New Zealand beat New Caledonia to confirm World Cup 2026 qualification

New Zealand qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Monday with a 3-0 defeat of New Caledonia as veterans Michael Boxall and Kosta Barbarouses scored in a second-half burst to help the All Whites return to the finals for the first time since 2010.
Boxall scored his first goal for New Zealand in his 55th international with a header on the hour-mark before Barbarouses volleyed over the goalkeeper five minutes later to send a crowd of more than 25,000 into ecstasy at Eden Park.
Substitute Elijah Just added the third goal in the 80th minute to ensure New Zealand advance to their third World Cup following the 1982 and 2010 finals.
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New Zealand missed out on the last three World Cups after defeats in intercontinental playoffs.
But with Oceania given a berth at the finals for the first time, the All Whites were a shoo-in as the region’s dominant team.
New Zealand became the second nation through to the tournament co-hosted the United States, Canada and Mexico, with Japan qualifying with a home win over Bahrain last week.
“We’re going to another World Cup. I’m ecstatic,” said 35-year-old winger Barbarouses, who missed out on selection for New Zealand’s World Cup squad in 2010.Story continues below this ad
New Zealand’s players put on white T-shirts emblazoned with “Qualified” and sprayed champagne on each other.
The celebrations were tempered slightly with an apparent hip injury to captain Chris Wood who limped off early in the second half.
Ranked 152nd in the world and dominated amateur footballers, New Caledonia battled hard to keep the match scoreless for more than 60 minutes of the Oceania final.
The French territory will have another chance to qualify via intercontinental playoffs.Story continues below this ad
“We knew it was going to be hard against New Zealand on their home soil,” said coach Johann Sidaner. “We’ve got time to think about the playoffs for 2026.”
New Zealand scored quickly in their 7-0 win over Fiji in the Oceania semi-finals last week but they had to wait on Monday as early chances went begging.
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