(Reuters) – New Zealand Women’s head coach Jitka Klimkova will review the team’s performance and reflect on her decisions after the team lost all three friendlies this month in their preparation for the World Cup, she said on Friday.
New Zealand, who will co-host the World Cup with neighbours Australia from July 20 to Aug. 20, suffered a 5-0 hammering by Portugal last week before losing 2-0 and 1-0 to Argentina this week.
The defeats extended New Zealand’s winless run to eight games, with the team last winning against the Philippines in a friendly in September 2022. They have also not scored in their last five games.
“I really will review everything. I will reflect on our decisions. I will reflect on what has happened and look forward to the next tour,” Klimkova told reporters.
“When we were talking about what we need to do during these five months, we need to now use every day for our preparation. It’s not just about the tours, it’s not about being at good clubs and playing games in the clubs.
“We have to do much more and it’s a lot of work that we need to add to what we have done prior because as you can see, the outcomes didn’t go our way.”
New Zealand are in Group A at the World Cup with Norway, the Philippines and Switzerland.
The Football Ferns have played at the World Cup five times, having never advanced beyond the group stage.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)
