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FIFA Women’s World Cup: Football Ferns v Switzerland; Where: Dunedin Stadium; When: Sunday, 7pm; Coverage: Live on Sky Sport 1, Prime, Stuff; live updates on Stuff
Switzerland coach Inka Grings and captain Lia Wälti are projecting a quiet air of confidence before they face the Football Ferns in their enormous Group A clash at a sold-out Dunedin Stadium.
The Swiss currently sit at the top of the group on goal difference, but that could change in a flash on Sunday with Norway and the Philippines kicking off at the same time as the Football Ferns-Switzerland game.
A passionate Dunedin crowd – not to mention New Zealanders glued to screens up and down the country – will be urging the Football Ferns to create history, but Grings said her side had spotted “opportunities” to exploit.
“New Zealand has undergone great development in the past 12 months,” Grings said on Saturday.
“We’ve watched a lot of games and you can see that the team is coming together more and more.
“They are quite aggressive and quite offensive, but we also saw which opportunities well have in their game.
“We are well prepared and have the self-confidence to concentrate on our game.
“We’ll know what to expect. We are looking forward to this game as it’s a unique event to play against the co-host.
Stuff
FIFA Women’s World Cup, Football Ferns v Switzerland.
“We are first in the group, and we want to stay in this position.”
Wälti, who said that Switzerland’s World Cup base in Dunedin was starting to “feel like home”, echoed those thoughts.
“I’m generally quiet and calm,” said Wälti when asked about her pre-match preparation.
”I think the excitement rises a bit now. It will be a great atmosphere playing against the co-host. We have prepared well. Of course there is a bit of nervousness, and that’s healthy.
“[But] I think we are well prepared.
“It’s a highlight of our careers, and we’ll try to just enjoy that and obviously perform in the best possible way to show everybody that we can play football.
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Swizterland captain Lia Wälti says her side is ready for the occasion at Dunedin Stadium on Sunday.
“But it’s very exciting and I think we’re all looking forward to the game.”
Switzerland’s confidence stems from the fact that many of their players are familiar with big occasions and pressure, given they play at European clubs.
However, Wälti also acknowledged that the Football Ferns’ first-game win against Norway showed that the home crowd could elevate the co-hosts to new heights.
“We’ve seen that game,” she said. “A surprise? I don’t know if that’s the right word.
“I think we already knew what New Zealand is capable of. But we watched that game and could see how much support could actually change the performance of the team.
“I think New Zealand fully deserved that win. I think we need to expect that tomorrow, that we’ll play against a very physical opponent with good strength in their counterattacking game and speed in the final third.
“I think we need to be aware of that.”
The permutations heading into Sunday’s games are extensive, but Grings – a German with a dry sense of humour – said she wasn’t going to waste her time by agonising about what was happening in the Norway-Philippines match.
“I think we’ll do well just concentrating on our match,” she said. “We can’t focus on the other match. We can’t influence it.
“Of course we’ve played a bit with the umbers and the calculations. But we should just rely on our strengths.”
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