New Zealand have booked their place in the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship semi-finals with an emphatic 6-1 victory over Tahiti.
Both sides entered the match in Papua New Guinea unbeaten after opening round victories, and with a semi-final berth on the line.
New Zealand dominated possession from the outset, while Tahiti looked to frustrate the defending champions by packing numbers behind the ball.
The breakthrough came in the 10th minute when Jack Clegg capitalised on a goalkeeping error. Tahiti goalkeeper Tuanui Manea fumbled the ball under pressure, allowing Clegg to pounce and slot home from close range.
Three minutes later, New Zealand doubled their advantage. Captain Ben Trenberth’s corner found Jackson Skinner, whose powerful header struck the post before bouncing over the line.
Tahiti nearly responded from a free-kick midway through the half.
Goalkeeper Zane Donaghy initially spilt the delivery into the path of Manavai Dordillon, but reacted brilliantly to recover and push the close-range effort away, preserving New Zealand’s two-goal lead at the break.
Trenberth extended the advantage five minutes into the second half with a superb individual strike, powering past his defender before finishing emphatically to make it 3-0.
Zac Cashmore added New Zealand’s fourth after driving through the Tahiti defence and calmly finishing beyond the goalkeeper.
Though Esdras Jamet pulled one back for Tahiti with a late header from Manatea Ahupu’s free-kick, New Zealand quickly restored their dominance.
Tristan Bancroft found the net in the 84th minute before Cashmore completed his brace four minutes later to seal an impressive 6-1 victory.
Earlier, the Solomon Islands came from behind to claim a 2-1 victory over Vanuatu in a fiercely contested Melanesian clash.
Both sides entered the match desperate to bounce back from opening-round defeats, with Vanuatu looking to recover from a 4-1 loss to Tahiti and Solomon Islands aiming to respond after falling 5-1 to New Zealand.
The first major opportunity arrived in the 13th minute when George Lea’i won a penalty after latching onto Walcott Kona’s incisive through ball before being clipped from behind by Vanuatu defender Matthew Naviti. Le’ai stepped up but fired his spot-kick over the crossbar.
Despite the early scare, Vanuatu took the lead on the half-hour through captain Russle Allaleo. A defensive mix-up following a clearance saw Solomon Islands defender Edward Waleilia slip at a crucial moment, leaving Allaleo with the simplest of finishes as he calmly slotted home.
Five minutes later, Greggy Gau restored parity in spectacular fashion, unleashing a powerful strike from outside the penalty area that flew beyond the reach of the Vanuatu goalkeeper.
Solomon Islands completed the turnaround before the break, with Lea’i making amends for his earlier penalty miss. Winning possession high up the pitch, the forward shot from distance, catching goalkeeper Ezekiel Tasso off guard as the ball found the back of the net.
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. Main photo credit: OFC Media / Phototek.
Results
Games played on Thursday July 16, 2026
Group B
Vanuatu 1 (Russie Allaleo 30′)
Solomon Islands 2 (Greggy Gau 35′, George Lea’i 41′)
New Zealand 6 (Jack Clegg 10′, Jackson Skinner 13′, Ben Trenberth 50′, Zac Cashmore 67′, 88′, Tristan Bancroft 84′)
Tahiti 1 (Esdras Jamet 80′)
OFC U-16 Men’s Championship Group B
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
New Zealand
2
2
0
0
11
2
9
6
Solomon Islands
2
1
0
1
3
6
-3
3
Tahiti
2
1
0
1
5
8
-3
3
Vanuatu
2
0
0
2
3
6
-3
0
OFC U-16 Men’s Championship Group A
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Fiji
2
2
0
0
7
0
7
6
Papua New Guinea
2
2
0
0
5
0
5
6
New Caledonia
2
0
0
2
0
3
-3
0
Samoa
2
0
0
2
0
9
-9
0
Fixtures
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 16, 2026.