The Fiji women’s football team had a solid build up to the OFC Women’s Nations Cup, featuring in three international friendlies against Mauri (Māori women’s national team), and two matches against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby.

The tournament will be from July 4-19.

Dubbed the Fiji Kula, head coach Angeline Chua says these matches have been important for the team’s preparation as they eye a potential spot in the FIFA World Cup 2027.

The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil will see the winner of the Oceania qualifiers which start at the end of the year, earn direct entry to the global showpiece while the runner up will advance to the intercontinental playoffs.

The OFC Women’s Nations Cup will count towards the FIFA rankings, which will impact the seedings for the draw for the World Cup qualifiers.

“That was a very good starting point for us,” Chua told OFC Media.

The matches, played during the FIFA international window were an valuable opportunity for the Kula to test their might.

“Those international friendlies were extremely important for us.”

With OFC guaranteed 1.5 spots at the FIFA World Cup, Chua said her players are determined to claim the half-spot playoff position.

“We’re going to take it one game at a time, and we’ll try our best to top the group and then go into the semi-finals.”

Fiji enters the tournament with confidence drawn from strong performances in recent years.

As host nation and runners-up in the 2022 Women’s Nations Cup, Fiji showed their quality with a memorable run to the final, defeating Solomon Islands and Samoa in the knockout stages before narrowly falling 2-1 to PNG in the decider.

More recently at the 2024 OFC Women’s Olympic Qualifiers in Samoa, Fiji underlined their competitiveness on the regional stage, making it to the semi-finals. Despite a spirited campaign, they were knocked out by eventual champions New Zealand, in a match that provided valuable experience for a squad looking to bridge the gap to the top.

Now drawn into Group A, the hosts will face Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu, and are eager to go one better than their 2022 performance, by lifting the trophy on home soil.

“We know Fiji likes to win, so of course, winning the trophy is on our mind.” said Chua.

The Kula welcome several overseas players, including fan-favorite Trina Davis, who joins from the United States, and star striker Cema Nasau, returning from Eastern Suburbs FC in Auckland.

Also joining the squad are Papua New Guinea-based Litia Bakaniceva and Maria Veronica, who featured in the OFC Women’s Champions League with tournament finalists Hekari Women’s FC.

Feedback: leonec@fijisun.com.fj