Fiji U16 ready to face New Caledonia in semis

The Fiji Under-16 women’s football team is a step away from qualifying to next year’s FIFA Women’s U17 World Cup in Morocco.

The Nicola Demaine coached side takes on New Caledonia in the second OFC U16 Women’s Championship semi-final in Honiara, Solomon Islands, this evening.

“We’re trying not to think about what’s at stake and rather trying to focus on the first 45 minutes of the game,” Fiji U16 women’s head coach Nicola Demaine said of their semi-final clash.

“For 90% of the players involved in these semi-finals, this will be the biggest match of their lives so far, so it will be all about who can keep their cool and stick to the tactics.”

Demaine said she had watched a few of New Caledonia’s matches and was impressed with their technical ability.

“Their first touch, and their short passing. I feel like we have some advantages from a physical point of view, but it will be a very interesting match to watch, and a challenging one for us involved.”

When approached New Caledonia head coach Kenjy Vendegou said: “The engagement of the team has really impressed me throughout the campaign so far, and they’ve done well to reach their potential. We’re expecting a really tough semi-final, and we’ll do our best to make sure we get our preparation right.

“Fiji are very strong and athletic, so we’ll have to raise our standard even higher.

“The message is clear for the players that we want to play with pride and humility. The key factor will be to play with our hearts.”

In the first semi-final, favourites New Zealand takes on Papua New Guinea (PNG).

According to Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), it was 10 years after their last appearance at the OFC U16 Women’s Championship, PNG is back in the semi-finals, a decade after finishing runners-up to New Zealand in the 2016 final.

Their rise back to the top four has been remarkable, having received a late call-up to join the tournament following Tahiti’s withdrawal.

They also had to recover from an opening defeat to New Caledonia to sneak into the semi-finals as runners-up from Group B, beating Samoa 2-0 on the final matchday of group stage action.

PNG head coach Susan Steven said reaching the semi-final means so much to the team.

“The purpose throughout the campaign has been to continually develop the players on and off the field, and now they are into a match that carries a lot of significance for them and the country,” she said.

“Most of the players in the team come from our districts in Papua New Guinea, and it’s been wonderful for them to come this far. We want to inspire the next generation of girls in our country, and show them that we can compete.”

New Zealand head coach Alana Gunn said they won’t be complacent after a close call against Fiji.

“We learnt that lesson against Fiji, and we watched Papua New Guinea play their final group stage match with a lot of passion. The conditions are hard here and the opposition are fierce.

“This match means a lot for Papua New Guinea and we’re expecting nothing but a fight.

The players are well aware of our history at this tournament, and we don’t want to be the first team to lose a match, so it does add pressure.

How we manage that is all part of the experience of coming to this tournament.”