Cook Islands are taking on hosts Vanuatu at 9.30am, Papua New Guinea will meet New Caledonia at 12.30pm while defending champions New Zealand play Fiji at 3.30pm.
Cook Islands vs. Vanuatu – 9.30am Tuesday 23 April
The Cook Islands have made slow but steady progress since their debut in this tournament. The 5-0 loss to New Caledonia on Match Day 3 is evidence of their advances as not only did goalkeeper Keegan Inia make some super saves to keep out the Caledonian attack, but Cook Islands strike force put up a strong challenge of their own on the counter. However already missing Samuel Maoate-Cox due to an injury sustained during match one, and could also lose Sunai Joseph following yesterday’s match. However coach Tuka Tisam is confident his bench has the depth to continue as their battle to lift themselves off the bottom of the table. Hosts Vanuatu will not be an easy match as they will still be smarting from their 2-1 loss to New Zealand. Vanuatu’s attack continues to create chances from anywhere on the pitch but they aren’t finishing which has proven costly in each of their matches so far. Ruben Frank stood out against the Young All Whites, dribbling with ease through the midfield, and if he can repeat this performance the Cook Islands could struggle to shut him down.
In their own words
“I know one of our players is out, and we’ll be waiting to see of another has been ruled out for the next match or not. I’ve still got players on the bench ready to go. We’ll be fighting all the way to the end and giving everything we’ve got.” – Cook Islands coach Tuka Tisam
“We are looking for a win as we haven’t had one yet, just two draws and Sunday’s loss to New Zealand. I think the Cook Islands are a team that we could secure a win against.” – Vanuatu assistant coach Tiel Joses
Papua New Guinea vs. New Caledonia – 12.30pm Tuesday 23 April
With a draw and a win already Papua New Guinea appeared to be favourites to win their encounter against Fiji but the Fijians had other plans as they broke down the normally structured side to take a 2-0 victory. John Ray was effective in defensive but his usual attacks from the back were sorely missed. Papua New Guinea will need to regroup if they hope to compete against this cohesive Caledonian team. With a number of key players rested against Cook Islands, Kamali Fitialeata’s side will approach their opponent with respect as always but intend to play their way to another victory. Eugene Sakilia played brilliantly in his first start of the tournament while the partnership between goal scorers Raymond Xanatre and Macinou Wamai proved and could see the trio pushing for more regular starts.
In their own words
“I think New Caledonia play in a similar style to us and we do like to play the same type of football. They have a lot of speed so we will need to keep the ball well. We know we won’t be able to win the tournament but it would be great to finish third or fourth.” – Papua New Guinea coach Bobby Morris
“We feel like Papua New Guinea on Tuesday will be another good match. It will be difficult as it is a team that has been injured because they lost on Sunday and will come back with a different argument, a different attitude, and it’s up to us to prepare as vigilantly as possible. And we hope to win of course.” – New Caledonia coach Kamali Fitialeata
New Zealand vs. Fiji – 3.30pm Tuesday 23 April
Defending champions New Zealand were forced to battle for a 2-1 victory over hosts Vanuatu and approaching the fourth match in seven days in hot and humid conditions will be a hard task for the Young All Whites. They cannot underestimate Fiji who proved they are capable of matching the best after defeating Papua New Guinea 2-0. Fiji will be on a high following their win, but cannot rest on their laurels as they come up against the table leaders. Fiji’s side is young and inexperienced but can rely on captain Iosefo Verevou to lead them. With Verevou’s strike power and the defensive abilities of Rupeni Rabici and Kelvin Naidu Fiji are sure to put up a good fight.
In their own words
“All the teams here are good sides Fiji included. They’ve got some really good individual players and are starting to get some real cohesion and structure so it’s going to be a hard game. I don’t think there’s any easy games here anymore so it’s a game we’ll go into fully prepared, see what we’ve got available on the day, see what Fiji throw at us and hopefully it will be another day where we can come out on top.” – New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley
“New Zealand are a very good side but we will try to match them and I hope that we can do well. We have watched them play and they are very quick with the ball, they play a lot of one touch passes with good movement so we will have to be well organised in defence to deal with it.” – Fiji coach Kamal Swamy
OFC U-17 Championship – MATCH DAY 4 PREVIEW
This is the official preview of Match Day 4. Please note squads are subject to change.
Cook Islands vs. Vanuatu
9.30am local time, Tuesday 23 April
Luganville Soccer City Stadium
Luganville, Vanuatu
Referee: Albert MARU [PNG]
Assistant Referee 1: Avinesh NARAYAN [FIJ]
Assistant Referee 2: Folio MOEAKI [TON]
4th Official: Ravitesh BEHARI [FIJ]
Cook Islands: 1. Keegan INIA [GK], 2. Sunai JOSEPH, 4. Cahjun WILLIS, 5. Ford HENRY, 6. Takuina TARARO, 7. Dwayne TIPUTOA, 8. Kimiora SAMUELA, 9. Pekay EDWARDS, 10. Thane BEAL, 11. Maro BONSU-MARO, 12. Wiremu TEMATA, 13. Jarves APERAU, 14. Terei GEORGE, 15. Morgan WICHMAN, 16. Te-Ava WICHMAN, 17.
