NZ U-20 and Vanuatu seal U-20 Korea World Cup spot

A trip to the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Korea Republic has now been locked in for New Zealand after Darren Bazeley’s side came from behind to earn a 3-1 win over New Caledonia in the semi-finals of the OFC U-20 Championship in Vanuatu this afternoon.

With two places now on offer for Oceania countries at the world’s showpiece age-group event, the match effectively acted as somewhat of a final, although Bazeley and his charges will now be keen to go on and complete the job by becoming champions of the confederation.

“We’re really pleased, this is what we set out to do and it’s been a bit of a long journey to get here,” Bazeley said.

“The boys have worked really hard – it’s very difficult conditions here and we’ve come up against good opposition but again today we put in a very solid and professional performance. We were very comfortable throughout, even when we went a goal down.”

Clayton Lewis took up the captaincy again on his return to the side. Photo: OFC Media

In the build-up to the match, Bazeley said the players’ ability to deal with the pressure of such a high-stakes situation would have a large bearing on the outcome and those stress levels were cranked up a notch when New Caledonia took an unexpected lead in the 19th minute.

It was a goal befitting of the occasion, Cyril Nyipe smashing home a powerful free kick in spectacular fashion to leave the New Caledonians dreaming of Korea Republic. But their jubilation didn’t last long at Luganville Soccer City Stadium in Santo and it was one of New Zealand’s experienced heads that got the favourites back on track.

Moses Dyer and captain Clayton Lewis were both rested for the previous match – a scoreless draw against Solomon Islands – to avoid potentially picking up another booking and missing today’s match.

Bazeley will be glad he made that call as Dyer played a key role in turning the match in New Zealand’s favour, showing great skill and strength on 23 minutes to force his way past several challenges and dink a finish over New Caledonia goalkeeper Mickaël Ulile.

A set piece then brought the the all-important second goal, which arrived in messy circumstances seven minutes later. A Lewis corner caused chaos for New Caledonia and a goalmouth scramble ensued, the ball eventually being forced home by an unfortunate defender for an own goal.

Luke Johnson was a key part of New Zealand’s defensive effort once more. Photo: OFC Media

In a feisty encounter that saw eight players go into the book, New Zealand took control of proceedings and earned the comfort goal they were seeking in the 71st minute when Reese Cox headed in another Lewis corner at the far post.

Bazeley was delighted with the response of his side after the setback of falling behind early on.

“We actually started the game pretty well, had a few chances and were controlling the ball. We got hurt on a set piece which isn’t great for us and we need to have a look at that,” he said.

“But we then had a good reaction from the players, they know their jobs and what we needed to do and they stuck to that very well. We got back in the game pretty quickly with a great goal from Moses and never looked back from there,” he added.

“We probably should have won by a lot more but, credit to the boys, there was a lot of pressure on them and these games are banana skins for us because we’re expected to win. It’s not easy and we came up against a very competitive New Caledonia team today with some good players. I’m really pleased for the boys,

they’ve done a great job so far and now we’ve earned one of our goals, which was to qualify for the World Cup. Now we want to go on and win this tournament.”

The final of the OFC U-20 Championship will take place on Saturday 17 September at Port Vila Stadium and New Zealand will face either Vanuatu or the Solomon Islands, who play each other in the remaining semi-final this afternoon.

Match Details

New Zealand 3 (Moses Dyer 23’, own goal 30’, Reese Cox 71’) New Caledonia 1 (Cyril Nyipe 19’) HT: 2-1

New Zealand: 1. Michael Woud (GK), 2. Jack-Henry Sinclair, 3. Sean Liddicoat, 5. Hunter Ashworth (16. Joe Bell 70’), 6. Luke Johnson, 7. Logan Rogerson (11. Sarpreet Singh 75’) 8. Moses Dyer, 9. Myer Bevan, 10. Clayton Lewis (c), 15. Lucas Imrie (17. George Debenham 80’), 18. Reese Cox Substitutes: 12. Cameron Brown (GK), 13. Charlie Thomas, 14. Jake Porter Cautions: Reese Cox 32’, Jack-Henry Sinclair 33’, Myer Bevan 39’, Logan Rogerson 51’ Coach: Darren Bazeley

Vanuatu’s Frederick Massing scored deep into injury time to clinch a 2-1 win over 10-man Solomon Islands in the semi-final of the OFC U-20 Championship and send his nation to the FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time in its history.

Vanuatu are heading to the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Image: OFC via Phototek

With scores locked at 1-1 for the entire second half, the game looked to be heading for extra time but Vanuatu captain Bong Kalo unleashed a shot that goalkeeper Harold Nauania could only parry into the path of Massing who tapped in to send an already vocal home crowd into absolute delirium. “I am so happy to score the winning goal for Vanuatu,” said Massing. “Today is a huge day for me and all the players. Now we look forward to representing our small nation in the FIFA U-20 World Cup.” It is the first time Vanuatu have ever qualified for a FIFA event and they join New Zealand – who beat New Caledonia 3-1 in the other semi-final – among 24 teams in Korea next year. In a tense encounter Solomon Islands had earlier taken a 21st minute lead largely against the run of play when Joe Gise laced a swirling free kick past Willie Dick. Vanuatu squared the ledger when Godine Tenene, picked out by a beautiful ball towards the back post, buried his half-volley past Desmond Tutu – who was later replaced by Nauania in an injury-enforced change midway through the second half. The game took a dramatic turn with 13 minutes remaining when Vanuatu defender Jason Thomas pulled back Israel Tatai by his shirt. Thomas received a yellow card for his part but with Tatai lashing out, referee Nick Waldron had little choice but to send the Solomon Island forward for an early shower. The game opened up slightly for the ni-Vanuatu and although Solomon Islands missed a great chance to nick the win when Jabeth Solomon was through on goal as the clock ticked down, ultimately the honour of sending his team to their first FIFA U-20 World Cup fell to Massing. Vanuatu’s technical advisor Declan Edge said the scenes of jubilation at fulltime, with the crowd joining the team on the pitch for celebrations brought home what it meant for the island nation of 250,000 people to reach a FIFA event. “Maybe I’m just grasping what it means to the group now,” said Edge. “There’s grown men that I’ve been working with for the last month crying so it’s obviously pretty emotional. It’s the first World Cup that Vanuatu have ever been to.” “I thought we deserved to win. We were the most dominant team, the team most looking to score and attack. We were knocking on the door the whole game and sometimes you have to wait to the last minute.” Solomon Islands coach Pedro Mateo said the red card was a turning point but had still hoped they could take the game to 90 minutes and then regroup. “We knew that we would play with the crowd against us. We tried to keep the players calm before the match and the started well. The goal helped of course but some mistakes crept in as they came back into the game and we didn’t deal with the pressure well. “We did better in the second half but it was tough after the red card. We tried to calm the game down and get to extra time but it was not possible.” While the victory sparked wild celebrations in Port Vila, the Vanuatu team won’t have long to enjoy it as they must re-group for the chance to claim a regional crown when they take on New Zealand in the OFC U-20 Championship final on Saturday.