The Papua New Guinea women’s team played a historic match against Panama in the FIFA Women’s World Cup play-off at North Harbour Stadium in New Zealand this Sunday (19th Feb). Despite their best efforts, the Papua New Guinea team lost 2-0 to a much more experienced and professional Panama team. This was the first ever competitive match of the Papua New Guinea women’s team against a team that is not from Oceania, making it a significant milestone for the team.
Panama opened the scoring early in the game, thanks to a goal scored by Pachuca’s FC Marta Cox. In the second half, United States-born striker Rilley Tanner scored the second goal for Panama. Despite the defeat, the Papua New Guinea team made a gigantic effort and were very competitive against a team mostly made up of professional players. The Papua New Guinea team, in contrast, all play in Papua New Guinea and are not full-pro players.
The Papua New Guinea team can be proud of their efforts in the match, especially goalkeeper Betty Sam, who made several stops, with Panama finishing 36 times to the goal but only managing to score twice. The CONCACAF representative team had many chances to score in the second half but could only add one more.
It was unfortunate that Papua New Guinea missed their most prolific striker, Meagen Gunemba, in the match, but despite this setback, the team put up a strong fight. The Papua New Guinea coach, Englishman Spencer Prior, must be commended for his efforts in preparing the team for this important match.
Panama will now face Paraguay to decide which team will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held later this year in Australia and New Zealand. Although Papua New Guinea did not advance, they can still be proud of their efforts in the match and for making it this far in the competition. The match against Panama will undoubtedly inspire the Papua New Guinea women’s team to continue striving for excellence in the future.
Oceania Football Center 