'We are going to be aggressive' - Football Ferns ready for do-or-die World Cup showdown

June 15, 2019

CJ Bott and Sarah Gregorius say the team knows they can rally from the defeat for their next two games.

The Football Ferns are ready to give everything to keep their World Cup campaign alive, taking on Canada in a must-not-lose encounter in Grenoble.

Opening their tournament with a heart-breaking 1-0 defeat to the Netherlands , the Ferns are facing a do-or-die scenario against a Canadian side yet to taste defeat in 2019.

Coach Tom Sermanni though, is confident his side can pick up a first ever World Cup win for a senior Kiwi side.

"The mood has been pretty positive," Sermanni says.

"There is obviously that lingering disappointment from the Holland game but this team gets back on its feet very quickly. The players are upbeat.

Tom Sermanni wasn’t buying in to talk of his team getting a free pass to the World Cup.

"The training sessions in the last couple of days have had good energy, high tempo, everyone in a good frame of mind and I am pretty confident that can continue."

Captain Ali Riley echoed her coach's sentiment, saying that her side aren't going to die wondering.

"That is something that we want to be known for and recognised as a team that is not going to back down from any challenge," Riley said.

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"We are going to be aggressive in the press and we will be going into tackles, but we will also be smart. We are finding that balance of being tough and aggressive, but being smart about it too."

The Football Ferns have beaten Canada just once in 11 encounters, coming back in 1987. The two sides also played each other in the 2015 World Cup, ending in a scoreless draw in Edmonton.

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