WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Caledonia’s 36-year-old striker Georges Gope-Fenepej scored twice in his crew’s 3-0 win over Tahiti in an Oceania qualifying semifinal Friday which left it one step away from the 2026 World Cup.
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The 14-year worldwide veteran collected the rebound from captain Cesar Zeoula’s saved shot within the fiftieth minute and delicately chipped the ball into the Tahiti aim from shut vary.
Within the seventy fifth, he launched a spectacular left-foot shot from 30 meters, catching the goalkeeper off his line. Substitute Lues Waya added to the scoring in stoppage time as New Caledonia superior to the Oceania qualifying ultimate in opposition to the winner of Friday’s later semifinal between New Zealand and Fiji.
“We’re all obviously football fans so to see someone like Georges play and the display he put on today is absolutely magnifique and wonderful,” New Caledonia coach Johann Sidaner stated.
The winner of the Oceania qualifying sequence will achieve direct entry to the World Cup for the primary time. Which means the victor in Monday’s ultimate in Auckland, New Zealand will be part of hosts Canada, the US and Mexico and Japan, which on Thursday grew to become the primary nation to qualify for the 48-team event.
The loser of the Oceania ultimate will nonetheless have an opportunity to qualify via an intercontinental playoff.
The choice to award direct entry to Oceania presents an historic alternative to a few of soccer’s smallest nations. New Zealand with a inhabitants of 5 million, ranked 89, is the biggest and highest-ranked of the Oceania nations and has certified twice earlier than, in Spain in 1982 and South Africa in 2010.
Friday’s semifinal in Wellington introduced collectively two French-speaking nations from the South Pacific: New Caledonia ranked No. 152 and with a inhabitants of 290,000 and Tahiti with a inhabitants of 281,000 ranked No. 153.
New Caledonia needed to overcome political unrest in its homeland to qualify for Friday’s match. Violent protests in opposition to voting reforms broke out final yr, leaving 13 useless earlier than the French military was deployed to revive order.
New Caledonia dominated a scoreless first half, apart from a brief interval within the opening minutes when Tahiti’s Eddy Kaspard troubled the protection on the appropriate aspect. Matatia Paama was a large determine for Tahiti in a protection beneath fixed stress.
After Gope-Fenepej’s first aim, Tahiti had an opportunity via Teaonui Tehau whose header was saved by keeper Rocky Nyikeine. After the second, Eddy Kaspard appeared to have pulled one again for Tahiti however was dominated offside.
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