New Zealand are going to next year’s FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup in Qatar after securing their place with a 2-0 win against Papua New Guinea in Honiara.
The New Zealanders beat Papua New Guinea in the second semi-final at the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship in the Solomon Islands to reach Saturday’s final in which they will play New Caledonia.
Main photo: New Zealand are on their way to Qatar. Photo credit: OFC Media / DJ Mills Phototek.
As finalists, New Zealand and New Caledonia automatically qualify to represent Oceania at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup.
READ MORE: New Caledonia qualify for FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup after penalty shootout >>>>
A third Oceania team will also qualify — the winner of Saturday’s play-off for third place, between Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea held out valiantly for just over an hour, but eventually succumbed to the pressure as two second-half goals secured victory for New Zealand in the day’s second semi-final.
New Zealand were missing their shooting boots early, spurning at least four big chances in a goalless first half.
Striker Ben Perez Baldoni perhaps missed the best of the lot when played through one-on-one with Luther Rodney in just the 13th minute, but the Papua New Guinean goalkeeper stuck out a big right hand to deny his opponent and parry away.
Baldoni nodded a header inches over the top of the crossbar moments later, before Cailean Hamilton lashed a first-time effort in the same direction, as New Zealand continued to build pressure.
Despite not creating any clear-cut opportunities, Boas Tommy challenged New Zealand’s defence, and Papua New Guinea made him a continual target of long balls forward, well-supported by the work of Henry Bill in midfield.
New Zealand’s Cailean Hamilton (left) contests possession with Papua New Guinea’s Boas Tommy. Photo credit: OFC Media / DJ Mills Phototek.
Coach Martin Bullock painted a frustrated figure at the break, Ben Trenberth firing a shot over the top from point-blank range, after a dangerous delivery into the box from Matias Nunez caused chaos just before half-time.
New Zealand were in need of something special, and it eventually came via the left boot of Matias Nunez in the 62nd minute.
The winger cut inside off his right flank, before blasting the ball past the arms of Rodney and into the bottom-left corner from a long way out to push his side in front.
Papua New Guinea’s resistance had finally been broken, and after missing numerous chances, Ben Perez Baldoni had his say from the penalty spot.
Baldoni doubled New Zealand’s lead in the 70th minute, winning a penalty kick, and duly converting with a cool finish into the bottom-right corner.
Chasing the game, Papua New Guinea’s best chance of the match came late on, but Boas Tommy failed to convert at the back post, and his side finished empty-handed.
Instead, New Zealand thought they’d scored a third goal when Keigo Shimokawa found the back of the net with five minutes to play, only for it to be ruled out for offside.
Acknowledgement
We thank OFC Media for providing information for this story.
Results
Games played on Wednesday August 27, 2025
Semi-final 1
Fiji 1 (Maikah Dau 57′ pen)
New Caledonia 1 (Lenddy Wede 70′)
*New Caledonia won 5-4 in penalty shootout
Semi-final 2
Papua New Guinea 0
New Zealand 2 (Matias Nunez 62′, Ben Perez Baldoni 71′ pen)
Fixtures
Game to be played on Thursday August 28, 2025
Play-off for 7th place
Cook Islands v Samoa
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, 12.30pm (NZT)
Play-off for 5th place
Tahiti v Solomon Islands
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, 4pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Saturday August 30, 2025
Play-off for 3rd place
Fiji v Papua New Guinea
National Stadium, Honiara, 2.30pm (NZT)
Final
New Caledonia v New Zealand
National Stadium, Honiara, 6pm (NZT)
This story was first published on August 27, 2025..