Football Ferns have a hard act to follow at home in New Zealand in the Women's World Cup

Mon, Jul 3, 2023
Soccer News (AP)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand's youthful Football Ferns face an almost impossible mission as co-hosts of the Women's World Cup - ranked 26th in the world and without a win in its last 10 matches.

Tougher still, it has a hard act to follow.

The Ferns' rugby counterparts, the Black Ferns, won the Women's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand last year. In the final, which was played at Eden Park in Auckland in front of the largest crowd for a women's rugby match, the Black Ferns beat an England team which had set a world record for most consecutive wins.

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In a country where rugby rules as the national sport, New Zealanders were captivated by the Black Ferns, who entered the tournament as substantial underdogs. Players became local celebrities and won new ground for women's sports in New Zealand.

The Football Ferns face their soccer World Cup in the shadow of that campaign, with heightened expectations and in front of a public hungry for more international success. They are much greater underdogs than the Black Ferns; in six World Cups they have never won a match.