"You know what we've just done?" An incredible day for @NZ_Football, @LeonBirnie, his squad, and families who've flown thousands of miles to support them. Enjoy your night. 
. #U17WWC
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sport/football/109075307/
New Zealand's Fifa Under-17 Women's World Cup success shows what's possible
Grace Wisnewski (right) and Kelli Brown celebrate Wisnewski's second goal against Canada.
As Gemma Lewis embraced Aneka Mittendorff after New Zealand's penalty shootout win over Japan in the quarterfinals of the Fifa Under-17 Women's World Cup, she asked a question still pertinent today, struggling to believe what had happened.
"What have we actually done?" she said. "What have we actually done?"
What they'd done was make history, and with a competitive showing against eventual champions Spain in losing their semifinal, and a win over Canada in the third-place playoff, they didn't stop there.
Lewis assisted head coach Leon Birnie in Uruguay, the same role she fulfilled at the Under-20 Women's World Cup in France in August and currently has with New Zealand Football's Future Ferns Domestic Programme.
As she continues to help develop the country's young players, Lewis now has a tangible example of what's possible to point to.
"I think that's huge, that we've shown it's attainable," she said after arriving back in Auckland on Tuesday.
"It really gives you something to point to to say we can compete on the world stage. Now it's going to be about trying to back this up, so its not just one group, or one tour, or one campaign."
Before their tournament opener against Finland, New Zealand had one warm-up fixture, a 2-1 win over Canada, who they would beat again by the same score 18 days later.
In that warm-up match, the team got to implement their pressing game plan against proper opposition for the first time, and it worked a treat - so much so that the coaching staff were surprised when Canada didn't adjust to counter it in their second meeting, where it led to a goal inside 16 seconds.
"That was when I got real confidence, that if we could get the tactics right as a staff, and if the girls could keep executing them, and if their fitness levels lasted, that we could disrupt these teams," Birnie said on Tuesday.
"Teams like Japan and Spain, you can't just let them dictate games, because they're good, they're really good. If you let them, do that, then you're chasing shadows.
"I was just happy that we were able to go press high, get an early goal, and then in the last 15 to 20 minutes, I'm yelling stuff to the girls, but in my head I'm like I don't even know if they can do it. Credit to them, they hung in there and they had that determination and that got us through."
That was how it went in the four games the Kiwis won, and it was what they tried to do in the two they lost - coming agonisingly close to taking the lead against Spain in their semifinal when Macey Fraser hit the crossbar.
Birnie said there were two reasons why the squad had been so good at sticking to their game plan.
"I'm a firm believer of simplifying things. When I do presentations you might look and think that's so simple, but it needs to be, it needs to be a clear, simple message where they understand their role.
"When you're showing them footage, they need to see successful examples of what you're asking them to do, so a lot of thought goes into what we present to them, and when they watch that, they can see if they do what we're asking them, it works.
"Secondly, and probably more importantly, it's a credit to the players. For them to go and execute it for the long periods they did, and when they were tired and finding it hard to concentrate, it shows maturity beyond their years.
"That sums up this group."
