The New Zealand U21 team have clinched their place in the Netball World Youth Cup 2025 final after overcoming a gritty England 51-49 in Gibraltar on Saturday.

Defending champions New Zealand will meet Australia at 6am on Monday (NZ time) to decide the winner of the ninth edition of the World Youth Cup, both teams having won the title four times each previously.

Challenged all the way, New Zealand held the narrowest of edges throughout against a spirited England. Looking comfortably-placed halfway through the last quarter, the New Zealanders had some anxious moments as a late-charging England closed to within two but did enough to hold on for the all-important win.

New Zealand remained with the same playing seven throughout while England made numerous changes in a bid to unsettle their opponents and break the momentum.

"We got the upper hand early and a lead but across the game, we’d push it out and then they’d pull it back, and that was a really good learning for us as a team and about not letting an opposition come back at us like that,’’ NZ U21 coach Julie Seymour said.

"These are young athletes playing in probably the most pressured game of their lives but I’m really proud of them. For 55 minutes we played a really good game of netball. I felt like we were on top, they (England) had to pass the ball around a lot to get goals and we got a lot of ball off them, we just didn’t finish it off properly and play it right until the end.

"Australia are a great team and exactly what you’d expect, fast, physical and almost programmed to run and run and run, but I’m backing us to beat them. However, it’s going to be tough.’’

With a spot in the final up for grabs, each side showed their intent early with some strong passages of play and accurate finishing. However, the importance of the match also played a part with errors going both ways as the teams looked to gain the upper hand.

With key shooting target Amelia Walmsley being well marked under the hoop by Tomi Wilson, the New Zealanders took a little time to find their rhythm in a goal-for-goal stand-off during the opening quarter.

Little errors continued to plague both teams but continued strong defence from Serina Daunakamakama (centre), Kaiya Kepa (wing defence), Khanye-Lii Munro-Nonoa and Charlotte Manley (goalkeeper) gave New Zealand the opportunity to gain strong finishing momentum.

England were unable to take their similar advantages, leaving New Zealand to edge out to a slim 12-10 lead at the first break.

The Walmsley-Williams battle continued on the resumption, both having their moments of success before New Zealand pushed further ahead through the excellent connection between wing attack Taiana Day and Walmsley.

A strong run pushed New Zealand out to a seven-goal lead and forcing England to make changes in a bid to counter the breakaway. It paid off with England scoring the last four of the quarter to close the gap.

Winning the small moments, New Zealand doubled their lead to four goals when a similar scoreline to the first quarter left the women in black with a 24-20 lead at the main break.

New Zealand goal attack Sarah Guiney stepped up to play a strong hand for New Zealand in a tightly contested third stanza. Drawing the attention away from the heavily-marked Walmsley, Guiney’s expert positioning and accuracy ensured the defending champions kept the scoreboard ticking over.

At the other end, the in-circle pairing of Munro-Nonoa and Manley were instrumental in unsettling the England shooters. England threatened to reel the New Zealanders in on several occasions but were unable to sustain their momentum consistently.

Constant full-team hustle and contesting kept New Zealand with their noses in front when leading 39-34 at the last turn.

It proved a bridge too far for England who could not break New Zealand’s resolve. Forced to play catch-up throughout, England could not contain a rampant finish from New Zealand in the run home.

Full of confidence, the New Zealanders through-court transition was quick and accurate, the shooters held sway under the hoop and the defensive squeeze helped forge a 10-goal buffer down the home stretch.

On the back of a stirring fightback, England sniffed a late chance, pouncing on numerous New Zealand turnovers to close the gap to two but in the end running out of time in a keenly-fought contest.