Oceania Football Center

OFC U-17 Championship: New Zealand beats New Caledonia to lift the trophy

New Zealand confirmed their favoritism and won the OFC U-17 Championship for the ninth time, moving ever closer to overtaking Australia – which has 10 titles – as the tournament’s greatest champion.

It was not an easy tournament for the Kiwis, they faced difficulties in almost every match of the competition. In the final – which was a replay of the first round match against New Caledonia – it was no different.

In the very first minute of the game Jean-Philippe Angexetine had a chance to open the scoring for New Caledonia, he won the ball from the New Zealand captain, Dylan Gardiner and his finish went side-netting.

A few minutes later Harrison Tisch took a corner-kick that would have been a goal if it was not cleared off the line by Bayron Gohoupe on the goalline. At the 24th minute New Zealand scored what would be the winning goal – Ryan Lee crossed, the New Caledonian goalkeeper Claude Tiaouniane fumbled the ball that was left for Niko Bruce to finish with his left-foot and score.

New Caledonia almost tied the match at the 44th minute when Joseph Hnaissilin made a beautiful move dribbling around his marking-man and finishing to a beautiful save by New Zealand goalkeeper Matt Foord.

In the second-half the match situation remained the same, New Caledonia was moving up its scoring lines to force New Zealand into error. But the first big chance was for New Zealand – Luke Supyk exchanged passes with Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues and shot to the left of the goal, almost adding another to his tally in the tournament.

Just two minutes later New Zealand defender Luka Coveny was shown a second yellow-card and consequently the red card after fouling Nolhann Alebate.

With an extra-man the pressure from New Caledonia increased, with many crosses to the box and individual plays from their great talent – Nolhann Alebate. The big chance to tie the score came in the 93rd minute when Alebate took a corner kick, Kyllian Wiako headed it towards goal and Matt Foord made a point-blank save. In the next corner Alebate tried to finish straight at goal and Foord spilled the ball over the crossbar, preventing the Cagous from equalizing. These were the final actions of the game that ended up with a narrow 1-0 win in favour of the New Zealanders.

Both New Zealand and New Caledonia will be preparing for the FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in Peru this December.

Awards:

Luke Supyk (New Zealand) and Titouan Guillemant (Tahiti) shared the tournament’s golden boot, both with 6 goals each.

Matt Foord (New Zealand) took the Golden Glove, given to the best goalkeeper of the competition.

Nolhann Alebate (New Caledonia) took the gold ball for the best player of the championship.

Fiji: rumours link Antonio Tuivuna return to Labasa

It is been widely rumoured throught the football backstage in Fiji that the well-known defender Antonio Tuivuna is set to return to Labasa – a team that he achieved many success in his country. The Fijian international is currently attached to Lautoka where he played the last football season in the country.

Tuivuna (left) in Lautoka colours – *Fiji FA Media*

Tuivuna, the 2019 player of the year in Fiji when playing for Labasa, could be a very good adition to Labasa’s rebuilding team – Tuivuna won three major tournaments as a Labasa player. According to sources around the club, Tuivuna is set to return to Labasa. Oceania Football Center also asked to Lautoka’s officials about the reliability of the rumours; it was mentioned Tuivuna did not aplicate to departure to club yet: “We haven’t received his application yet so he is still a Lautoka player“, it was informed – giving signals the player is really due to leave the team and just details are separating him from Labasa.

The next Tony‘s moves will be certainly closely followed by Labasa’s and Lautoka’s fans expecting to count on him for the upcoming football season int the country.

OFC U-17 Championship: Titouan Guillemant’s class performance awards Tahiti third-place finish

The hosts could not support the technical superiority of the Tama Ura: Tahiti displayed excellent football especially in the second half to surpass Fiji and get the third-place finish at the OFC U-17 Championship after an emphatic 3-0 win; Tahit’s top-scorer in the tournament Titouan Guillemant was particularly impressive participating in all three goals of his team in the match.

