The Football Ferns are ready to put a disappointing World Cup behind them and re-set for next year's Tokyo Olympics, coach Tom Sermanni says.
Football Ferns coach Tom Sermanni Photo: Panoramic
The team are in China for a four-nation tournament which also includes Brazil and Canada.
They meet the hosts tonight in their first match since the World Cup in June, where they recorded three losses and failed to score a single goal.
Sermanni says the tournament provides an ideal chance to re-set for the 2020 Olympics.
"Obviously results are important, but they're not of prime importance," he said.
"It's more a case of us getting re-started, and also starting to figure out what we need to do going forward into the Olympics."
Sermanni says world No.14 China, who got through to the knockout stage at the World Cup, provide an ideal challenge for the 16th-ranked New Zealanders.
"They're actually a little bit un-Asian-like in the sense that they're very structured, where Asian teams are generally more fluid.
"They're well organised and very disciplined."
China have also been in camp for the past two weeks, while the New Zealand team have only just assembled.
"That's a great thing for us, to be able to go in and to be able to be in this kind of hostile environment again because it's a great test of our resolve."
