Qualification for the FIFA World Cup is now on the agenda and preparations for the OFC Nations Cup, the first step for New Caledonia on that path to Brazil 2014, must begin shortly as the tournament is just a matter of months away.
The event will take place in Fiji in June and Les Cagous boss Christophe Coursimault is only to aware of the need to put the preparations for his charges in motion.
“The team has to keep working hard because we need to prepare well,” he says.
“We need to meet often to stay focused and make sure the progress we have made over the last few months does not go to waste.”
The Games champions, whose 2-0 success over Solomon Islands in the final gave them a second consecutive title, will take on Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanuatu, along with the winner of the preliminary stages tournament in November featuring hosts Samoa, American Samoa, Cook Islands and Tonga.
The victorious Nations Cup team will then go on to meet the fourth-placed team from Concacaf – the confederation of North America, Central America and the Carribean – for a place at Brazil 2014.
New Caledonia have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup but the current national team appears to be the most talented for some years and underlined their potential with a hugely impressive showing at the just-completed Games.
Aside from a 2-1 reversal against Solomon Islands in group play, Coursimault’s men dominated each of their opponents, scoring 35 goals and conceding just three across their seven matches.
Coursimault is pleased with how his players handled both the gruelling nature of the tournament and the pressure of being the home side.
“A competition like this is not easy to manage as you play every couple of days and the pressure was high for us at home,” he says.
“We worked a lot on the psychological side of the game with the players to avoid the pressure. I was disappointed with the technical side in our previous two games but we did much better in the final. I am happy with how they played and feel a lot of respect towards this group of players.”
The group loss to Solomon Islands was an untimely confidence boost when it occured – at a crucial time just before the semi-finals – but Coursimaults says the defeat may actually have been a positive factor in the development of the team.
“We began the tournament against Vanuatu and won with a large score. After that we played teams at a lower level than us. So I think the players became relaxed and a bit too confident. The defeat gave us the opportunity to get focused again and work harder.”

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