New Zealand and Fiji will represent Oceania at the 2027 FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup in Qatar.
Both qualified by winning their semi-finals at the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship in Papua New Guinea.
By reaching Saturday’s final of the OFC tournament, New Zealand and Fiji have earned their spots at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The New Zealand side were held scoreless at half-time by Papua New Guinea but a second-half hat-trick by Wellington Phoenix’s Cruz Pietersen gave them a 3-0 win.
In the earlier semi-final. Fiji needed to win a penalty shootout after they were locked 0-0 with the Solomon Islands.
Papua New Guinea had the gloves of goalkeeper Luther Rodney to thank for keeping New Zealand frustrated through the first 45 minutes. Twice he denied opposing captain Ben Trenberth, first from a one-on-one position, and then from a header at the back post.
Both of New Zealand’s goals in their 2-0 win over Papua New Guinea at this same stage of the competition last year came in the second half, and this one followed a similar script. New Zealand let loose after the break.
Davi Valle Dos Santos provided the breakthrough in the 50th minute, squaring the ball to the back post, where Pietersen’s effort deflected off defender Bomecge Basanuc and into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Pietersen got his goal 10 minutes later, meeting a cross into the box from Jack Clegg that he calmly tucked into the opposite corner.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, and Will Martin’s teammates were congratulating him when the New Zealand goalkeeper got up acrobatically to tip away a deflected shot from Papua New Guinea substitute Klivet Ronald.
Pietersen added the third goal in the dying moments of second half stoppage-time, getting behind the Papua New Guinea defence to round out a comfortable win for the Junior All Whites.
New Zealand will be chasing an 11th consecutive OFC U-16 Men’s Championship title when they take to the field on Saturday, while Papua New Guinea will have one final chance to qualify for a first FIFA U-17 World Cup when they take on the Solomon Islands in the third place play-off.
Fiji … on their way to next year’s FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup. Photo credit: OFC Media.
Fiji defeated the Solomon Islands in a penalty shoot-out to qualify for FIFA U-17 World Cup and book their tickets to the final of OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2026.
The first semi-final at the PNG Football Stadium was forced to penalties after a goalless 90 minutes, where Fijian goalkeeper Kirikiti Biu kept his cool to make two decisive stops to win the contest.
It’s the third year in a row that Fiji have qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and just the third time they have reached the final of the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship, where they will face either New Zealand or Papua New Guinea in Saturday’s final.
Fiji had topped Group A in convincing fashion but were immediately given more problems by an energetic Solomon Islands front three here. Spearheaded by young sensation George Lea’i on the left wing, the Solomon Islands pressed high and created three good chances with the speed of their transition through the first 45 minutes.
Right winger Barry Waletofea had the two best opportunities, hitting the side-netting and then striking the bottom of the right post, both from shooting positions created by Lea’i.
Striker Jayer Makarani also pulled an effort inches wide of the bottom-right corner in a goalless first half where Henry Fa’arodo’s side came closest to scoring.
Goalkeeper Kirikiti Biu made a fingertip save to deny Gregy Gau from long range shortly after the break, but Fiji managed to weather the storm and slowly warmed into the contest as the energy levels of their opponents began to dissipate.
Ryan Swami was their most persistent threat down the flank, pulling the ball back for striker Isoa Baselala to pull wide of the bottom-left corner from close range. He should have settled the match himself before it went to a penalty shoot-out too, lashing a close-range effort over the crossbar after being left unmarked inside the penalty box.
Both sides had created chances, but neither had found the back of the net after 90 minutes, and the semi-final headed straight to a penalty shoot-out.
Fiji lost to New Caledonia in a shootout at the semi-final stage in 2025, but made amends on this occasion. Goalkeeper Biu made two crucial stops, before striker Baselala struck the decisive penalty to win the shoot-out 4-2.
New Zealand squad
Ethan Amyes — Wellington Phoenix, (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa), New Zealand
Daniel Anstiss — Auckland United, (Long Bay College), New Zealand
Tristan Bancroft — Wellington Phoenix, (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa), New Zealand
Caleb Brown — Wellington Phoenix, (Paraparaumu College), New Zealand
Luke Carter — Western Springs, (Avondale College), New Zealand
Zach Cashmore — Wellington Phoenix, (Scots College), New Zealand
Jesus Santiago Castillo — Melville United, (Hamilton Boys’ High School), New Zealand
Jack Clegg — Wellington Phoenix, (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa), New Zealand
Zane Donaghy — Bristol Rovers, (Abbeywood Community School), England
Preston Fava — Queensland Football, (Robina State High School), Australia
Vasilios Kastrinakis — Wellington Phoenix, (Hutt International Boys’ School), New Zealand
Rylan Kumar — Auckland United, (St Kentigern College), New Zealand
Reuben Lee Sang — Auckland United, (Westlake Boys High School), New Zealand
William Martin — Lions FC, (Ipswich Grammar School), Australia
Cruz Pietersen — Wellington Phoenix, (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa), New Zealand
London Ridge — Wellington Phoenix, (Wellington College), New Zealand
Jacob Rowe — Leyton Orient, (Oaks Park High School), England
Keigo Shimokawa — Melbourne Victory, (Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School), Australia
Jackson Skinner — Brisbane City, (Brisbane Boys’ College), Australia
Ben Trenberth — Wellington Phoenix, (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa), New Zealand
Davi Valle dos Santos — Macarthur Bulls, (Matraville Sports High School), Australia
Acknowledgement
We thank OFC Media for providing information for this story. Photo credits: OFC Media / Phototek.
Results
Games played on Wednesday July 22, 2026
Semi-final 1
Fiji 0
Solomon Islands 0
*Fiji won 4-2 on penalties
Semi-final 2
New Zealand 3 (Cruz Pietersen 49′, 60′, 90+4′)
Papua New Guinea 0
Fixtures
Games to be played on Thursday July 23, 2026
Play-off for 7th
Samoa v Vanuatu
Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby, 12pm (NZT)
Play-off for 5th
New Caledonia v Tahiti
Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Port Moresby, 6pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Saturday July 25, 2026
Play-off for 3rd
Solomon Islands v Papua New Guinea
PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 6pm (NZT)
Final
Fiji v New Zealand
PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, 9.30pm (NZT)
This story was first published on July 22, 2026.