She was speaking in the wake of an 11-0 win over Tonga that had secured a continental clean sweep for the Kiwis, but Green’s thoughts were not on her side’s continued regional dominance. Instead, the 19-year-old’s mind wandered back to their last appearance at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, when a heartbreaking last-second equaliser against England denied New Zealand an historic quarter-final berth.
Erasing that painful memory is now the goal of a player who, along with her fellow Chile 2008 survivors and a fresh crop of U-20 stars, forms a generation of Kiwi women tipped to scale unprecedented heights. As Green said: “There’s unfinished business there. We’ve got the potential to qualify for the knockout stages, and hopefully we can prove that come July.”
The jewel in New Zealand’s crown is Rosie White, and the 16-year-old showed again at the OFC U-20 Women’s Championship why she is considered to be one of the players to watch at Germany 2010. A five-goal haul in the Junior Ferns’ emphatic deciding win over Tonga took White’s tally to nine in three games, and ensured the youngster walked away with an awards double as the tournament’s top scorer and best player.
source:http://www.fifa.com/u20womensworldcup
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