The USWNT’s first “business trip” is fully underway in New Zealand, with the team now a few days into January camp in Auckland. On Tuesday, they’ll take the short trip down to Wellington for their first friendly against the Football Ferns, before returning to Auckland for the rematch.
As part of the test run for this summer’s World Cup, eight players got their first taste of the local interest as part of an event set up by U.S. Soccer to provide access for New Zealand media.
Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn, Becky Sauerbrunn, Naomi Girma, Sofia Huerta, Mal Swanson, Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle all took their 10-minute turns at each of the media stations in The Cloud, at the end of Queen’s Wharf overlooking the Auckland harbor. On the pier below, a few fishermen tended to a number of rods as ferries passed back and forth out in the water.
Compared to other USWNT media events, it felt relatively calm — for as many cameras that were packed into the room and on the balcony overlooking the water, it was considerably less chaotic than other media days the team has experienced ahead of major tournaments.
But before the first batch of four players arrived, the FIFA Women’s World Cup mascot, Tazuni, waited at the top of the stairs. Everyone wanted a photo with Tazuni…