Tahiti had shown certain difficulties to sustain the pressure from the Fijain team in the start of the game, especially the Australian-based player Ibraheem Afazal was a threat to the Tahitian defensive system – that proved to be a weakest point of the team throught the tournament as well in this match, despite the impressive performance of its goalkeeper Argan Cloudic-Boucher in this match and also the previous games of Tahiti in the competition.

Despite the pressure, the team coached by Sunil Kumar could not take their chances. Tahiti also created some opportunities especially through the efforts of Keanan Faure and Titouan Guillemant; but only after the first-half the Tahitians were able to break the deadlock: at the 51th minute, the French-based Vaitea Seguy scored a fantastic goal from the edge of the box after a play created by Guillemant in the right. Five minutes later it was Guillemant who scored the goal, after a sloppy defensive mistake from Fijian team allowing the Tahitian No. 9 to be found free at the penalty box.

The Fijian defence could not deal with Guillemant – *OFC Media*

At the 68th minute it was the turn of the substitute Ariiheivarau Tama to score – assisted once again by Guillemant that left Tama free in the box just to tap-it-in. The Tahitians took total control of the match in the final third of the game with a very tired Fijian team on the pitch totally beaten.

Ibraheem Afazil still tried to get some trouble to the Tahitian defense with this runs and also with a set-piece finish, but nothing that really put in the danger the goal guarded by Argan Cloudic-Boucher.

Despite not progressing to the U-17 World Cup, Tahiti finished on a high the tournament showing they have great talent to take for the next years especially on the names of Titouan Guillemant, Argan Cloudic-Boucher, Vaitea Seguy and Keanan Faure.

Raphael Lea’i set to sign his first professional contract

Raphael Lea’i is one of the greatest talents Oceania football has ever produced, his meteoric rise came in the 2018 OFC U-16 championship when he scored a hattrick against New Zealand. He then went to the Wellington Phoenix Academy before returning to his homeland to play for the Henderson Eels.

In the FIFA World Cup qualifiers Rapha had spectacular performances against Tahiti scoring a hattrick against the Polynesians and scoring once again against the Kapuls. His performance made us wonder, when will Raphael Lea’i get the opportunity in professional football?

That moment has arrived: Raphael Lea’i will sign a six-month contract with Velež Mostar of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s top-tier after having done tests at the club and having played and scored in a friendly match.

Raphael Lea’i in action in a friendly match for Velež Mostar – *Velež Mostar Media*

“FK Velež Mostar required a letter from Henderson Eels club management before Rapha will put pen on paper. The first six months will only contain the players benefits like his salary and benefits or compensations for clubs that is associated with Raphael Lea’i will come later after the contract renewal” said Hudson Wakio Tareina’a told to the Solomons Football Post.

Oceania Football Center will closely watch the followings of Lea’i in Europe bringing news to the Oceania Football Community.

Christopher Wasasala confirms his stay in Labasa for upcoming season

One of the most important players of the Babasiga Lions from Vanua Levu confirmed to Oceania Football Center he is staying in Labasa for the next season of football in Fiji: the 28-year-old Fijian international Christopher Wasasala is set to continue to be one of the key players for the Lions.

“I play for Labasa and I will continue playing for Labasa” said the striker that already scored 10 goals for his country. The striker that already won twice the Fijian Premier League has plenty of experience in the local football, also playing for Suva for a number of season.

Wasasala was a crucial striker for his team last season, where he played 15 games in the national league scoring a total of seven goals throught the season – including a hattrick against giants Ba.

New Caledonia and New Zealand will represent OFC at U-17 FIFA World Cup

The semifinals of the U-17 OFC Championship were played this Wednesday in Suva; the four teams expected to clinch a spot in the next U-17 FIFA World Cup to be played this year in Peru.

The first game of the day were between New Caledonia and Tahiti; two of the best teams in the tournament, the francophones should decide with of them would proceed for the final match and respectively book their flights to the next World Cup.

New Caledonia was the first to score; the talented Nolhann Alebate crossed the ball from a set piece and the central defender Gregory Diko tried to finished, Diko could not touch the ball but his attempt was enough to confuse Tahiti’s goalkeeper Argan Clodic-Boucher – the ball went in directly and the goal was awarded to Alebate.

New Caledonia continued to press up top, but a long pass from Tahitian skipper Hitimoana Teuira found Titouan Guillemant free – Wadria Hanye tried to clear the ball his header gifted the ball to the Tahitian striker. Guillemant made no mistake in front the goalkeeper and leveled the match.

The 1-1 draw was the final score in the first half; in the second part of the game the Tahitians started playing better, pressing New Caledonia’s defence. But it was Nolhann Alebate that once again shined – a fantastic solo effort play from the No. 10 assisted Jean-Yves Saïko in the box, the striker was fouled by Eden Cadosteau, awarding a penalty to the Cagous. This was the moment the French-based goalkeeper Argan Clodic-Boucher stepped up; the Joseph Hnaissilin’s penalty was defended by keeper – but the referee appointed the penalty needed to be retaken was Tahitian defence invaded the penalty box before the penalty was taken. This time Nolhann Alebate stepped up to take it, but once again Clodic-Boucher defended it and also saves the rebound shot by Jythrim Upa.

The winter was not decided within 90 minutes: the game went to the penalty shootout. It was the time for Claude Tiaouniane, New Caledonia’s goalkeeper to shine: he saved two penalties and counted on a miss from Hitimoana Teuira to win the shootout and qualify New Caledonia for their second-ever appearance at the U-17 FIFA World Cup.

The second game had a clear favourite: New Zealand. The team coached by Martin Bullock was expected to control Fiji even playing in their home ground.

The English-based player Adam Watson scored the first for New Zealand still under the 10th minute mark – making it seem easy for the New Zealanders. But Fiji stepped up just after conceding; Rewa’s Delon Shankar set-piece play found Aron Naicker free in the right, his cross found Sailimone Ravonokula free in the box – his shot hit the crossbar and went it over the line to level the match.

New Zealand created some good opportunities still in the first half, but only in the final part of the game that New Zealand made the difference: it was again Adam Watson to score the second for his Tema, taking a rebound from Fiji’s keeper after a shot from Jackson Cole. New Zealand continued to press up top, but could only score another at the 72nd after a brilliant assist from Adam Watson to the top-scorer of the tournament Luke Supyk – he scored his sixth in the competition. Watson completed his hattrick eight minutes later after a brilliant solo effort giving no chance to Fijian defenders – giving final numbers to he match: New Zealand 4 – 1 Fiji.

New Zealand party after the match – *OFC Media*

New Zealand and New Caledonia will now on Saturday (28th Jan) the final match of the tournament to decide the champions of the U-17 OFC Championship. This will be the second match of both sides in the competition, as they played in the group stage with a narrow 3-2 win in favour of New Zealand.

Tahiti and Fiji also will have one more match in the tournament, as this year OFC decided to introduce a third-match playoff in the tournament. The match will also be played in Suva this Saturday.

No wins for Auckland City FC after draw 1-1 with Barcelona B

With two defeats and one draw against Barcelona B, Auckland City FC had no luck playing the three warm-up games in Catalonia for Club World Cup. First friendly was a 1-0 loss to sixth-tier Spanish side Reus FC Reddis, the second 1-0 defeat was against Jeonbuk Motors, top-tier of South Korean football, and today facing the powerful Barcelona B of Rafa Marquez, City scored in the second half and equalised before the end of the game.

Now the Navy Blues is preparing for the big game next week for FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco. “I believe it was the best test for us before heading off to Morocco and the performance today was very positive.”, said head coach Albert Riera.

150 games for De Vries

The friendly against Barcelona B was a special milestone for an important player in the squad: Ryan de Vries. He is now the sixth player with more games played for Auckland City FC – completing 150 games.

“We knew it was going to be tough, they’re a class outfit and they move the ball around very well and we had good patches and passed the ball well. This was our last game before the Club World Cup and a very good result for us.” said the forward.

Emiliano Tade scored for Navy Blues

Sergi Rosanas netted for Barça and the Argentinian Emiliano Tade for Auckland City FC. The result was an encouraging for the Navy Blues coach Albert Riera and his team as they turn their focus towards the FIFA Club World Cup match with Al Ahly on February 1st 2023 in Tangiers, Morocco.

