New Zealand to face PNG in quest for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup place
New Zealand will play Papua New Guinea in Wednesday’s semi-finals at the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship in the Solomon Islands.
The other semi-final will be between New Caledonia and Fiji.
The two sides that reach the final will automatically qualify for the 2027 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
That’s the scenario after the conclusion of group play on Sunday, in which New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea won their last games in Group B.
Main photo: Papua New Guinea have reached the semi-finals of the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship. Photo credit: OFC Media / Phototek.
Second-half goals carry PNG into semi-finals
Papua New Guinea are back in the last four of the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship for the first time since 2016, after defeating Samoa 2-0 on the final matchday in Group B at the National Stadium in Honiara.
Second-half goals from Delma Duadak and Chriszanne Sifas secured the semi-final berth for the young Bilums, who edged into second spot ahead of their opponents with two wins and six points from their three group matches.
The result is even more significant because Papua New Guinea didn’t originally qualify for the championship, replacing Tahiti after they withdrew, to appear at the tournament for the first time in a decade.
Samoa had the better openings in a quiet first half, but it was Duadak who found the breakthrough for Papua New Guinea in the 68th minute, finishing from close range, after Sifas had held up the ball in the penalty box.
Sifas then scored the second, muscling her way through the Samoan defence and rolling the ball into the bottom-left corner to make sure of the win in the 85th minute, and set up a semi-final with New Zealand on Wednesday.
The full-time whistle brought tears of joy for Papua New Guinea, but disappointment for Samoa, ending their hopes of qualifying for a third consecutive FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, after reaching the last two championship finals. They’ll play the Solomon Islands in the fifth-place play-off on Thursday instead.
New Caledonia keep winning form in pool play
New Caledonia claimed top spot in Group B with a 4-1 win over Tonga, setting up a semi-final with Fiji.
Wylone Haewegene scored twice as they finished atop the group standings with nine points and three wins from three — the first time they’ve achieved such a feat in OFC U-16 Women’s Championship history.
Heidra Adjouhgniope opened the scoring inside the first four minutes, finding the back of the net in all three of her group games, after pouncing on a rebound from Tonga goalkeeper Juanita Kiu inside the penalty box.
Haewegene got the second 10 minutes later, latching onto a perfectly weighted pass in-behind the defence from Gisele Hace, before Emma Jiako scored the third shortly before half-time with a right-footed effort into the bottom-left corner, wrapping up the contest inside the first 45 minutes.
Haewegene’s second for the fourth New Caledonian goal was a cracker, picking out the top-right corner from the edge of the box in the 51st minute, and rounding out a dominant afternoon for Kenjy Vendegou’s side.
Finishing bottom of Group B, Tonga will face the Cook Islands in the 7th-place play-off on Thursday but did at least score a consolation goal. A flighted free kick delivery towards the penalty box found Anne Tali to scramble the ball into the net.
Acknowledgement
We thank OFC Media for providing information for this story.
Results
Games played on Sunday September 13, 2026
Group B
Tonga 1 (Anne Tali 68′)
New Caledonia 4 (Heidra Adjouhgniope 4’, Wylone Haewegene 13’, 51’, Emma Jiako 41’)
Papua New Guinea 2 (Delma Duadak 69′, Chriszanne Sifas 85′)
Samoa 0
OFC U-16 Women’s Championship Group B
| Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Caledonia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| Papua New Guinea | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| Samoa | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 |
| Tonga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 0 |
OFC U-16 Women’s Championship Group A
| Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 9 |
| Fiji | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 6 |
| Solomon Islands | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 1 |
| Cook Islands | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 19 | -19 | 1 |
Fixtures
Games to be played on Wednesday September 16, 2026
Semi-final 1
New Zealand v Papua New Guinea
National Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands, 5pm (NZT)
Semi-final 2
New Caledonia v Fiji
National Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands, 8pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Thursday September 17, 2026
Play-off for 7th place
Cook Islands v Tonga
National Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands, 5pm (NZT)
Play-off for 5th place
Solomon Islands v Samoa
National Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands, 8pm (NZT)
Games to be played on Saturday September 19, 2026
Play-off for 3rd place
Losers semi-final 1 v losers semi-final 2
National Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands, 5pm (NZT)
Winners semi-final 1 v winners semi-final 2
National Stadium, Honiara, Solomon Islands, 8pm (NZT)
This story was first published on September 13, 2026.
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