New Zealand Coach Gunn Looks to Learn from Opening Loss
New Zealand U-17 Women’s coach Alana Gunn reflected on her team’s tough opening match against Nigeria in the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. The Young Football Ferns fell 4-1 to the Flamingos on Wednesday night.
Despite the heavy defeat, Gunn found a positive in Hannah Saxon’s goal on the hour mark. “A goal is massive for us,” she stated to FIFA.com. “It’s an awesome achievement from the team and especially for Hannah, she’ll remember that type of moment forever.”
New Zealand conceded three goals in the first 28 minutes and another shortly after halftime, making it difficult to recover.
Gunn and her team will now analyze the loss and look to bounce back in their next group stage match against the host nation, Dominican Republic.