New Caledonia fire early to open U20 World Cup push

New Caledonia have made their intentions clear at the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Under-19 Men’s Championship, racing to a 3-0 lead before beating hosts Sāmoa 4-2 in their opening Group A match in Apia.

With just two places at next year’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan up for grabs, every result in Sāmoa carries extra weight.

Tuesday’s result gives New Caledonia an early three-point lead alongside the Solomon Islands, who also opened their campaign with a win.

New Caledonia were in control from the start, scoring three times inside the opening 20 minutes and putting Sāmoa on the back foot in front of their home crowd.

But the hosts refused to fold. Sāmoa fought their way back into the match and put pressure on New Caledonia, who had to stay composed to see out the win.

New Caledonia player Sipané Qaeze praised his side for staying together when Sāmoa began to push back.

New Caledonia will face Solomon Islands on Friday, with both sides looking to avoid suffering their first loss of the tournament. Photo/OFC Media/Phototek.

“It wasn’t an easy match,” Qaeze told OFC Media, admitting a lot more running happened than expected.

“The positive thing is that the boys never gave up. Despite the difficulties, we stayed united.”

Landry Thupako then struck in the 48th minute to add New Caledonia’s fourth and put the result beyond Sāmoa.

For the hosts, the focus now turns to Friday and a chance to get their campaign back on track against Papua New Guinea, who also lost their opening match to the Solomon Islands 1-0.

Sāmoan forward Alonzo Taulapapa said the players could take plenty from the performance despite the defeat.

“I want to say I’m very proud of the boys,” Taulapapa told OFC Media. “They gave their best, obviously a few things that we need to work on. I feel like we need to be more clinical at the top.

The 17-year-old said playing in front of a home crowd could give Sāmoa another lift in their remaining matches.

“We had a bit of a crowd today. That’s something to look forward to in the next two games. We’ve got family that’s coming down to watch, but it’s definitely something that should encourage us for the next games.”

Taulapapa also thanked those who turned out to support the team.

“I just want to say thank you very much, for those who came through today… we didn’t give the best result but we definitely gave it our best.”

Sāmoa now have little time to dwell on the loss, with Papua New Guinea next up on Friday.

New Caledonia, meanwhile, face the Solomon Islands that same day in a match that could give an early indication of who is best placed to top Group A.

For more information on the 2026 OFC Under-19 Men’s Championship, click here.