New Zealand have begun their OFC U-16 Men’s Championship title defence with a 5-1 win against the Solomon Islands.
Jack Clegg scored twice as the 10-time defending champions overcame a spirited display from their Melanesian opponents at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium in Port Moresby.
Previously, New Zealand had only lost one match at the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship since 2007, a 0-5 defeat to the Solomon Islands in 2018, who did well to frustrate their highly favoured opponents for much of the first half, sitting deep and soaking up the pressure.
They were unfortunate to concede the opening goal in the 38th minute, when the referee ruled the ball to have crossed the goal-line after a discussion with his assistant, as two defenders battled to clear from a New Zealand corner delivery.
Clegg doubled the defending champions’ lead shortly after the break, racing in behind and beating goalkeeper Eddie Aefi from a one-on-one position.
The Solomon Islands kept fighting and halved the deficit in the 59th minute when Vaulton Hoova’s delivery sailed over the head of New Zealand ‘keeper Will Martin, but the floodgates eventually opened in the final quarter.
New Zealand captain Ben Trenberth (left) goes past Solomon Islands’ Edward Waleilia. Photo credit: OFC Media / DJ Mills / Phototek.
Clegg added a second, while captain Ben Trenberth and Reuben Lee Sang also found the back of the net as New Zealand hit the Solomon Islands for five.
New Zealand face Tahiti next, while the Solomon Islands will face Vanuatu, when the second matchday in Group B is played on Thursday.
Main photo: New Zealand … off to a winning start in Port Moresby. Photo credit: OFC Media / DJ Mills / Phototek.
Tahiti won their tournament opener 4-2 against Vanuatu.
On Sunday, Papua New Guinea and Fiji won their opening games in Group A.
What’s at stake
The two teams to reach the final of the 2026 OFC U-16 Men’s Championship will qualify to represent Oceania at the 48-team 2027 FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup.
Acknowledgement
We thank OFC Media for providing information for this story.
Results
Games played on Sunday July 12, 2026
Group A
New Caledonia 0
Fiji 2 (Zaman Shah 13′, Isoa Baselala 17′)
Papua New Guinea 4 (Jaru Eron 14′, Toka Goro 16′, Boas Tommy 61′, Iga Steven 80′)
Samoa 0
OFC U-16 Men’s Championship Group A
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Papua New Guinea
1
1
0
0
4
0
4
3
Fiji
1
1
0
0
2
0
2
3
New Caledonia
1
0
0
1
0
2
-2
0
Samoa
1
0
0
1
0
4
-4
0
Games played on Monday July 13, 2026
Group B
Tahiti 4 (Esdras Jamet 51′, 61′, Santiago Covic 55′, 86′)
Vanuatu 2 (own goal 43′, Franso Shem 77′)
New Zealand 5 (own goal 38′, Jack Clegg 48′, 77′, Ben Trenberth 69′, Reuben Lee Sang 79′)
Solomon Islands 1 (Vaulton Hoova 59′)
OFC U-16 Men’s Championship Group B
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
New Zealand
1
1
0
0
5
1
4
3
Tahiti
1
1
0
0
4
2
2
3
Vanuatu
1
0
0
1
2
4
-2
0
Solomon Islands
1
0
0
1
1
5
-4
0
Fixtures
Games to be played on Wednesday July 15, 2026
Group A
Samoa v Fiji
PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 2pm (NZT)
New Caledonia v Papua New Guinea
PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 5pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Thursday July 16, 2026
Group B
Vanuatu v Solomon Islands
Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby, 12pm (NZT)
New Zealand v Tahiti
Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby, 6pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Saturday July 18, 2026
Group A
Fiji v Papua New Guinea
PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 2pm (NZT)
Samoa v New Caledonia
PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 5pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Sunday July 19, 2026
Group B
Solomon Islands v Tahiti
Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby, 12pm (NZT)
Vanuatu v New Zealand
Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby, 6pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Wednesday July 22, 2026
Semi-final 1
Winners group A v Runners-up group B
PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 6pm (NZT)
Semi-final 2
Winners group B v Runners-up group A
PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 9.30pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Thursday July 23, 2026
Play-off for 7th place
Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby, 12pm (NZT)
Play-off for 5th place
Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby, 6pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Saturday July 25, 2026
Play-off for 3rd place
PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 6pm (NZT)
Final
PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 9.30pm (NZT)
This story was first published on July 14 2026.