PORT MORESBY – Papua New Guinea women’s football team coach Nicola Demaine says the purpose of their participation in an upcoming Singapore tri-nations series is to see where her 20-man squad stand, performance-wise.

The team are to travel to Singapore today for their first international appearance since the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa where they won their fifth gold in a row.

Demaine told The National that their initial flight Monday did not go as planned as their plane had to return to Jackson International Airport due to a technical fault.

PNG will play their first match against Seychelles on Friday before facing hosts Singapore at Jalan Besar Stadium on Monday.

“We don’t want their next national team experience after the (2019) Pacific Games to be the Oceania Football Confederation Women’s Nations Cup,” Demaine told The National.

“We need to get them there, remind them how it feels when the anthem’s playing, how to deal with pressure, prepare themselves, recover.

“It’s all about learning on and off the field to make sure we do our best in the Nation’s Cup.

“Not everyone is ready for July yet, we’re still working on that.

“These games are important because we want to go full on and represent the country, but also, not as important as to what happens result-wise. Whatever results we get from the series, it’s going to be a great way to learn.”

“But we’re trying to manage developing the team and winning at the same time.”

With the squad made up of rookies and experienced players, Demaine said their team work, communication and combinations were looking good.

“I’m looking forward to trying out the different pairings to form combinations in attack,” she said.

“The younger ones don’t look out of place.

“The experienced players are looking out for them and embracing that youth coming through.

“It’s a great learning opportunity for the younger ones, so we’ll see how they go.

“This is not the team that we’ll take to Fiji.

“Hopefully, it’s the majority of them, but there’s a chance for other players to step up and prove in their performances that they should be part of the team.

“With the Women’s National Soccer League, I’ll have to visit the Highlands, New Guinea Islands and Northern Conferences on my return. I’ll go around and observe because we don’t have enough goalkeepers. “I don’t want to miss any talents before I select the final squad for the Nation’s Cup.”

Fixtures: Friday, April 08 – Seychelles v PNG;

Monday, April 11 – PNG V Singapore

Source: THE NATIONAL