New Zealand Football has announced the Ford Football Ferns will take on Panama (FIFA rank 56) in a two-match international series this October as the team continues its preparations for the FIFA Women's World Cup Brazil 2027.  

The Ferns will face Panama over two games, on Sunday 11 October (KO 10am) and Wednesday 14 October (KO 1:30pm) [NZT], with both fixtures set to be played at the Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez in Panama City.   

The matches provide another valuable opportunity for the Ford Football Ferns to test themselves against international opposition as they continue building towards next year's FIFA Women's World Cup.  

The games will be the first-ever encounters between the two nations in senior women’s international football, although Panama are no strangers to Aotearoa New Zealand, having qualified for their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023 at the Play-off Tournament held in Kirikiriroa Hamilton.   

The Central Americans come into the series in good form having won six of their last ten fixtures, including a 1-0 away win over the Matildas in Western Australia.   

The matches between the Ford Football Ferns and Panama will be played a week after the All Whites take on the Central American nation in game one of October’s Kirin Cup series in Japan.  

Ford Football Ferns head coach Michael Mayne says the two fixtures form part of an important period of preparation for the squad following performances in June against Morocco and Haiti:

“This period following the June tour is natural checkpoint in our campaign plan since coming into the head coach role permanently in the middle of 2025, it’s allowed me and my staff to review at a deeper level and identify the priorities for the next phase of the plan.  

“From October, time and tours will fast disappear, so maximising each window until we ultimately name our World Cup squad is really important.  

“Panama are a competitive side with their own ambitions on the international stage and are not to be taken lightly considering they beat the Matildas last year in Australia and pushed them in a tight 3-2 defeat in the second match.  

“One of the real benefits of this tour is the chance to compete in a Latin American environment ahead of Brazil 2027, it's a different football culture, different playing conditions, and a different atmosphere around matches.   

“Those experiences are difficult to replicate anywhere else, so having the opportunity to immerse ourselves in that setting now will be invaluable as we continue preparing for next year's tournament.  

“Travelling to face them in their environment will provide exactly the kind of test we are looking for and represent another important step in our journey towards the FIFA Women's World Cup next year.” 

 
Article added: Wednesday 26 August 2026