OFC U-17 Championship 2011

Hideki Ishigei of Japan is tackled by Kip Colvey of New Zealand during the FIFA U-17 World Cup round of 16 match (Photo by Jeff Mitchell – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

The fourteenth edition of the OFC U-17 Championship took place in 2011 and doubled as qualification for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico™. The tournament was held in Auckland, New Zealand for the second consecutive time and was contested between ten member associations.

New Zealand were drawn into Group A and didn’t have too much trouble coming out on top, after a 5-1 win over Vanuatu, they faced their biggest test in Fiji, whom they beat 1-0. They followed this up with wins against American Samoa and Papua New Guinea to finish the group stages unbeaten. Tahiti emerged from Group B as contenders for the title after progressing through to the final unbeaten.

Stephen Carmichael of New Zealand is congratulated by team-mates after scoring during the FIFA U-17 World Cup against Uzbekistan (Photo by Shaun Botterill – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Goals from Cameron Howieson and Tim Payne carried New Zealand to a 2-0 victory over Tahiti in the final, as they claimed a third successive and fourth OFC U-17 Championship title. Solomon Islands edged Vanuatu to claim third place.

At the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico, New Zealand opened their account with a resounding 4-1 victory against Uzbekistan, they followed that up with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Czech Republic, before securing a goalless draw against the USA in their final group match. There four points was enough to see them advance to the knockout stages as the best ranked third placed team at the tournament. New Zealand’s impressive journey came to an end at the Round of 16 as they suffered a 6-0 defeat to Japan.

Lukas Julis of Czech Republic is challenged by Reece Lambert of New Zealand during the FIFA U-17 World Cup (Photo by Shaun Botterill – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)