New Zealand have won their tenth OFC U-19 Men’s Championship crown, defeating Tahiti 2-0 at the Samoa Football HQ in Apia.
The Junior All Whites were made to work hard to get their hands back on the trophy though, only finding the initial breakthrough just before half-time, and then sealing victory with a strike from Harley Hill late on.
It was a far cry from the 8-0 win that New Zealand enjoyed when the two nations met 12 days earlier in the knockout stage, and a far more competitive contest between OFC’s two representatives at next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Tahiti worked hard to keep the New Zealand attack at bay for almost all of the first half, even despite losing Bradley Ruiz to injury early on, one of three players in the squad with experience playing in the OFC Pro League for Tahiti United.
Just as it looked like they would hold the Junior All Whites scoreless through to half-time though, disaster struck. Dejaun Naidoo powered a dangerous low delivery into the box, which defender Malo Dieugard could only put in the back of his own net under pressure from Victor Barbosa.
Oscar Grosso missed two big chances in quick succession to add to their lead in the second half, forcing back-to-back saves from Nihuau Firiapu, whilst Keahinui Brown came close for Tahiti with a long-range effort that curled inches wide of finding the top-left corner of the net.
Substitute Harley Hill eventually provided the finishing touch for New Zealand in the 79th minute, drawing level with Solomon Islands captain Jayroll Patty atop the Golden Boot standings with his fifth goal of the tournament and New Zealand’s second of the afternoon.
He came close to claiming the Golden Boot outright as well, having a goal ruled out for offside, before having a late spot kick saved by Firiapu.
Two goals were enough for the Kiwis to hold onto the title for the fifth successive edition though, and attention will quickly turn towards FIFA U-20 World Cup 2027™ – the next step for both New Zealand and Tahiti.
Tahiti: 0
New Zealand: 2 (Own Goal 45+4’, Harley HILL 79’)
HT: 0-1
Earlier in the day, the Solomon Islands finished with the bronze medal after defeating New Caledonia 1-0 in the third-place play-off.
Like the two finalists, these two nations had already met at the group stage, and the Solomon Islands replicated their earlier 3-1 success at Samoa Football HQ to finish their OFC U-19 Men’s Championship 2026 campaign on a high.
Seltia Blake scored the only goal of the game in the 73rd minute, after having the ball laid off for him in the penalty box by player of the match Michael Horikura.
It’s the second edition in a row, and the fourth time overall that the Solomon Islands have finished third at the championship, as well as the seventh consecutive time that New Caledonia have finished inside the top four.
Solomon Islands: 1 (Seltia BLAKE 73’)
New Caledonia: 0
HT: 0-0
Photo credit: OFC Media via Phototek