Football Ferns seeking 'all available options'

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Author: RNZ,
Publish Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2026, 3:53pm

The matches will be played in Panama City on October 11 and 14. Photo / Photosport

By RNZ Sport reporters

Two uncapped players have been called up for the Football Ferns’ two-match series against Panama next month.

Midfielder Daisy Brazendale joins after representing New Zealand at the Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup, where she captained the side in all three games in Poland.

Helena Errington, who plays as a midfielder for Iceland club side FH Hafnarfjordur, has also been called up after playing for New Zealand at U17 and U20 level.

Ferns coach Michael Mayne said as the countdown continued to the Fifa Women’s World Cup next year in Brazil, he wanted to ensure he looked at “all of the available options” when it came to putting together a squad.

“The squad selection for these two matches comes at a time where opportunities are there for players to be revisited due to timing of seasons and some players not [being] quite ready for an international window right now,” Mayne said.

“Exposing the squad to the environment and playing in South America will again be great to see how the players have prepared to perform in the climate we will face in Brazil.

“After a three-month break in the Fifa calendar, which has allowed us to review and identify our priorities leading into the tournament, matches will come thick and fast from this point on, so we need to make sure we shift the focus towards the priorities that will allow us to be best prepared for the step up in challenge in Brazil.

“We will go into the next four available windows, ahead of naming our squad for Brazil in May, clear as a group on the direction we will go and how we will be ready to tackle the challenge at the tournament connected, clear and prepared to execute as a team.”

The Football Ferns will face Panama on Sunday, October 11 (kickoff 10am) and Wednesday, October 14 (1.30pm), with both fixtures at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez Gutierrez in Panama City.