New Zealand have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 after beating New Caledonia 3-0 in the final of the third round of the OFC qualifiers on Monday at Eden Park.
The Kiwis have reached the FIFA World for the first time in 16 years and it will be the third time they will be featuring in football’s biggest tournament after their appearance in a World Cup after 1982 and 2010.
New Zealand Makes FIFA Return
The trio of Michael Boxall, Kosta Barbarouses and Elijah Wood found the nets in the second half to give the All Whites a convincing win.
Callum McCowatt was the first to test New Caledonia goalkeeper Rocky Nyikeine, but having been teed up by Chris Wood, his effort was saved comfortably.
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A little over 20 minutes later, a corner caused havoc in the New Caledonia penalty area, and Marko Stamenic had not one but two headers cleared off the line by the covering Joseph Athale.
It certainly wasn’t all one way traffic in the first period. New Caledonia, who had been impressive in their semi-final victory over Tahiti in Wellington on Friday, threatened sporadically on the counter-attack – looking particularly dangerous through forward Georges Gope-Fenepej.
With this New Zealand becomes the second team after Japan to qualify for the tournament next year.
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New Zealand was undefeated in the qualifiers with five wins and an aggregate score of 29-1.
Also Read: Japan Become The First Team To Qualify For The 2026 FIFA World Cup With A Win Over Bahrain
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be held in USA, Canada and Mexico from from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries; the majority of matches will take place in the United States, while Canada and Mexico will host selected matches. The tournament will be the first hosted by three nations and the first North American World Cup since 1994.
New Caledonia: 0
New Zealand: 3 (Michael BOXALL 62′, Kosta BARBAROUSES 66′, Elijah JUST 80′)
HT: 0-0
