Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News 
March 20 – New Zealand will probably be sky-high favourites to clinch Oceania’s 2026 World Cup ticket, however within the ultimate spherical of qualifiers different contenders can safe a playoff berth.
On Friday the third spherical will attain its climax, with 4 groups remaining in competition. With dwelling benefit, the All Whites face Fiji within the first semi-final, whereas New Caledonia meet Tahiti within the different last-four encounter.
New Zealand will probably be spearheaded by veteran Chris Wooden, who has excelled at Nottingham Forest. Having debuted for New Zealand in 2009, the striker has scored a file 38 objectives in additional than 80 appearances for his nation, together with New Zealand’s final 4 World Cup playoffs – towards Bahrain (2009), Mexico (2013), Peru (2017) and Costa Rica (2022).
New Zealand did not make Doha, however this time Oceania advantages from a direct qualification for the World Cup after FIFA expanded the worldwide finals to 48 groups.
“We’ve bought an opportunity, beginning on Friday, to attain one thing nice and I do consider Oceania ought to have an automated entry, since a very long time in the past, to make it a full World Cup of each continent all over the world,” mentioned Wooden. “It’s really a good method of doing it and our confederation ought to be represented in some form of method.”
Fiji are with out Roy Krishna, their all-time prime scorer and talisman, after he injured his anterior cruciate ligament. Nonetheless, they’re unbeaten in qualifying and can profit from a three-week coaching camp collectively, whereas New Zealand will simply have one coaching session earlier than the semi-final.
The opposite semi-final is a serious alternative for Tahiti to make amends for his or her exit in qualifying 4 years in the past and declare a ticket to an intercontinental playoff.
Tahiti head coach Samuel Garcia has all the time mentioned that has been his facet’s large dream to take action and is banking on the Tehau cousins to steer them previous New Caledonia. Each side are exterior the highest 150 within the FIFA rating.
Auckland’s Eden Park will stage the ultimate of the area’s World Cup qualifying on March 24.
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