History will be made this month when New Caledonia make their first appearance at a FIFA women’s event, marking a significant development and milestone for women’s football in the Melanesian nation.
The French-speaking nation will represent OFC at FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2026 in Poland, where they have been drawn alongside former champions Spain, China, and Nigeria, in the group stage.
How they Qualified
New Caledonia qualified for their first FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup by reaching the final of OFC U-19 Women’s Championship 2025 in Tahiti last year.
Despite winning only two of their five matches at the continental championship, a 2-0 win over Fiji in the semi-finals booked their place on the world stage, before they lost 0-3 to New Zealand in the final.
Tournament History
New Caledonia are one of six debutants at FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2026, including host nation Poland.
This will be the highest level of football that a women’s football team from New Caledonia has ever been exposed too, let alone the U-20 national team, making them huge underdogs. An 0-11 defeat to England prior to the tournament was also the first time the U-20s have played opposition from outside Oceania.
The coach: Leon Waitronyie
The mastermind behind New Caledonia’s first-ever qualification for a FIFA women’s tournament, Leon Waitronyie is a well-respected women’s coach in New Caledonia and led them through the OFC U-19 Women’s Championship.
He was also recently named as the selector for the senior women’s national team and served as their head coach at the FIFA Series in April.
The squad
16 of the squad remain from their run to the final of the OFC U-19 Women’s Championship last year, of which all also featured for the senior New Caledonian women’s team at the FIFA Series in Thailand earlier this year.
Seven also featured for New Caledonian club Drehu Athletico Club at this year’s OFC Women’s Champions League in the Solomon Islands.
Their preparations for the tournament included an 0-11 defeat to England, and a 0-1 defeat to a French club from Issy-Les-Moulineux in Paris.
Key Players
Elisabeth Aben
The Golden Glove winner at OFC U-19 Women’s Championship 2025 for the best goalkeeper of the tournament, Elisabeth Aben has played a major part in New Caledonia’s qualification for Poland.
She also made her senior international debut for New Caledonia in a FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier with Papua New Guinea earlier in the year and travelled with the squad to the FIFA Series in Thailand.
Kane Dralu
Another to have featured for the senior women’s national team, and a goalscorer in New Caledonia’s FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier win over Vanuatu earlier in the year, Kane Dralu is one of the more experienced players in the side.
She also recently featured at OFC Women’s Champions League 2026 for Drehu Athletico Club, scoring a goal against eventual champions Auckland United.
Match Schedule
New Caledonia v China | 12am NCT, Tuesday 8th September | Zaglebie Sports Park, Sosnowiec
Spain v New Caledonia | 12am NCT, Friday 11th September | Zaglebie Sports Park, Sosnowiec
Nigeria v New Caledonia | 12am NCT, Monday 14th September | Zaglebie Sports Park, Sosnowiec
How to Watch
All matches at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup™ 2026 will be available to watch live and free on FIFA+ via DAZN.
Supporters can watch by signing in to DAZN with a FIFA ID. If you don’t already have one, you can create a FIFA ID during the sign-in process.