Football Ferns to face Mexico, USA named
- Dave Worsley
- Oct 7
- 3 min read
The Football Ferns squad to play games against Mexico and Olympic champions the United States this month has been confirmed.
Twenty-four players have been named for the tour, with five changes from the side selected for the previous international window which saw the team record a win and a loss against Venezuela.
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Joining the squad are Durham FC’s Hannah Blake, Wellington Phoenix’s CJ Bott, Inter Milan’s Katie Bowen, Eskilstuna United DFF’s Gabi Rennie, and Crystal Palace’s Indiah-Paige Riley,
New Zealand head coach Michael Mayne said he is aiming to build further depth in the squad.
“These are three challenging and exciting games, and we’ve selected a strong squad to continue building on what we’ve started this year,” said Mayne.
“As we prepare for FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying in 2026, we always wanted to use the first half of the year to give opportunities to a wide range of players and to implement our new ways of working on and off the pitch.
“These games give us the chance to further develop that work, while also providing opportunities for other players to ensure we’re in the best possible position to perform when qualifying comes around.
“This window will be challenging and will put our work this year to the test to see what we’ve built so far, where the next opportunities lie, and where some of the gaps remain.
“It’s been a valuable period since the last international games, connecting with the wider squad about what we have coming up. There was real excitement from all of the players to be involved, and for those selected, I know they’re really looking forward to the opportunity to test ourselves in Mexico and the USA.”
Mexico has a FIFA ranking of 29 and the United States are ranked second. New Zealand are 33rd.
The two most experienced players in the squad are Annalie Longo with 140 appearances and Katie Bowen at 113 matches. Goalkeeper Alina Santas who is at the Univeristy of Denver is yet to take the field for the Ferns.
The first match against Mexico will be played on Friday 24 October at 3pm NZT (Thursday 23 October at 8pm local time) at Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes in Mexico City.
Three days later, the two sides will meet again on Monday 27 October at 12pm NZT (Sunday 26 October at 5pm local time) at Estadio Olímpico Benito Juárez in Ciudad Juárez.
New Zealand then travel to Missouri to take on the USA on Thursday 30 October at 1pm NZT (Wednesday 29 October at 7pm local time) at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City.
The full 24-player squad is:
Liz Anton, Kolbotn IL, Norway
Mackenzie Barry, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Hannah Blake, Durham FC, England
CJ Bott, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Katie Bowen, Inter Milan, Italy
Kelli Brown, Newcastle Jets, Australia
Claudia Bunge, Melbourne Victory, Australia
Milly Clegg, Halifax Tides FC, Canada
Manaia Elliott, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Victoria Esson, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Michaela Foster, Durham FC, England
Maya Hahn, FC Viktoria Berlin, Germany
Jacqui Hand, Kolbotn IL, Norway
Deven Jackson, Melbourne City, Australia
Katie Kitching, Sunderland AFC, England
Annalie Longo, Auckland United, New Zealand
Meikayla Moore, Calgary Wild FC, Canada
Grace Neville, Ipswich Town, England
Emma Pijnenburg, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Netherlands
Gabi Rennie, Eskilstuna United DFF, Sweden
Indiah-Paige Riley, Crystal Palace, England
Alina Santos, University of Denver, USA
Kate Taylor, Dijon FCO, France
Grace Wisnewski, FC Nordsjælland, Denmark
