With all their overseas stars finally assembled in camp, the Fiji Kulas believe they have their strongest squad yet to chase a historic FIFA Women’s World Cup place.
The Fiji women’s senior football team are preparing for the OFC Women’s Nations Cup, which will help decide who qualifies for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Head coach Angeline Chua says welcoming experienced players from abroad has lifted the team’s standards and belief.
Among the returnees is popular striker Trina Davis, who plays in the United States.
US-based Preeya Singh and Anisha Dwarka have also joined the team.
Star forward Cema Nasau returned after playing club football in New Zealand, while Adi Litia Bakaniceva and Maria Veronica arrived from Papua New Guinea’s Hekari Women’s FC.
“These international players bring a lot of experience and confidence to the group,” Chua said.
Chua shared that Fiji prepared for the tournament by playing three friendly matches.
They lost 2-3 to the Māori women’s team in February before travelling to Port Moresby last month for two games against Oceania champions Papua New Guinea.
Fiji claimed an impressive 1-3 win in one of the matches, led by Nasau’s attacking display.
“We have started training in February, and the friendly matches was part of it,” she said.
Fiji have shown they can compete at this level.
In 2022, they hosted the Nations Cup and reached the final, only to fall 2-1 to PNG.
Last year, they made the semi-finals of the Olympic qualifiers in Samoa, losing to New Zealand.
The Nations Cup will count towards FIFA rankings, which help decide seedings for the World Cup qualifiers later this year.
The winner of the Oceania qualifiers will earn direct entry to the World Cup, while the runner-up gets another chance through playoffs.
“We will try to get to the semi-finals, so we have to top our group.”
Drawn in group A, Fiji will face Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Chua says the focus is on taking one game at a time.
With home support and a full-strength squad, the Kula believe this could be their time to make history.
Fiji will face the Solomon Islands in its first match on Saturday, 7pm at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
