One of New Zealand’s most respected Football Ferns Abby Erceg has weighed in on what she thinks is causing the Fern’s recent lack of results.
Erceg made over 100 appearances for New Zealand and opened up about what drove her away from playing at the highest level.
“We're not where we need to be and we are not where we should be. We haven't progressed in a number of years, we're not winning games, this is a tough environment for me to be in and to invest my time into if people aren't going to take it as seriously as they should,” Erceg told 1News.
Erceg’s comments come off the back of Jitka Klimkova unveiling her squad to travel to Samoa this weekend for the Olympic qualifiers.
"Each player is different and we are not going to make everybody happy. I really believe in this team and how the team is progressing," said Klimkova.
Erceg wasn’t enticed by last year’s home World Cup to come out of retirement.
“You just get to a point where you have to decide where you’re going to invest your time, if you're going to come back to an environment where the same mistakes are happening, the same behaviours are happening and the same results are happening because of it, it’s tough," said Erceg.
The Football Ferns won their opening match against Norway but then slumped to a 1-0 defeat against the Philippines and a goalless draw against Switzerland knocked them out in the pool stage.
The Football Ferns have won just three matches after Erceg retired in 2022 and have won five with Klimkova in charge.
However, Erceg thinks the players in Klimkova’s squad aren’t doing everything they can to help improve the national team’s form.
The Football Ferns most recently came away winless and goalless in two matches against 23rd in the world Colombia last December.
Klimkova's side are currently 30th in FIFA’s world rankings.
"New Zealand is going to fall behind if we can't keep up even on a fitness level, let alone a tactical, technical level. It's going to be very difficult for us to maintain any type of performance."
The Ferns will face Tonga in their opening game of the OFC Women’s Olympic Qualifier tournament on February 7.
SHARE ME