OFC Women’s U-19 Championship quarterfinal stage is set

Fiji is hosting the OFC U-19 Women’s Championship, the most important youth tournament for women’s football in the South Pacific. Well-known players such as Gabi Rennie and CJ Bott (New Zealand), Kiani Wong (Tahiti), Matalena Daniells (Samoa) and Meagan Gunemba (Papua New Guinea) had already participated in this tourament, giving their first steps to impress in the local football stage.

New Zealand once again is seen as heavy favourites to win the competition and get a spot in the 2024 FIFA U-20 World Cup that will take place in Colombia. In Group B the Ferns who are the defending champions had no trouble, imposed a humiliating defeat of 11-0 against Papua New Guinea and won Fiji by 3-1. Fiji, the hosts, beat Papua New Guinea by 2-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Papua New Guinea, on the other hand, finished last overall in the competition and was eliminated – as Tonga. The dark situation internally in Papua New Guinean football seems to get even worse.

In Group A, New Caledonia advanced, winning all its matches; Samoa, with a team full of legionnaires, came second, beating Tonga and Vanuatu, while the team from Melanesia qualified as one of the best third-placed teams.

In Group C, the Cook Islands got everyone by surprise and advanced in first place, with the team showing great organization on the field, beating the Solomon Islands 1-0 and drawing with Tahiti. The Solomon Islands beat Tahiti to move into second place, while Tahiti, who suffered from injuries before and during the tournament, still managed to move ahead into the third place.

Two duels in the quarterfinals, Samoa vs Tahiti and Fiji vs New Caledonia promise to be very even. New Zealand will probably progress without any difficulties against Solomon Islands while Cook Islands has a slightly favouritism over Vanuatu.