Photo Credit: OFC Media via Phototek
The New Zealand and New Caledonia U-17 men’s sides have played each other twice this week at Fred Taylor Park in Auckland as part of their preparations for the FIFA U-17 World Cup Finals.
New Zealand defeated New Caledonia in the final of the OFC Men’s U-17 Championship in Fiji in January with both sides qualifying for the FIFA showpiece tournament.
Both matches this week in Auckland were competitive with the sides battling out a 1-1 draw on Tuesday before New Zealand won Thursday’s fixture 3-0.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup is being held in Indonesia from November 10 to December 2 and features 24 teams, split into six groups of four. Initially due to be held in 2021 in Brazil, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a cancellation, with the the 2023 tournament the first since 2019.
The draw is scheduled to be made at a later date.
The qualified teams are:
Argentina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Indonesia, IR Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Senegal, Spain, USA, Uzbekistan, Venezuela.