Both fresh from the high of securing their tickets to FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2027™ in Morocco, New Zealand and New Caledonia will meet in the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2026 final at the National Stadium in Honiara on Saturday night.
On paper, the continental title is New Zealand’s to lose, having never lost a match at the competition, and winning all seven previous editions of the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship dating back to 2010
New Caledonia arrive off one of the most incredible achievements in their nation’s history though, qualifying for their first FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with their win in the semi-finals.
Ahead of Saturday’s decider, we’ve taken a closer look at the route of both teams, their head-to-head history, and the players from either side to keep an eye on.
Route to the final
New Zealand have again been at their dominant best at this year’s OFC U-16 Women’s Championship, scoring 17 goals in five matches without reply.
They topped Group A with three wins from three, before qualifying for their 11th consecutive FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Papua New Guinea in the semi-finals. The only team to test them at the tournament thus far has been Fiji, requiring a stunning a late stoppage-time goal from Bonnie Rice to win 1-0.
That should give New Caledonia some hope, who defeated the Kulas 1-0 in the semi-finals to reach their first World Cup at this level.
It came after they topped Group B with three wins and nine points, the first time they’ve ever achieved such a feat at the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship.
Tale of the Tape
These two nations have met once before in the final in 2017, New Zealand cruising to a 6-0 victory nine years ago.
This is New Caledonia’s first appearance in the decider since, whilst the Young Football Ferns have featured and won all five previous finals without even conceding a single goal, including a 3-0 win over Samoa in 2025.
New Zealand were challenged in their most recent meeting at the championship last year though, fighting hard for a 4-2 victory at the semi-final stage.
Undoubtedly the defending champions will be favourites to retain their crown, but history is there to be broken by New Caledonia’s most successful generation to date.
Players to Watch
Jess Saunders (New Zealand)
The competition’s joint-top scorer with one final match to play, New Zealand’s Jess Saunders has scored five goals in four games, three of which came in the side’s 5-0 win over the Solomon Islands on the opening day of the Championship.
The Auckland United product also had a hand in all three of the Young Football Ferns’ goals in their semi-final win over Papua New Guinea, making her the key goal contributor in the defending champions run to the final.
Heidra Adjouhgniope
New Caledonia’s speed up top has continually proven troublesome for opposing defences to contain at this year’s OFC U-16 Women’s Championship. And whilst they will be expected to do a lot more defensive work against New Zealand in the final, the pace of Heidra Adjouhgniope is an area New Caledonia will want to cause problems.
Adjouhgniope scored in all three of the nation’s group stage matches and has combined well with attacking parter Kinë Hmaen up top – both of whom represent the new stars of women’s football in New Caledonia. If they can both space on the break, they have the ability to punish the defending champions on Saturday evening.
Fixture Details
OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2026 Final
New Zealand v New Caledonia | National Stadium, Honiara | 7pm local time | Watch live and free on OFC’s YouTube channel HERE
Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek