Off To World Cup
The Digicel Fijian Under-19 football side has secured a spot in next year’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Indonesia.
The Samuela Navoce-captained side beat New Caledonia 1-0 in the first semi-final of the OFC U19 Championship at Stade Pater in Pirae, Tahiti, yesterday.
An emotional coach, Ronil Lal, said to qualify for the World Cup was a big boost for the country after all the suffering from the pandemic.
“This is for you (people of Fiji),” Lal said.
He said the win was made possible through the hard work and he thanked the support of the Fiji Football and Government.
The second semi-final between New Zealand was going on when this edition went to press last night.
The two top teams from the OFC U19 Championship qualify for the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup in Indonesia.
A disappointed New Caledonia coach, Rierre Wagoka, congratulated Fiji and wished them well for the World Cup.
“They’ll (Fiji) be representing Oceania and we’ll be watching them play,” he said.
After a scoreless first half, the match exploded into action in the second half. Digicel national football striker Nabil Begg volleyed in the crucial goal in the 75th minute.
Historically, Fiji have the better record in this tournament fixture,
winning six of the previous nine meetings. That record was reflected in a dominant first-half performance, with the Fijians having several chances to take the lead.
Melvin Mani was a constant threat and his free-kick was well saved by Wareen Hlupa within the opening two minutes.
However, Fiji’s best chance of the opening period came from the head of Mohammed Raheem. His towering effort bounced up and onto the bar before being hooked off the line by the desperate defending of Bertrand Katrawa.
Mani came close to breaking the deadlock on three more occasions in the first 45 minutes, including a smart turn and strike which was well saved by Hlupa on the brink of half-time. When these two sides last met at this competition in 2018 a 1-1 draw saw New Caledonia eliminate Fiji in the group stages. Four years on and New Caledonia looked far more likely to repeat that achievement in the second-half.
Jymaël Upa, Paul Jone and Yannick Ipunesso all tested Fiji stopper Aydin Mustahib as they improved on their first-half showing.
But Fiji rode the wave and eventually got the reward their performance deserved. Gulam Razool provided the assist with some dazzling wide play, with Begg having the simple task of volleying in from close range for 1-0.
Fiji Football Association chief executive officer Mohammed Yusuf said with the World Cup spot secured, the focus now was to win the OFC U19 Championship final on Saturday.
“The target is to beat New Zealand (if they make the final),” Yusuf said.
Yusuf indicated that once the team arrived, they would start planning for their World Cup preparations.
Story By : leonec@fijisun.com.fj
