The Papua New Guinea U20 women's coach says her team is showing promise at the FIFA World Cup in Port Moresby but need greater investment.
Lisa Cole's team lost 6-0 on Wednesday night to Sweden after losing their opener to Brazil 9-0.
Cole said the team has shown improvement in their two games so far, heading into Sunday's final match against an impressive North Korea who head their group.
PNG didn't have to qualify for the tournament by virtue of being hosts which meant their preparation had been limited to training.
PNG U20 Women's football coach Lisa Cole. Photo: PNG Football
Cole said she is satisfied with the team's performance at the world cup, given it is their first competitive tournament.
"They didn't go to OFC qualifying. The have never been to the OFC [U17] event so for a lot of these players this world cup has literally been their first competition," she said.
"What a huge stage to be on for the first time at that level."
Cole said the team is confident about their abilities but know they are not a world class team yet.
"We have been training for seven months. You can't make up that type of ground in seven months, you have got to put more investment in it," she said.
"I think what we are trying to say to the PNGFA [PNG Football Association] and to people across the world, is that if we put an investment into this players, PNG can be a team that is competing at world events at a more regular basis."
