Auckland United at FIFA Women’s Champions Cup

Worthy of it's own thread, with this new FIFA tourney to presumably be an annual event.

https://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/2025/09/30/midweek-date-set-for-auckland-uniteds-fifa-womens-champions-cup-play-off/

Mods - please change tourney name to FIFA Women’s Champions Cup

Ferns midfielder Annalie Longo signs for national champions Auckland United

Auckland United have signed 138-cap Football Fern Annalie Longo for their women’s National League squad, and ahead of their FIFA Women’s Champions Cup tie in China.

Longo (34) returns to Keith Hay Park, where she played her junior football for Three Kings United, one of the founder clubs of Auckland United.

[...]

Longo will go into Auckland United’s squad to meet China’s Wuhan Jiangda at Wuhan Sport Centre in a sudden-death knockout game on Wednesday October 8, 2025 (NZT), which kicks off at 9pm (NZT).

National club champions Auckland United have also announced the signing of Australian midfielder Ellie La Monte from Preston Lions FC, who play in the NPLW Victoria.

La Monte (26) won last season’s Di Piculovski Medal for the league’s best and fairest player.

They played Shanghai Shenhua in a friendly... anyone know what the score was?

Note their opponents in this Champions Cup playoff Wuhan Jiangda, won the AFC Womens Champions League. Beating Melb City on pens in the final, in Wuhan. Rebekah Stott failing to convert her pen.

Auckland United may do well to get within 5 goals.

https://www.oceaniafootball.com/the-auckland-united-blueprint-lessons-every-oceania-club-can-learn-from-the-ofc-womens-club-champions/

Lost 2 - 0

LT01

They played Shanghai Shenhua in a friendly... anyone know what the score was?

coochiee

Note their opponents in this Champions Cup playoff Wuhan Jiangda, won the AFC Womens Champions League. Beating Melb City on pens in the final, in Wuhan. Rebekah Stott failing to convert her pen.

Auckland United may do well to get within 5 goals.

https://www.oceaniafootball.com/the-auckland-united-blueprint-lessons-every-oceania-club-can-learn-from-the-ofc-womens-club-champions/

Wuhan were also much poorer in the league this season. Trying to figure out how good or bad Shenhua are in comparison

Looks like Shanghai Shenhua Women play in the 2nd tier (League One) of Chinese Womens football. 5th in League One in 2025.

So if Auckland United lost to them, shows the magnitude of the task at hand playing the current AFC club champs.

https://www.aiscore.com/team-shanghai-shenhua-women/ndkz6iox8mceq3z

https://www.aiscore.com/tournament-cfa-women's-league-one/5wv78xiwm1hjkrj/standings

coochiee

Looks like Shanghai Shenhua Women play in the 2nd tier (League One) of Chinese Womens football. 5th in League One in 2025.

So if Auckland United lost to them, shows the magnitude of the task at hand playing the current AFC club champs.

https://www.aiscore.com/team-shanghai-shenhua-women/ndkz6iox8mceq3z

https://www.aiscore.com/tournament-cfa-women's-league-one/5wv78xiwm1hjkrj/standings

Believe they played Shanghai Shengli FC, who came fourth in the CSL in 2025, one place higher than Wuhan.

Yes Shanghai Shengli, not Shenhua.

https://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/2025/10/07/auckland-united-prepare-in-shanghai-for-intercontinental-cup-tie/   

Auckland United prepare in Shanghai for intercontinental cup tie

Auckland United have been preparing for their FIFA Women’s Champions Cup clash in China with a training camp in Shanghai.

After recovering from their flight of more than 11 hours from Auckland, the Oceania and New Zealand club champions have had a practice runout against Chinese Women’s Super League side Shanghai Shengli, winners of the top-tier title a record 11 times.