Lae City FC Express ‘Fair play’ Frustration

The release by Lae City FC will undoubtedly add mounting pressure on PNGFA and the NSL organisation, with General Secretary Pius Letenge, rumoured to have resigned.

Europe: Raphael Lea’i displays superb performance and scores in his first friendly match

19-year-old star player from Solomon Islands Raphael Lea’i played his first friendly match this week in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The striker is currently under trials with the FK Velež Mostar, one of the most important clubs of Bosnian football.

This Tuesday (24th Jan) Velež Mostar played the Croatian side NK Neretvanac Opuzen, a team currently played the 3 NL – the fourth tier of football in Croatia. The Bosnian side did not have many problems to surpass their opponents in this friendly – Lea’i started as an option in the bench, but he was introduced by the coach Nedim Jusufbegović during the match and made certainly a huge impact.

“He scored a goal, had an assist for a penalty, hit the crossbar and another player then scored a goal; also one ball was saved by the goalkeeper and one ball was kicked out of the goal during international club friendly this morning against NK Neretvanac Opuzen” said Wakio Tareina’a, one of the responsible for arranging the trials for Raphael Lea’i. You can watch his highlights of the match here.

The local fans seemed impressed with Lea’i skills: “Raphael is awesome” said a fan in social media; “Raphael is a great player“, said another local fan in the same commentary section. Even an comparison was made due the similarity of players’ names: “Milan has Rafael Leão, we have Raphael Lea’i“, said another fan citing Portuguese star player Rafael Leão that is one of key player for his national team and Italian giants Milan.

Tareina’a, Henderson Eels’ chairman – club that Lea’i was playing back in Solomon Islands – also stated about the chances of Lea’i signing his first professional contract: “We change the plans to secure a contract; the chances of him in Turkey were low so we decided to focus in Velež Mostar. The goal is to make him the first Solomon Islands to play pro in Europe“, said the Eels’ boss, “Adnan [Dizdarević] told me about this idea and I accepted. I also had some assurance from him on securing a contract for him there“, added Tareina’a.

Oceania Football Center will continue following closely the development of Lea’i in his trials to provide updates in the following days.

Four teams, two spots and a dream: the FIFA U-17 World Cup

New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti and New Caledonia will play the semifinals of the U-17 OFC Championship on Wednesday – January 25th – in search of their dream of going to Peru to compete at the FIFA U-17 World Cup. New Zealand have played in the tournament numerous times before, New Caledonia will be looking to go for a second time while Tahiti and Fiji are aiming to play the tournament for the first time.

Dylan Hutia and Tiahiti Colombani of Tahiti – *OFC Media*

Tahiti and New Caledonia meet at 4pm local time: The Tama Ura and the Cagous are set to play a very interesting match. So far these are the two teams that have shown the most attractive football in the tournament. It will be interesting to see the duel of the two stars – Nolhann Alebate and Keanan Faure – who have been the key players for their teams in the championship. Titouan Guillemant and Jean-Yves Saiko could be two other names to keep an eye on. The duel on the bench will also be interesting, both Raiarii Golhen (Tahiti’s coach) and Leonardo Lopez (New Caledonia’s coach) like their teams to have the control of the possession in order to keep the opponents away from their goal.

Fiji and New Zealand face each other at 7pm local time; Fiji the host team will try to make history and impose on New Zealand its first elimination in OFC grassroots tournaments since Australia’s exit from Oceania Football Confederation – denying them a spot at the U-17 World Cup. The Baby Bula Boys rely on the local support to do so and they may need to impose a flawless physical and defensive game against the Kiwis. New Zealand, for their part, have not been playing convincing football in the tournament and struggled to beat New Caledonia and Vanuatu. They will have to be much more creative to break through the Fijian defense, they will need a bit more urgency in their game and to keep their back solid in order not to be exposed to the Fijian counterattacks.

The matches take place tomorrow – 25th Jan – at the ANZ Stadium in Suva, being live streamed by app Eleven Sports.