Papua New Guinea became the first team to secure a place in the 2026 Women’s MSG Prime Minister’s Cup final after defeating Vanuatu 2-0 at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva, while Solomon Islands strengthened their own qualification hopes with a narrow 1-0 victory over New Caledonia.
The latest round of matches provided an important turn in the race for the final. Defending champions PNG maintained their perfect record with a third consecutive victory, while Solomon Islands collected another three points and moved level with Vanuatu on seven points, but with one match still to play.
Papua New Guinea entered their meeting with Vanuatu as the only team with a perfect record, having already beaten Fiji 4-0 and New Caledonia 4-1. Vanuatu, however, had also enjoyed an unbeaten start, collecting seven points from their first three matches after drawing with Solomon Islands before defeating Fiji and New Caledonia.
That made their direct meeting one of the most important fixtures of the round-robin stage.
Vanuatu managed to contain PNG throughout the opening half and the teams went into the interval locked at 0-0. The defending champions did not need long after the restart to finally find a way through, however, as Phylis Pala broke the deadlock in the 47th minute.
PNG then increased their advantage in the 70th minute through Keren Kalapai, who continued her excellent individual tournament. The forward had already scored a hat-trick in the opening victory over Fiji and found the net again against New Caledonia.
Her latest goal took her tally to five in the competition and completed a 2-0 victory that officially secured Papua New Guinea’s place in the final.
The Bilums have now taken all nine points available from their first three matches, scoring ten goals and conceding only once. For a team that arrived in Fiji as defending champions, their campaign has so far reinforced their position at the forefront of Melanesian women’s football.
For Vanuatu, the defeat brought an end to an otherwise strong round-robin campaign. They finish with seven points from four matches after a 1-1 draw with Solomon Islands, a 1-0 victory over Fiji and an emphatic 5-0 win against New Caledonia before falling to PNG.
Their seven-point total still keeps them firmly in contention for the final, but their fate is no longer in their own hands.
Earlier in the day, Solomon Islands made sure the pressure would remain on Vanuatu by earning a hard-fought 1-0 victory over New Caledonia.
The reigning OFC Women’s Nations Cup champions were unable to find a breakthrough during the first half as New Caledonia produced a much tighter defensive performance than in their previous defeats against PNG and Vanuatu.
The deadlock remained until the closing stages of the match. Substitute Madaline Arukau eventually provided the decisive moment in the 80th minute, scoring the only goal to give Solomon Islands their second consecutive victory.
It continued an important turnaround for the Solomon Islands women. They started the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Vanuatu before Lorina Solosaia scored the winner in their 1-0 victory over hosts Fiji. Another 1-0 result against New Caledonia means they have now won back-to-back matches without conceding.
Solomon Islands consequently move onto seven points from three matches, level with Vanuatu but with their final round-robin fixture still to come.
New Caledonia, meanwhile, remain without a point after three games in their first Women’s MSG Prime Minister’s Cup appearance. Despite the defeat, keeping the reigning Oceania champions scoreless for 80 minutes represented a considerable improvement after conceding four against PNG and five against Vanuatu.
The situation heading into the final round is now much clearer. Papua New Guinea are already guaranteed a place in the October 3 decider, while Vanuatu have completed their campaign on seven points. Solomon Islands also have seven but retain one match in hand.
That remaining fixture comes against PNG, giving Solomon Islands one final opportunity to determine their own fate and potentially set up a meeting with the defending champions for the Women’s MSG Prime Minister’s Cup title.
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