Related by blood, friendship, and the football field, Joseph Athale and Germain Haewegene will step onto the pitch at the Guadalajara Stadium, Mexico, together in three weeks’ time for one of the most important fixtures in New Caledonian football history.
Both playing professionally for the first time with Tahiti United in the OFC Pro League this season, the pair are second cousins through their grandmothers, and are set to feature for the New Caledonia men’s national team in their FIFA World Cup 2026™ Play-off Tournament semi-final against Jamaica in Guadalajara on March 26th (local time).
“We grew up together,” says Athale. “It’s good to have a brother beside you like that. If I have a dip in form, he’s there to lift me up, and vice versa.”
Athale plays as a defender, whilst Haewegene is a forward. The pair have followed similar paths since starting at the same youth club as kids, playing together for domestic side AS Magenta, the New Caledonian national team, and ultimately signing their first professional contracts together for Tahiti United in the inaugural OFC Pro League this year.
“I was pleasantly surprised when I found out he had signed for Tahiti United with me,” says Haewegene. “We’re family in football, but also outside of football — we’re cousins. We have a very good relationship.”
Both believe they have developed as players in the short period of time they have spent in a professional environment and will take that experience into the New Caledonian camp.
“In New Caledonia we’re not really used to training and playing in this kind of environment,” says Haewegene. “Now it’s football in the morning, football in the afternoon, and meetings before going to bed at night — things like that. It’s very new for me, but it’s part of my experience and I really enjoy it.”
If New Caledonia are to qualify for their first FIFA World Cup™, they will first have to beat Jamaica in the semi-final, and then defeat African nation DR Congo in a play-off final – with the carrot of a spot in Group K of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ on the line, alongside Portugal, Colombia, and Uzbekistan.
The Cagous have never played such high calibre international opposition like Jamaica outside of the OFC region before, who are ranked #70 on the FIFA Rankings, 80 places above New Caledonia’s ranking of #150.
“Many Jamaican players play at a high level around the world. It’s going to be a big challenge,” says Haewegene. “We can’t look too far ahead though. First, we focus on Jamaica. Then we’ll see.”
New Caledonia have reached this stage of the qualification campaign after finishing second in OFC qualifying, losing in a hard-fought encounter to New Zealand in the final at Eden Park, and receiving a second chance through the intercontinental play-off process.
“It’s been a magical qualifying campaign and a pure joy to represent the country, especially knowing that back home we’ve been going through some difficult times,” says Haewegene. “Despite that, we didn’t give up. We told ourselves we would proudly represent our country and give everything.”
Both believe head coach Johan Sidaner has played a big part in their run to this stage, since joining the national team in 2022. Prior to arriving, Sidaner spent 11 years coaching youth teams in FC Nantes.
“He’s really brought us that extra edge and that touch from FC Nantes. There are many things tactically, especially in positioning and athletically,” says Athale.
Athale made his international debut for New Caledonia ahead of the OFC Men’s Nations Cup in 2016 and has since collected 22 caps and scored three goals in ten years, making him one of the squad’s most experienced players.
“It’s a great source of pride, and it’s an obligation for us to go out there and proudly represent our country, our flag, and the family behind us,” he says. “With everything we’ve been through, we must go to Mexico to show who we are and to show that “our little rock” exists on this planet Earth.”
Opportunities to play together as a squad have been limited since that qualifying final defeat to New Zealand, but New Caledonia did manage a 2-0 victory over Gibraltar in their most recent international match in November 2025 – becoming the first Pacific Island nation to beat European opposition in a senior men’s international.
Germain Haewegene has only 7 international caps in contrast to his second cousin, but was one of the goalscorers in that landmark result against Gibraltar.
“It was a very historic moment for us as Pacific Islanders, to be able to play that match against Gibraltar in the first place,” says Haewegene. “It was a source of pride for me to score on European soil, especially in a country so far away. The result has given us confidence heading into the play-off match.”
The odds seem stacked against New Caledonia, but with professional experience under their belt and belief in their squad and systems, Athale and Haewegene are both daring to dream of qualifying for their first FIFA World Cup™.
“It’s realistic if we believe in it,” says Haewegene. “I’m very confident in my team. It would be a huge source of pride for our small country, for our Cagous. It would also be a great pride for each of us personally, because it would be the reward for years of work for some players — and many sacrifices.”
Athale takes heart from other nations in different confederations who have already upset the odds to qualify for FIFA World Cup 2026™.
“Smaller nations like Curaçao and Cape Verde have shown us that anything is possible,” he says.
“Football is magical like that. Why not us?”
FIFA World Cup 2026™ Play-offs Path A Semi-final
New Caledonia vs Jamaica | Friday 27th March | 14:00 NCT (Thursday 26th March, 21:00 local time) | Guadalajara Stadum, Mexico