New Zealand and New Caledonia have battled to a goalless but gripping Group B encounter at the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2025 in the Solomon Islands.
Both sides came into the match on the back of convincing opening wins, New Zealand over Samoa and New Caledonia against hosts Solomon Islands, and while the scoreboard stayed blank, the contest delivered plenty of drama.
New Zealand dominated possession and created more attempts, but New Caledonia’s speed on the counter kept the defending champions under constant pressure.
The first real chance fell to Ethan Dupuis, who fired narrowly over the bar for New Caledonia, before New Zealand’s Cailean Hamilton tested Sylvain Ipeze in the 10th minute with a shot straight at the keeper. Dupuis was again in the thick of the action soon after, forcing New Zealand’s Joseph Chalabi into a fingertip save from a curling free kick.
As the half wore on, New Zealand pushed higher and spent long spells in New Caledonia’s half, but New Caledonia’s disciplined defending denied the Kiwis any clear openings. On the stroke of half-time, James Wenceslao went close with an effort that whistled just wide, sending the teams into the break level.
Both sides came out firing in the second spell. Dupuis again went close with a long-range strike in the 57th minute, while New Zealand’s best opportunity arrived in the 73rd when substitute Jack Clegg fired over the bar from close range after meeting a Matias Nunez cross.
Deep into injury time replacement Lenddy Wede was put through one on one with the New Zealand keeper but his shot under pressure from Chalabi went wide.
In the end, New Zealand was forced to settle for a point, a rare outcome for the defending champions, while New Caledonia will be the more satisfied, with both sides still well placed to advance to the semi-finals.
New Zealand 0
New Caledonia 0
HT 0-0