Seven Ninja A-League stars have been selected by New Zealand for a two-game international series with trans-Tasman rivals the CommBank Matildas.
Wellington Phoenix trio CJ Bott, Victoria Esson and Lara Wall headline the Football Ferns’ 24-player squad set to meet the Matildas in a pair of matches in Australia on November 28 (Central Coast) and December 2 (Adelaide).
GET TICKETS TO ROUND 3 THIS WEEKEND!
Phoenix captain Bott and Newcastle’s Anna Leat return to the team, while Wellington’s Wall has been formally named for the first time after joining as an injury replacement last month.
The seven Ninja A-League players picked for Football Ferns duty:
Melbourne City: Deven Jackson
Melbourne Victory: Claudia Bunge
Newcastle Jets: Anna Leat, Kelli Brown
Wellington Phoenix: CJ Bott, Victoria Esson, Lara Wall
DUB ZONE TALKING POINTS: This moment will send the ‘Nix global & saluting a legend’s milestone
“Following our challenging but purposeful matches against Mexico and the USA, which, in many ways, showed the team exactly what we needed to see at this point in our campaign, it’s good to quickly have another strong test against Australia,” said New Zealand head coach Michael Mayne.
“This continues our strategy of facing sides we know we must compete against, and beat, if we want to achieve our ultimate goal of qualifying for, and progressing from our group at, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027.
“We’ve spent the past six months putting together a campaign plan we believe will put us in the best position to finish 2025 with a clear understanding of the strengths and potential within our wider squad, and move into the new year focused on cohesion and refining our team ahead of qualifying in early 2026.
“It was important for me to bring some fresh faces back into this camp and continue providing opportunities to players who deserve a recall and may bring new and welcomed competition for places.
“With players like Liv Chance, Grace Wisnewski and Anna Leat performing well in recent club matches, as well as CJ Bott returning to the pitch, they’re all players I’m pleased to welcome back for these important games.
“I also want to congratulate Lara Wall on being formally named for the first time, after impressing as an injury replacement to earn her spot.
“I think it reinforces the importance of being ready to take opportunities when they arise, and shows that I’m open to bringing in new energy going forward.
“I appreciate there are players not selected for this tour who want that opportunity, which is only healthy for our future in this campaign.
“We’ve made good progress this year, but were tested significantly on the last tour, so our job now is to continue that work in Australia, take all the positives we can from those performances, and get back to work quickly.”
New Zealand’s squad to face the CommBank Matildas
Liz Anton (24 caps/0 goals) Kolbotn IL, Norway
CJ Bott (50/3) Wellington Phoenix FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Kelli Brown (7/0) Newcastle Jets, Australia
Claudia Bunge (36/0) Melbourne Victory, Australia
Olivia Chance (47/2) Kolbotn IL, Norway
Milly Clegg (18/2) Halifax Tides FC, Canada
Victoria Esson (31/0) Wellington Phoenix FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Michaela Foster (28/1) Durham FC, England
Ally Green (18/2) Calgary Wild FC, Canada
Maya Hahn (6/1) FC Viktoria Berlin, Germany
Jacqui Hand (37/9) Kolbotn IL, Norway
Betsy Hassett (159/115) Stjarnan FC, Iceland
Deven Jackson (5/0) Melbourne City, Australia
Katie Kitching (21/6) Sunderland AFC, England
Anna Leat (22/0) Newcastle Jets, Australia
Annalie Longo (142/15) Auckland United, Aotearoa New Zealand
Meikayla Moore (73/4) Calgary Wild FC, Canada
Emma Pijnenburg (6/0) Feyenoord Rotterdam, Netherlands
Gabi Rennie (43/2) Eskilstuna United DFF, Sweden
Indiah-Paige Riley (32/3) Crystal Palace, England
Alina Santos (0/0) University of Denver, USA
Kate Taylor (28/2) Dijon FCO, France
Lara Wall (1/0) Wellington Phoenix FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Grace Wisnewski (3/0) FC Nordsjælland, Denmark
