The Cook Islands have defeated Tahiti in a senior men’s international match for the first time in their history, winning 3-2 in the second of the two-game series between the two nations in Rarotonga.
Playing at home for the first time in 28 years during this year’s extended September-October international window, it’s the Cook Islands first win on home soil since a 4-3 victory over America Samoa at the Polynesian Cup on the 3rd of September 1998, and comes in just Rhys Ruka’s second game in charge as the new head coach of the men’s national team.
“I wasn’t expecting to get a result like this when I came over here to take charge of them to be honest,” Ruka told Cook Islands Football Association (CIFA) Media after the historc win at the CIFA Complex.
The Cook Islands had lost the first match of the two-game series 1-3 to Tahiti just four days earlier, but turned it around to produce arguably the nation’s greatest result in their football history.
“We’re very new together. I’m a new coach, there’s some new players, there’s some younger ones coming through, and this first window has been very experimental. This result is massive for us. In a very short space of time we’ve created a really good environment,” said Ruka.
“Although we lost the first match, we established that we could compete against one of the better teams in the region, and that gave us belief heading into this second game.”
Two goals inside the first ten minutes gave the Cook Islands the perfect start, captain Ben Mata and Tremaine Rimene-Albrett both finding the back of the net. Kamalani Benett responded with two quick goals of his own to level it up for Tahiti at 2-2, but Mata scored his second goal of the evening to clinch the victory for the Cook Islands in the 49th minute.
“They were two very different games. We weren’t suprised at the level of the Cook Islands, and I need to recognise the level of spirit they showed,” Tahiti coach Joel Frechet told CIFA Media after the second match. “They deserved the win, and they stopped us from playing our short passing game.”
It’s also the first time that the Cook Islands have defeated a full OFC Member Association other than Samoa, Tonga, or American Samoa, and is just their third win at senior level in a decade.
The result should give Ruka and his side plenty of confidence as they build towards OFC Men’s Nations Cup 2028 – Qualifying (to be held in Rarotonga next year), and FIFA World Cup 2030™ qualifiers after that.
The two nations are scheduled to lock horns again in another two-match series in Tahiti in the next window in November 2026.
Photo credit: Cook Islands Football Association (CIFA) Media