To qualify for the World Cup, to be held in Colombia during July and August, the Solomons must first take out the OFC U-20 Championship, which takes place at Auckland’s Centre Park from April 21 to 29.
Six other Pacific Island nations will be competing for the same prize and the Mamulas have been drawn to face New Zealand and New Caledonia in a strong-looking Group B. Both opponents are expected to be accomplished sides – New Zealand are the favourites to win the title and New Caledonia finished runners-up at the last tournament in 2008 – and Wagapu is well aware of the size of the task at hand.
“All the teams in this competition have prepared well and nobody is there to lose,” he says.
“The bottom line is that New Zealand will be tough, New Caledonia will be tough and the Solomon Islands will be tough. We want to come out on top and have worked towards achieving that goal for the last three months.”
Group A features four sides – American Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu – and Wagapu says there is no reason why the potential winner cannot come from that pool either.
Wagapu says most of the seven sides involved have a realistic chance of taking the title and that his team will be approaching every match as if it was a grand final.
“We respect the preparations of our opponents and will not consider any particular team over others. Each game we play will be treated the same.”
The majority of Wagapu’s crop of players hail from newly-established national competition the Telekom S-League and a large number are regulars for their clubs, such as Kossa defenders William Lamani and Michael Sira, as well as Solomon Warriors youngster Dennis Ifunaoa.
The Solomon Islands’ first game at the OFC U-20 Championship is against New Caledonia on April 21.
For more on Solomon Islands football go to www.siff.com.sb