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. She previously played for FFC Frankfurt and FF USV Jena of the Bundesliga, FC Basel in the Swiss league and West Ham United.
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.
Percival made her senior debut in a 0–3 loss to China PR on 14 November 2006, before representing New Zealand at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup finals in China, 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, 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.
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. She appeared in all four of New Zealand's games at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
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. She appeared in all three of New Zealand's games at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
In April 2024, Percival announced her retirement from international football.
Career statistics International goals Updated 28 June 2020
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. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition111 April 2007Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium, Lae, Papua New Guinea4–08–02007 OFC Women's Championship 2 13 April 2007 3–0 7–0 3 7 March 2009 GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus 1–0 4–2 2009 Cyprus Women's Cup 4 1 October 2010 North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand 6–0 10–0 2010 OFC Women's Championship 5 3 October 2010 7–0 7–0 6 6 October 2010 2–0 8–0 7 8 October 2010 3–0 11–0 8 31 March 2012 Toll Stadium, Whangārei, New Zealand 6–0 8–0 2012 Olympic qualifying 9 25 October 2014 Kalabond Oval, Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 16–0 16–0 2014 OFC Women's Nations Cup 10 29 October 2014 5–0 11–0 11 15 January 2015 Spice Hotel, Belek, Turkey 1–1 3–2 Friendly 12 28 November 2017 SCG Stadium, Muang Thong Thani, Thailand 3–0 5–0 Friendly 13 5–0 14 19 November 2018 Stade Numa-Daly Magenta, Nouméa, New Caledonia 10–0 11–0 2018 OFC Women's Nations Cup 15 23 October 2021 TD Place Stadium, Ottawa, Canada 1–3 1–5 Friendly
Honours Individual IFFHS OFC Best Woman Player of the Decade 2011–2020 IFFHS OFC Woman Team of the Decade 2011–2020
In the 2024 New Year Honours, Percival was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to football.
References
External links
Profile at NZF Team at FF USV Jena