Qualification for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2027™ will be at stake when the semi-finals of OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2026 are played in Honiara on Wednesday evening.
New Zealand will play Papua New Guinea in the first semi-final at 4pm local time, before New Caledonia face Fiji at 7pm local time, with the winners to qualify for the global finals in Morocco next year, and advance to the continental final.
Ahead of Wednesday’s crunch matches, the coaches and the captains of the four semi-finalists gathered to give their thoughts at the Heritage Park Hotel in Honiara.
Semi-final 1: New Zealand v Papua New Guinea
National Stadium, Honiara | 4pm local time | Watch HERE
Ten years after their last appearance at the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship, Papua New Guinea are back in the semi-finals, a decade after finishing runners-up to New Zealand in the final in 2016.
Their rise back to the top four has been remarkable, having received a late call-up to join the tournament following Tahiti’s withdrawal. They also had to recover from an opening defeat to New Caledonia to sneak into the semi-finals as runners-up from Group B, beating Samoa 2-0 on the final matchday of group stage action.
Qualifying for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for the first time will be a whole other challenge though, and defeating New Zealand is something no nation has achieved previously in tournament history.
The Young Football Ferns have never lost or drawn one of their 31 matches since the inaugural edition of the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship in 2010, winning all seven titles, and qualifying for all nine FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup’s.
They’ve been dominant again in the Solomon Islands, topping Group A without conceding a goal, despite leaving it late to defeat Fiji 1-0.
As mentioned, these two nations last met in the final in 2016, New Zealand cruising to an 8-0 victory at the CIFA Academy in the Cook Islands – with Hannah Blake and Jacqui Hand both scoring hat-tricks. Prior to that, the Young Ferns also recorded consecutive 9-0 wins in 2010 and 2012.
With so much on the line, Papua New Guinea will need to produce something extraordinary if they are to end New Zealand’s impressive unbeaten run.
What the coaches said:
New Zealand head coach Alana Gunn said:
“We definitely won’t be complacent. We learnt that lesson against Fiji, and we watched Papua New Guinea play their final group stage match with a lot of passion. The conditions are hard here and the opposition are fierce.”
“This match means a lot for Papua New Guinea and we’re expecting nothing but a fight. The players are well aware of our history at this tournament, and we don’t want to be the first team to lose a match, so it does add pressure. How we manage that is all part of the experience of coming to this tournament.”
Papua New Guinea head coach Susan Steven said:
“It means so much to us. The purpose throughout the campaign has been to continually develop the players on and off the field, and now they are into a match that carries a lot of significance for them and the country.”
“Most of the players in the team come from our districts in Papua New Guinea, and it’s been wonderful for them to come this far. We want to inspire the next generation of girls in our country, and show them that we can compete.”
Semi-final 2: New Caledonia v Fiji
National Stadium, Honiara | 7pm local time | Watch HERE
At least one debutant from Oceania will be guaranteed at next year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup when New Caledonia face Fiji in the second semi-final at the National Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Both nations have never previously appeared on the world stage at this level, presenting an historic opportunity for either to break new ground.
New Caledonia have put together a hot run of form in the Solomon Islands thus far, topping Group B with three wins and nine points. It’s the first time they’ve ever done so at the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship, reaching the last four at the tournament for the fifth time and the second year in a row.
Fiji have also given a strong account of themselves, pushing New Zealand all the way in their group stage clash before conceding the only goal in a 1-0 defeat in second half stoppage-time. They ultimately secured safe passage as runners-up from Group A with wins over the Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands.
Both sides have shaky historical semi-final records at the tournament though, with Fiji winning one of their previous three at this stage, and New Caledonia only winning one of their previous four. New Caledonia’s lone win came against Fiji in their only previous semi-final meeting in 2017.
Something has to give in Honiara however, and victory for either would write a new chapter in their nation’s footballing history.
What the coaches said:
New Caledonia head coach Kenjy Vendegou said:
“The engagement of the team has really impressed me throughout the campaign so far, and they’ve done well to reach their potential. We’re expecting a really tough semi-final, and we’ll do our best to make sure we get our preparation right.”
“Fiji are very strong and athletic, so we’ll have to raise our standard even higher. The message is clear for the players that we want to play with pride and humility. The key factor will be to play with our hearts.”
Fiiji head coach Nicola Demaine said:
“We’re trying not to think about what’s at stake and rather trying to focus on the first 45 minutes of the game. For 90% of the players involved in these semi-finals, this will be the biggest match of their lives so far, so it will be all about who can keep their cool and stick to the tactics.”
“I watched a few of New Caledonia’s matches and I was really impressed with their technical ability – their first touch, and their short passing. I feel like we have some advantages from a physical point of view, but it will be a very interesting match to watch, and a challenging one for us involved.”
Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek
How to Watch
Both OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2026 semi-finals will be available to watch live and free on OFC’s YouTube channel HERE