Glory defender Liz Anton has been rewarded for her outstanding club form this season with a call-up to the New Zealand Football Ferns squad for this month’s SheBelieves Cup.
The 23-year-old Olympian, who took out the Most Glorious Player Award in what was her debut season for Glory last year, has started all nine of the club’s games this term and will now be given an opportunity to add to her tally of five senior international caps.
The SheBelieves Cup, which runs from 18-24 February in the USA, will see New Zealand take on the host country, Iceland and Czech Republic in a round-robin format.
Glory Head Coach Alex Epakis was quick to congratulate Anton on her call-up and acknowledge the contribution she has made since joining the club.
“She came to the club last year not being in the national team,” he said, “and since she’s been here, she’s gone to the Olympics and now she’s going to another pretty big tournament.
“That’s proof that what we’re doing is obviously helping players develop and we want them to be showcased at a national team level and we’re absolutely stoked for Liz.
“At a personal level, I’m over the moon and I really hope she goes over there and does really well in the tournament because internally, as a group, we know exactly what she’s capable of and she still has so much more to do to further grow.
“I told her I’m that happy I’ll take her to the airport myself!”
Anton’s involvement with the Football Ferns means that she will unavailable for at least one of Glory’s remaining Liberty A-League games and possibly two.
She has been joined in the squad by former Glory ‘keeper Lily Alfeld who has been included for the first time since 2019.
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