Solomon Islands futsal dominance comes to an end as New Zealand progress to OFC Futsal Nations Cup grand final

Oceania will have a new representative at the 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup: the dominance of Solomon Islands came to an end as the Kurukuru were knocked-out of the OFC Futsal Nations Cup held in Auckland, New Zealand after a tough defeat against the home side. The Solomon Islanders were in the hunt for their 5th consecutive appearance in the world stage, but their Futsal dominance was ready to be challenged for maybe its first time since the competitive tournaments in the region started.

The Kurukuru started with two draws in the group stage – something that never happened before in the World Cup qualifiers in OFC – against New Caledonia and Tahiti, falling short to lose both games. But the team coached by Damon Shaw sealed their spot in the semifinals after beating Samoa 13-2 in the final pool match – but not enough to clinch the top of the group meaning they would face New Zealand already in the semifinal stage, not in the grand final as expected.

Playing at home the Futsal Whites made no mistake scoring early with Logan Wisnewski and still in the first half seeing Stephen Ashby-Beckham to double the lead. In the second half the always-good Charlie Otainao reduced the margin for the Kurukuru, although only two minutes later Casey Sharplin restored the two-goal cushion.

Solomon Islands’ Calvin Do’oro was sent-off to make things even harder for Solomon Islands, but they still managed in the late stages of the game to reduce the margin through Elis Mana. In the final seconds of the game New Zealand’s goalkeeper Mike Antamanov sealed the win for New Zealand with long-range shot finding the empty nets of Solomon Islands as the Kurukuru went ahead with all its players to find a desperate equaliser.

Despite counting on the brilliant Micah Lea’alafa in great form – the Kurukuru‘s number 10 scored six in the tournament being the top scorer so far – the Solomon Islands could not achieve its ultimate goal: this is the first time Solomon Islands is defeated by New Zealand in the FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifiers, meaning the Kurukuru is facing its final moment in the dominant era; they will not be represeting OFC in the upcoming international tournament and finally the Futsal Whites will have a final game not as underdogs but yes as favourites to clinch OFC’s berth for the most important Futsal competition worldwide.

The home team will face another tough opponent in the grand final: Tahiti. The Kurukuru will have to settle down and contest for the 3rd place against Fiji that lost 7-3 to the Tahitians in the other semifinal match of the day.

This coming Saturday (07th Sep) will mark the decisive finish of Solomon Islands’ reign in OFC’s Futsal as the South Pacific fans will get to know which of Tahiti or New Zealand will represent the confederation in Uzbekistan’s 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup.