Oceania Football Center

The fantastic year of Dane Schnell

The year of 2019 was a great one for talented midfielder Dane Schnell. The Waitakere United player helped his team to finish at 3rd in the last season of the ISPS Handa Premiership – the best Waitakere campaign in years. The 21-year-old player also represented clubs in New Zealand such as Western Springs and Eastern Suburbs before joining Waitakare in 2019.

Schnell already played for New Zealand at the 2015 U17 World Cup and he saw his side being eliminated in the round of 16 against Brazil. He returned to the New Zealand youth squad in 2019 to play at the U-20 World Cup in Poland – Schnell and his team-mates were eliminated again in the round of 16 against Colombia, but New Zealand impressed in the tournament with a 5-0 win over Honduras and also beating Norway in the group stage.

Schnell (right) with New Zealand U23 side

In the same year, Schnell was called-up by Des Buckingham to play the OFC Olympic Qualifiers in Fiji and fight for a spot at Tokyo Olympics. New Zealand did not face any resistance in the group stage. They also beat easily the hosts by 6-1 in the semi-final and smashed the Solomon Islands in the decisive match by 5-0 to book a spot in the next Olympics. Schnell played a major role for New Zealand and was a regular starter in Buckingham’s squad.

For his club, Schnell’s season could not be better: The midfielder scored eleven goals for his side in the ISPS Handa Premiership season and also recorded two assists. Along with his team-mate Sam Burfoot, Schnell was the main man responsible for reviving former OFC Champions League champions Waitakere United after several seasons away from the limelight in New Zealand football.

Image may contain: 1 person, playing a sport and outdoor — Schnell (right) playing for Waitakere United – *Simon Harmer*

The still 21-year-old player has proven his quality in 2019 and early 2020; Schnell has what it takes to advance to the next level. As a regular player for New Zealand’s youth teams, the player also impressed in the National League with his regularity, which made him one of the best players of the season.

New Zealand has a lot of talent at the moment; Sarpreet Singh and Liberato Cacace are certainly the best known of them, but Dane Schnell can also be part of a golden generation for New Zealand in the coming years.

Australia and New Zealand closer to co-host 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Australia and New Zealand are getting closer to co-host 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup as Brazil’s candidature was withdrawn. There are now three active bids to host the tournament: Colombia, Japan and Australia-New Zealand.

With FIFA’s plan to expand the tournament o 32 teams, a joint Australian–New Zealand bid was announced to be under consideration in July 2019.On 10 December 2019, shortly before the FIFA bid deadline, Football Federation Australia (FFA) and New Zealand Football (NZF) announced an agreement to submit a joint bid with 13 stadiums (eight in Australia and five in New Zealand) in 12 host cities.

According to Stuff, FIFA revealead that the joint-bid was judged the strongest during the technical evaluation phase. Each of the three bids was assessed across six categories and given an overall average score out of 5 – the scores are:

1) Australia-New Zealand 4.1
2) Japan 3.9
3) Colombia 2.8

Australia and New Zealand want to co-host the next FIFA Women’s World Cup

Both countries have tradition when it comes to women’s football. Australia played seven out of eight World Cup editions and won 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup while the Football Ferns appeared in five World Cups and won OFC Women’s Nations Cup for six times.

The final decision about the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup’s host will be taken on June 25. Hosting this tournament is an important step for both countries as Australia and New Zealand have already expressed interesting on co-hosting 2034 FIFA World Cup.

Sarpreet Singh remains on the bench as Bayern reach German Cup’s final

Bayern München received Eintracht Frankfurt at Allianz Arena in a clash valid for 2019-20 DFB Pokal semi-finals and won by 2-1 to reach the German Cup’s final for the third straight season.

New Zealand rising star Sarpreet Singh remained on the bench during the whole match and now he is very close to win his first title with Bayern. It was his third straight match with the main squad since football resumed in Germany.

Ivan Perisic opened the scoreboard for Bayern in the first half. Danny da Costa tied the match in the 69th minute but five minutes later Polish forward Robert Lewandowski found the net to take Bayern to the final.

Sarpreet Singh’s team will face Bayer Leverkusen in 2019-20 DFB Pokal’s final. The match is scheduled to take place at Olympiastadion (Berlin) on July 4. Bayern is the team with most DFB Pokal titles (19) while Leverkusen won the German Cup only once in 1993.

David Browne plays 45 minutes in HJK win at friendly match

HJK from Finland keep the preparation for 2020 football season resumption in the country. The club from Helsink – the capital of Finland – played a friendly match against FC Honka.

Papua New Guinea international David Browne started the match on the bench. He entered in the pitch in the beginning of the second half when he replaced Matti Peltola, one of the most talented young players from HJK.

Browne played 45 minutes in the second half and helped his team to win the friendly by 2-1. Despite starting this match on the bench, the 24-year-old winger from Papua New Guinea keeps being an important player in the squad.

Huka FC wins Shefa Futsal League’s Opening Tournament in Vanuatu

The 2020 edition of Shefa Futsal League reached its end in Vanuatu. The tournament was contested by 13 teams that were divided in four groups.

The league started on May 29 with the group stage matches and finished on this Wednesday when Huka FC beat Arab6Y by 5-1 in the final to clinch the title. George Mani led Huka to the title by scoring a hat-trick. The other goals were scored by Terry Bong and Ritchie Toka.

Goalkeeper Christopher Quai also played an important role in the match by making some good saves during the final clash.

Oceania Football Center congratulates all teams specially league champions Huka FC. It is very nice to see futsal growing in Oceanian countries.

PNG National Soccer League: new resumption date in the horizon

It was previously announced that the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League would resume in July. However the National Soccer League board announced that they want 2019/20 National Soccer League season resuming on August 1.

According to Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA), with this new date for season’s resumption, the final match must take place on October 3.

The National Soccer League is likely to resume in August, and not in July

The league is stopped since March and there are eight matchweeks remaining before the knockout stage. Vitiaz United is currently leading the ladder with 25 points followed by Hekari United and Lae City with 23 points each. You can check the full standings by clicking here.

Saïko to leave AS Lössi when New Zealand borders reopen

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Jean-Philippe Saïko is back in New Caledonian football – the striker will play for Mobil Super Ligue AS Lössi after a successful New Zealand campaign for Tasman United. The New Caledonian international has decided to play for Lössi, but the reasons are not just in football: the player cannot return to New Zealand because the country’s international borders are still closed to prevent COVID-19 from returning to the country.

“It happened when I came to New Caledonia in March in order to travel to Europe to play an international friendly,” said Saïko. The friendly against Estonia was cancelled, the borders of New “It happened when I came to New Caledonia in March to travel to Europe for an international friendly match,” Jean-Philippe Saïko said. The friendly match against Estonia was cancelled, New Zealand’s borders were closed and Saïko was unable to return to the country. “I asked for Tasman and North Wellington if I could play here for AS Lössi during this time. I have to wait for my return so I can keep fit,” the player explained. Saïko was due to play for North Wellington in the Central League during the New Zealand winter season – he played for Tasman United in the ISPS Handa Premiership and was the team’s top scorer this season.

Islanders observer #05 – Jean-Philippe Saïko – Oceania Football Center — Saïko in Tasman colours

The striker also mentioned teams such as AS Tiga and AS Magenta asked him to join their squad for the Mobil Super Ligue, which is due to return in August this year. “I turned down the opportunity to play for AS Tiga and AS Magenta. I wanted to play for AS Lössi because they are from the island where I come from,” the striker explained.

Saïko also said he expected to return to North Wellington to help them in the Central League, but it is uncertain whether New Zealand’s borders would be reopened soon or not. “If it opens before September I will go to Wellington, if not I will move back to Nelson to play for Tasman in the summer,” the New Caledonian international said.

Saïko already played eleven times for New Caledonia and helped them to earn silver in the last edition of the Pacific Games held in Samoa in 2019. The striker impressed in his first season in New Zealand, being the most influential player of Tasman United in their best ever campaign at ISPS Handa Premiership.

Young Fijian Rahul Naresh scouted by Australian A-League club

The future of Fijian football seems bright when it comes to potential international players. Recently, Oceania Football Center introduced Ryan Mudaliar, a young Australian-Fijian goalkeeper who plays at NPL level in Australia. In addition to Mudaliar, another talented young Fijian could be moving to Australia soon, as former Ba Academy defender Rahul Naresh is being scouted by Australia’s top club Melbourne Victory.

Rahul Naresh played the last edition of OFC U16 Championship held in Solomon Islands and recently the 17-year-old player moved to New Zealand to represent the Auckland-based side Manukau United alongside other Fijians such as Etonia Dogalau and Kishan Sami.

SEE ALSO
Ryan Mudaliar: a young and talented Fijian in Australia
Ryan Mudaliar: playing for a National Team is one of my goals

According to 1 News, Manukau United is allowing many Pacific Islanders to enter their youth and senior squads. Also in the report, It is said Naresh is being scouted by an A-League that is known to be Melboune Victory. The current club of Naresh and his compatriots are set to start their campaign at Lotto NRFL Premier League this weekend.

Monty Patterson returns to New Zealand as he joins Auckland United

Auckland United FC is one of the newest football teams in New Zealand. The club was born this year after an amalgamation between neighbouring clubs Three Kings United and Onehunga Sports FC was approved by members in late 2019.

It was announced by the club on social media that Monty Patterson has joined the club to play 2020 winter football season. Patterson is a 24-year-old winger that last played for Honefoss from Norway.

Patterson is back to a football team from his homeland after two years. He is a versatile player winger that can play on both sides. He has already represented New Zealand National Football Team in 15 opportunities and scored one goal.

Harry Edge refuses to represent Malaysia internationally

It was previously reported that 26-year-old defensive midfielder Harry Edge was close to represent Malaysia internationally. However he decided not to represent Malaysia and only want to focus on his club career at the moment.

Harry was born in New Zealand but he is eligible to represent Malaysia because his father Declan was born there.

The defensive midfielder is currently playing for Torslanda IK from Sweden. He went to Europe last year after helping the Eastern Suburbs to clinch the 2018-19 ISPS Handa Premiership title.