New Zealand captain Ali Riley: Women’s World Cup ‘money should be life-changing for players’
In The Journey to the Cup , The Athletic tells the stories of players and teams as they work towards a place in the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Follow along as we track their progress as they prepare both mentally and physically for a chance to shine on the game’s biggest stage.
“Exhaaauuusssteeed,” said Ali Riley. She was calling the day after Angel City FC felt three points slip through their fingers on an away trip against the Portland Thorns. Their hard-fought 3-2 lead evaporated in the seventh minute of stoppage as Thorns goalkeeper Bella Bixby went up on a corner and, well-
There’s not really much else to say after losing road points at almost the last second on a wildly improbable event like a goalkeeper back-heel.
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“The NWSL was NWSL-ing, that’s for sure,” Riley said.
At this point, there were roughly 80 days left until the World Cup. Putting a number on it made everything seem to come into very sharp focus for ACFC’s captain and feel much, much closer.
“100 days goes by so fast,” Riley opined.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for New Zealand’s Football Ferns in their last few months of preparation. They’ve racked up some tough losses through February and April, including their most recent, a 0-3 loss to Nigeria. Their best result this year is a 1-1 tie against Iceland. Only a year ago they came within a hair’s breadth of defeating longtime rival Australia in a 2-1 friendly, sunk by two stoppage time goals, followed by mixed results — including a 1-0 win over Mexico and close results with South Korea.
“We’re not all going to be together again until right before the tournament starts, and that can be scary,” Riley said. She was frank about where they had left things. “I think we are still struggling with
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