Yipe undeserving for the moment. Whoever wins OFC qualifying will only do it by default in NZ's absence.
on that argument you could say that NZ only qualify because Australai decamped to Asia
Maybe we should move a number of OFC women's teams into say the AFC, so American Samoa can qualify for WWC out of OFC. That would be a great feelgood story.
Your rationale that the only way the Islands Women's teams, are going to get better is by playing the big nations at a WWC, is seriously flawed. For sure playing better quality teams is part of the journey, to improving standards. But getting a serious of large hidings, and just learning various ways to park the bus - can also be detrimental long term.
Ben Sigmund I remember talked about being with the New Zealand U-17 team that was at the U-17 World Cup in 1997. He said it was a disaster, they lost all three games, conceding 22 goals, which included a 13-0 hiding from Spain.
The way he told the story, was that he learnt squat, the team mostly felt embarrassed/humiliated with some serious mental scars. I think a few of the boys even gave up football, when they returned home.
Much greater progress will be made by FIFA investment in quality programmes in the Islands (bleeding obvious), and getting a number of girls scholarships to Weenix Academy (esp if W League gets up and going), and/or Ole.
And yeah if a Nix W League team signed some senior Island players that would also be a massive boost.
To me a fair qualifying path for 2023 WWC would be a 0.5 spot to OFC, with a two legged playoff against a 0.5 spot team from women's AFC. Then if PNG, Fiji or whoever are good enough they'll make it.
This
Completely agree with this. I was in France for the last WWC and I watched lots of games including a few live. What was obvious was the spread in quality between the top and bottom teams. Much more so than the men’s WC. There were only 24 teams in France and the consen after was that they were really struggling to fill the roster with teams that would not be a disaster. The Thai team were totally outclassed. Their trashing by the USA was humiliating. The spin after was that it was good for their development but the local media reported the Thai team were in tears after the match and distraught about how their embarrassing performance would be perceived back home.
Expanding the WWC to 32 teams is stupid IMO. It has nothing to do with development but is driven by FIFA wanting $$$ in TV, sponsorship etc. FIFA have suddenly realized that women’s football globally is a big deal and can be milked for more cash. If FIFA want to expand the womens game then they should pour much more money into coaching, facilities and more matches for women. If you want to have 32 teams at the WWC they should have a pool for the bottom 10 teams who play amongst themselves and have their own final. Teams ranked 24 to 32 will be butchered at the next WWC. Expect scores of 15+ goals. It will seriously undermine the credibility of the tournament.