Auckland United
1 Hannah Mitchell
2 Talisha Green
3 Jess Philpot
4 Greer Macintosh
6 Yume Harashima
7 Chloe Knott
8 Dani Canham
9 Emma Rolston
10 Ava Collins
11 Rene Wasi
12 Alaina Grainger
13 Zoe Benson
14 Alexis Cook
15 Kristen Molloy
16 Annalie Longo
17 Kiara Bercelli
18 Ava Pritchard
19 Siohban Edwards
20 Tui Dugan
21 Kate McConnell
22 Charlotte Eagle
24 Ellie La Monte

FIFA+ link for the game, kickoff Wednesday 9:00pm NZDT:

0-0 at HT, from what I've seen AU have had slightly the better of it but Wuhan have shown what a threat they are.

51 minutes in and the commentator is talking about extra time and penalties. Cover the game pal! 

Also this pitch looks terrible! Both teams trying to play but the ball looks like it stops dead after each touch.

And Longo is on!

Close game indeed. Auckland Utd had heaps of corners but probs not made as many clear cut chances as they wouldve liked. Chinese international legend Wang Shuang scored a nice goal but disallowed for a very narrow offside from what I saw. Hope Auckland Utds fitness holds out if this goes into extra time

Ahhhhh fudge fudge fudge fudge fudge

I refused to remove my ad blocker so FIFA wont let me watch. Not being peppered by ads is better than doing so.

Full time - Wuhan win 1-0.

I have to say, I know they have quite a few ex-pros in their team, but fantastic effort from Auckland United today, gave fully professional opposition who are champs of Asia a close match, competed well in the middle, didn't park the bus either.

Wuhan win it 1-0 with an 89th minute goal after having their first one ruled out.

Auckland United gave a really good account of themselves. They certainly didn’t look like an amateur by comparison. 

Fuuuck that's just brutal

Shambles

Auckland United gave a really good account of themselves. They certainly didn’t look like an amateur by comparison. 

 Even ex-pros aside, much of their team could step up to A-League Women level imo

Kinda surreal that they go from this to playing Central Fed at Keith Hay Park on Sunday. But as Bate said post-match, so many positives to take away.

Simon B

Kinda surreal that they go from this to playing Central Fed at Keith Hay Park on Sunday. But as Bate said post-match, so many positives to take away.

 Brilliant timing tbh, they would have been fuming if they had to turn around and play away/play a tough opponent

LT01

Simon B

Kinda surreal that they go from this to playing Central Fed at Keith Hay Park on Sunday. But as Bate said post-match, so many positives to take away.

 Brilliant timing tbh, they would have been fuming if they had to turn around and play away/play a tough opponent

True, and they'll get a well-deserved heroes' welcome from the home crowd.

If you are wondering if you have seen that ref before, she did the NZL-GER under 17 girls game in India in 2022 where she called the game a few minutes early due to Thunder/Lightning, but then decided to restart the game and so the players had to come back out and kicked the ball around with no intent.  Zoe B, Kiara B, Alexis C all played in that game.

With this game, I wonder if it was necessary for Zoe B to play in the final of the Under-20 in Tahiti.  Once we won that semi and qualified, I think she could have been spared the final and flown upto China earlier so she could start here.

LT01

Simon B

Kinda surreal that they go from this to playing Central Fed at Keith Hay Park on Sunday. But as Bate said post-match, so many positives to take away.

 Brilliant timing tbh, they would have been fuming if they had to turn around and play away/play a tough opponent

I don't think they have the depth to do an Auckland City and play their non-travelling reserves.  I'd expect those that travelled and didn't play 90 to make up the starting XI v Central on Sunday.

LT01

Shambles

Auckland United gave a really good account of themselves. They certainly didn’t look like an amateur by comparison. 

 Even ex-pros aside, much of their team could step up to A-League Women level imo

Yes an excellent performance to push the AFC champs so hard.

The sooner NZ gets a 2nd ALW team in Auckland the better.

FT | Wuhan Jiangda WFC 1-0 @Auckland_United

Wuhan Jiangda scored the only goal of the match in the 88th minute to take the win.

A very good performance from Auckland United, who, despite the heat and humidity, matched Asia’s champions and had their chances to take the lead 👏 pic.twitter.com/FFuTgQdRuH

— NZ National League 🏆🇳🇿 (@nzleagues) October 8, 2025