The sliding ranking is not unexpected. As has been mentioned on here many times, plenty of historically strong, bigger football countries are now throwing significant resouces at the women's game. Many Sth American & European countries ranked below us will just get stronger & stronger.
The young players like Clegg, Fraser, Barry, Taylor who have come through the ALW are the future - but they are still young, and won't be at their peak until 2027 WWC or later. A 2nd ALW side with AFC will help, but any improvement with the Ferns is going to be slow, no matter who is the coach. It will be a battle to stay in the top 40 I reckon.
The young players like Clegg, Fraser, Barry, Taylor who have come through the ALW are the future - but they are still young, and won't be at their peak until 2027 WWC or later. A 2nd ALW side with AFC will help, but any improvement with the Ferns is going to be slow, no matter who is the coach. It will be a battle to stay in the top 40 I reckon.