Ria Percival
FullnameRia Dawn Percival[1]
Birth date7 December 1989 (age 36)[1]
Birth placeBasildon, Essex, England[2]
Height1.61m[1]
PositionDefensive midfielder
Youthyears 12000–2003
Youthclubs 1Colchester United
Years 12006–2008
Clubs 1Lynn-Avon United
Caps 137
Goals 114
Years 22008–2010
Clubs 2F.C. Indiana
Caps 27
Goals 21
Years 32010–2011
Clubs 3Ottawa Fury
Years 42011–2012
Clubs 4FFC Frankfurt
Caps 421
Goals 40
Years 52012–2016
Clubs 5FF USV Jena
Caps 577
Goals 56
Years 62016–2018
Clubs 6FC Basel
Years 72018–2019
Clubs 7West Ham United
Caps 716
Goals 70
Years 82019–2024
Clubs 8Tottenham Hotspur
Caps 857
Goals 83
Years 92024
Clubs 9→ Crystal Palace (loan)
Caps 911
Goals 91
Nationalteam 1New Zealand U-20
Nationalyears 22006–2024
Nationalcaps 2166
Nationalgoals 215
Nationalteam 2New Zealand
Club-update22 February 2025
Ntupdate22 February 2025

Ria Dawn Percival (born 7 December 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. She last played for Crystal Palace, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. Born in England, she played for the New Zealand women's national team and represented New Zealand 166 times, more than any other player, male or female.[3][4] She previously played for FFC Frankfurt and FF USV Jena of the Bundesliga, FC Basel in the Swiss league and West Ham United.[5]

International

Percival represented New Zealand at age group level, appearing at the 2006 Women's U-20 World Cup finals in Russia and again at the 2008 Women's U-20 World Cup in Chile, where she scored both of New Zealand's goals in their 3–2 loss to Nigeria.[6]

Percival made her senior debut in a 0–3 loss to China PR on 14 November 2006,[7] before representing New Zealand at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup finals in China,[8] where they lost to Brazil 0–5, Denmark (0–2) and China PR (0–2).

Percival was also included in the New Zealand squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics, again in China,[9] where they drew with Japan (2–2) before losing to Norway (0–1) and the United States (0–4).

On 9 March 2011, Percival earned her 50th A-level international cap in a 5–0 loss to Mexico in the play-off for 7th place at the Cyprus Cup.[10]

Percival contested her fifth major tournament when she appeared in all three of New Zealand's matches at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany.[11] She appeared in all four of New Zealand's games at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[12]

She again featured in all three of New Zealand's matches at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, taking her to a tally of 9 World Cup matches.[13] She appeared in all three of New Zealand's games at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[12]

In April 2024, Percival announced her retirement from international football.[4]

Career statistics

International goals

Updated 28 June 2020[14]

Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Percival goal.
List of international goals scored by Ria Percival
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
111 April 2007Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium, Lae, Papua New GuineaSOL4–08–02007 OFC Women's Championship
213 April 2007Papua New Guinea3–07–0
37 March 2009GSP Stadium, Nicosia, CyprusRussia1–04–22009 Cyprus Women's Cup
41 October 2010North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New ZealandCOK6–010–02010 OFC Women's Championship
53 October 2010TAH7–07–0
66 October 2010SOL2–08–0
78 October 2010Papua New Guinea3–011–0
831 March 2012Toll Stadium, Whangārei, New ZealandPapua New Guinea6–08–02012 Olympic qualifying
925 October 2014Kalabond Oval, Kokopo, Papua New GuineaTonga16–016–02014 OFC Women's Nations Cup
1029 October 2014COK5–011–0
1115 January 2015Spice Hotel, Belek, TurkeyDenmark1–13–2Friendly
1228 November 2017SCG Stadium, Muang Thong Thani, ThailandThailand3–05–0Friendly
135–0
1419 November 2018Stade Numa-Daly Magenta, Nouméa, New CaledoniaTonga10–011–02018 OFC Women's Nations Cup
1523 October 2021TD Place Stadium, Ottawa, CanadaCanada1–31–5Friendly

Honours

Individual

In the 2024 New Year Honours, Percival was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to football.[17]

References

  1. ^ "List of Players – 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup". FIFA. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  2. ^ "NZ Football – HOME". nzfootball.co.nz. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Caps 'n' Goals, New Zealand Women's national representatives". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  4. ^ "Ford Football Fern Ria Percival announces her retirement from international football". nzfootball.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  5. ^ "NZ Football – HOME". nzfootball.co.nz. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  6. ^ "New Zealand (NZL) Squad List". FIFA. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  7. ^ "Caps 'n' Goals, New Zealand Women's national representatives". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  8. ^ "New Zealand Squad List, 2007 Women's World Cup". FIFA. Archived from the original on 13 July 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  9. ^ "Olympic Football Squads Named". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 4 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
  10. ^ "NZ Football – HOME". nzfootball.co.nz
  11. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011 – Team New Zealand". FIFA. Archived from the original on 20 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Ria Percival Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
  13. ^ "FIFA player stats". FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  14. ^ "A Internationals". UltimateNZSoccer.com. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  15. ^ "IFFHS BEST WOMAN PLAYER – OFC – OF THE DECADE 2011-2020". IFFHS. 6 February 2021.
  16. ^ "IFFHS WOMAN TEAM – OFC – OF THE DECADE 2011-2020". IFFHS. 31 January 2021.
  17. ^ "New Year Honours 2024: the full list". The New Zealand Herald. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.