Samuel MAOATE-COX, 20. Antonio TUAITI [GK]
Coach: Tuka TISAM [COK]
Vanuatu: 1. Charlie WAIVUI [GK], 2. Jaison THOMAS, 3. Goshen DONNA, 4. Elie MELTE ROSSI, 5. Remy KALSRAP, 6. Douglas PATRICK, 7. Etienne NAIEU, 8. Alphonse TOA, 9. Gregory ROUARD, 10. Bong KALO, 11. Alex SANIEL, 12. Jacky RUBEN, 13. Justin KOKA, 14. Andre BULE, 15. Andrew VANVA, 16. Ruben FRANK, 17. Kerry IAWAK, 18. Renold IWAI, 19. Joe NAKO, 20. Samuel LOLI [GK]
Coach: Etienne MERMER [VAN]
Papua New Guinea vs. New Caledonia
12.30pm local time, Tuesday 23 April
Luganville Soccer City Stadium
Luganville, Vanuatu
Referee: Nelson SOGO [SOL]
Assistant Referee 1: Mahit CHILIA [VAN]
Assistant Referee 2: Paavo MUSTONEM [COK]
4th Official: Bruce GEORGE [VAN]
Papua New Guinea: 1. Peter PITOR [GK], 2. Jonel KAMBUAL, 3. Felix KOMOLONG, 4. Nigel MALAGIAN, 5. John RAY (c), 6. Kepas KAMEN, 7. Joshua TALAU, 8. David MINGAI, 9. Joshua WADUNAH, 10. Steven INIA, 11. Abraham MANDAWALI, 12. Glenn KAMBUKA, 13. Nicky BENJAMIN, 14. Peter DABINYABA, 15. Dallas NAMUESH, 16. Maya BOB, 17. Stanley STEVEN, 18. Randoll BONGI, 20. Vagi KONIEL [GK], 23. Andrew AOPI [GK]
Coach: Bob MORRIS [PNG]
New Caledonia: 1. Thomas SCHMIDT [GK], 2. Pierre BOANEMOA, 3. Yorick WAINEBENGO, 4. Jean-Luc DECOIRE, 5. Didier SIMANE, 6. Jim OUKA, 7. Roberto NEOERE, 8. Antony KAI, 9. Valentin NYKEINE, 10. Mickael PARTODIKROMO, 11. Ben WAMOWE, 12. Theo JALABERT, 13. Brandon MEAOU, 14. Eugene SAKILIA, 15. Jacky WETEWEA, 16. Emmanuel CASE, 17. Raymond XANATRE, 18. Erwan AUSSU, 19. Macinou WAMAI, 20. Jimmy WAHNAPO [GK]
Coach: Kamali FITIALEATA
New Zealand vs. Fiji
3.30pm local time, Tuesday 23 April
Luganville Soccer City Stadium
Luganville, Vanuatu
Referee: Isidore ASSIENE-AMBASSA [NCL]
Assistant Referee 1: Douglas METE [SOL}
Assistant Referee 2: Philippe REVEL [TAH]
4th Official: Jacques AVERII [TAH]
New Zealand: 1. Zac SPEEDY [GK], 2. Riley KELLIHER, 3. Cory BROWN, 4. Nick FORRESTER, 5. Adam MITCHELL, 6. Alex PALEZEVIC, 7. Andrew BLAKE, 8. Michael DEN HEIJER, 9. Elijah NEBLETT, 10. Matthew RIDENTON, 11. Monty PATTERSON, 12. Sam COPP [GK], 13. Spiros AGATHOS, 14. Andre DE JONG, 15. Thomas PROBERT, 16. Meysum SHAFAHI, 17. Nick SUGDEN, 18. Stuart HOLTHUSEN, 19
. Alex RUFER, 20. Tamupiwa DIMAIRO
Coach: Darren BAZELEY [ENG]
Fiji: 1. Ratu YAVALA [GK], 2. Rupeni RABICI, 3. Joseva KOROI, 4. Suliano TAWANANAKORO, 5. Iliesa SMITH, 6. Maikeli KETEWAI, 7. Ravnit CHAND, 8. Kelvin NAIDU, 9. Shalvin SHARMA, 10. Iosefo VEREVOU, 11. Vishwa SHARMA, 12. Prashant SHARMA, 13. Raees RAFIQ, 14. Anusheel SINGH, 15. Seremaia KOROI, 16. Mohammed MOBEEN, 17. Mataiasi TOMA, 18. Jonetani BUKSH, 19. Sekove FINAU, 20. Misiwani NAIRUBE [GK]
Coach: Kamal SWAMY [FIJ]