NZ U20 soccer side scoops Oceania ticket to World Cup in Canada as Fiji falls to Tahitian might

The New Zealand U20 soccer side have won their last game against nifty New Caledonians with a 1-0 scoreline in Auckland today, securing direct entry to the FIFA U20 World Championships in Canada from June to July.

New Zealand celebrating their World Cup ticket (pic by nzsoccer.com)

In what is expected to be a decision day for either Fiji or New Zealand who were front runners after match day 6, hopes were high in both camps as the two teams were allowed to play their final matches at the same time in different grounds. Before the game, Fiji were aiming for atleast a win against Tahiti and hoped that New Caledonia either drew or beat New Zealand in order to give direct entry for the Melanesian neighbours. The young Kiwis were targeting a "must" win as a draw would not consolidate their entry to the prestigous outing in Canada later this year if Fiji won against Tahiti.

However, the Kiwis maintained composure throughout the match today ending with the 1-0 win over New Caledonia. On what is predicted to be an easy win for Fiji based on their prevous games, Tahiti have other ideas in mind as they want to exit the qualifiers with their heads high. As a result they turned the table on the classy Fijians with a 2-0 dethroning.

In the first match, Vanuatu managed to scrape through with an unimpressive 2-1 win over underdogs and bottom-of-the-table dwellers, Samoa. So far the Solomon Mamula was the only side that was not beaten by eventual champions, New Zealand, despite their embarassing 3-0 loss to Fiji.

Meanwhile, it is understood the Solomon U20 side have already arrived in Honiara earlier today with a connection flight through Fiji.