New Zealand and New Caledonia will represent Oceania at the Under-17 Football World Cup to be held in India in October after the pair won their respective semi-finals at the OFC Championship in Tahiti. It was a history-making occasion for New Caledonia which will take part in their first ever FIFA tournament. New Zealand, meanwhile, will be featuring in their sixth successive FIFA U-17 World Cup. New Caledonia qualified with a 3-2 win over Solomon Islands while defending champions New Zealand beat Papua New Guinea 2-1.
New Zealand is coached by former international and Leeds United defender Danny Hay. Besides hosts India, four Asian countries — Iran, Iraq, Japan and North Korea — have already qualified for the third most important FIFA tournament to be competed among 24 teams. The 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be held in six Indian cities — New Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Navi Mumbai, Margao and Kochi — from October 6-28.