3	0	0	3	2	6	−4	Squad
Total		Quarter-finals	5/8	16	2	1	13	10	33	−23

OFC Women's Nations Cup

OFC Women's Nations Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1983	Champions	1st	4	3	1	0	24	3
1986	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2	3	3
1989	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1	10	1
1991	Champions	1st	4	3	0	1	28	1
1994	Runners-up	2nd	4	3	0	1	10	2
1998	Runners-up	2nd	4	3	0	1	41	3
2003	Runners-up	2nd	4	3	0	1	29	2
2007	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	21	1
2010	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	50	0
2014	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	30	0
2018	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	43	0
2022	Did not enter
2025
Total	6 titles	11/13	45	37	1	7	289	16

AFC Women's Asian Cup

AFC Women's Asian Cup record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
Invitee
1975	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	11	3
Total	1 title	1/1	4	4	0	0	11	3

Algarve Cup

The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and longest-running women's international football events and has been nicknamed the "Mini FIFA Women's World Cup".^[41]

Algarve Cup record
Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA	GD
2016	4th place	4	1	2	1	2	2	0
2020	4th place	3	0	1	2	2	6	−4
Total	2/28	7	1	3	3	4	8	−4

SheBelieves Cup

The SheBelieves Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer hosted in the United States.

SheBelieves Cup record
Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA	GD
2022	4th	3	0	1	2	0	6	−6
Total	1/10	3	0	1	2	0	6	−6

See also

• Oceania portal
• New Zealand portal
• Sports portal
• Association football portal
• Women's association football portal

• Sport in New Zealand
  • Football in New Zealand
    • Women's football in New Zealand
• New Zealand women's national football team
  • New Zealand women's national football team results
  • List of New Zealand women's international footballers
• New Zealand women's national under-20 football team
• New Zealand women's national under-17 football team