New Caledonia and New Zealand will lock horns for a second time at the 2024 OFC U-19 Men’s Championship, this time with the trophy on the line.
Both sides have already qualified for next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile but will look to end their campaigns on the highest possible note, by lifting the trophy on Thursday afternoon in Apia, Samoa.
Main photo: New Zealand are ready for the tournament final. Photo credit: OFC Media / DJ Mills / Phototek.
Much has changed since their first encounter — both side’s opening match at the eight-nation tournament — which the Kiwis won 3-0, thanks to goals from Stipe Ukich, Ryan Watson and Keegan Kelly, a point New Zealand coach Chris Greenacre is keen to stress.
“I don’t think the first game has any bearing on this fixture whatsoever,” he said.
“It’s an individual fixture in and of itself. It’s a final and there’s all to play for, so we’ll prepare exactly as we’ve prepared for every other game. We’ll do our due diligence, we’ll do our analysis, we’ll look into how they play and set up.
“We were able to watch half of their game against the Solomon Islands and we were really impressed with them, so again, nothing will change from our point of view in terms of preparation and we’ll put that to work today at training.
“We’ll do the final off-field preparation with our analysis, and we’ll look to get the game underway and hopefully have some success,” Greenacre said.
New Zealand have been well represented in the stands, with a strong contingent of travelling friends and family following the side throughout their campaign, a factor that has helped the team’s environment greatly throughout their stay in Apia.
“It’s huge’ it’s our twelfth man. You know, the parents have been in around the hotel a bit, so we’ve tried to keep everyone as relaxed as possible, so having friends and family and that support network around them is great.
“The support we’ve had from back home in New Zealand has been fantastic, on social media and from our own friends and family,” he said.
New Caledonia have rebounded from that opening match defeat, securing back-to-back 2-1 victories over Papua New Guinea and Samoa to secure their place in the semi-finals, where they scored late to force extra-time against Solomon Islands, before going on to win 3-2.
Coach Pierre Wajoka is confident his side can build on their excellent run of form and put on a performance that will give them every chance of upsetting the odds and leaving Samoa with the trophy in their possession.
“We made our first objective, which was to qualify for the World Cup 2025 but that’s only a bonus,” he said.
“Everyone knows when we play a final, it’s not to just play; it’s to win. We have to win this final. We’re excited for this game, and we just want to play now,” Wajoka said.
Another driving factor for New Caledonia is the backdrop of civil unrest in their home country.
With concerns for those back home, Wajoka knows his players will head into the final determined to represent their country with pride and give their supporters something to hold on to.
“It’s already a big thing to be qualified for a World Cup for the country. It would crazy for the country if we were to win this tournament, because the situation right now in New Caledonia is very sad. It could be a great sign for the country,” Wajoka said.
With so much at stake and with both sides well aware of each other’s respective strengths, the final should prove to be a clash worthy of a final, with New Caledonia and New Zealand set for the world stage in Chile next year.
Kicking off first up on finals day are Solomon Islands and Fiji who meet in the play-off for 3rd place.
Both sides suffered narrow losses in their respective semi-finals — Solomon Islands 3-2 to New Caledonia and Fiji 1-0 to New Zealand — with both nations looking to try and end their campaigns on a high with a bronze medal victory.
Acknowledgement
We are grateful for the help of OFC Media in providing information for this story.
Fixtures
Games to be played on Thursday July 18, 2024
Play-off for 3rd place
Fiji v Solomon Islands
FFS Football Stadium, Apia, Samoa, 10am (NZT)
Final
New Caledonia v New Zealand
FFS Football Stadium, Apia, Samoa, 1pm (NZT)
This story was first published on July 17, 2024.
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