Having both comfortably won their semi-finals at the ongoing OFC Women’s U-19 Championships, New Caledonia and New Zealand have secured qualification for next year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™.
New Caledonia are a rising force at all levels of football in Oceania but having finished second to New Zealand in Group B they faced a difficult semi-final assignment against Fiji.
Angeline Chua’s Bula Girls had made history by appearing at the global finals for the first time at Colombia 2024 and were looking to build on that experience, while New Caledonia were targeting a maiden qualification.
In the Tahitian capital of Papeete, chances were hard to come by over a scoreless first period before New Caledonia made the breakthrough just shy of the hour.
In driving rain at Stade Paea, Kheimera Gondou lashed home a loose ball from the top of the box before Aziliz Naaoutchoue bundled home a free-kick from close range in the 71st minute to complete the historic win.
New Zealand faced Group A runners-up Cooks Islands in the second semi and, after a Zoe Benson thunderbolt had put them ahead in the 33rd minute, the floodgates well and truly opened.
Fresh off of scoring five goals in a 11-0 thumping of Vanuatu in the final group match, Emily Lyon picked up where she left off, grabbing a 19-minute hat-trick before Isla Cleall-Harding made it 5-0 midway through the second half.
The substitutes then got in on the action, with a quick-fire brace from Lily Brazendale either side of a long-range Poppy O’Brien strike rounding out the 8-0 win to send the Junior Football Ferns through to a tenth successive U-20 Women’s World Cup.
“We are at a loss for words. We asked the girls to never give up and to give their all, and I believe they did so, judging by the result. We simply asked them to stay well-organised in the first half, not to get out of position, and then in the second half, we brought on two attackers to go for that goal and qualify.
Leon Waitronyie, New Caledonia head coach
“I’m extremely proud, it was our main aim coming here, to qualify for the U-20 Women’s World Cup and we’ve done that with a pretty solid performance. There’s still lots to work on and improve to get to where we want to but I’m so proud of the girls to have given themselves an opportunity to be on the plane to Poland.”
Callum Holmes, New Zealand head coach
Images courtesy of OFC Media via Phototek
