Fiji’s Under-16 football coach, Sunil Kumar, acknowledges that his team faces a significant challenge as they prepare to take on New Zealand in the OFC U16 Championship final this Sunday in Pape’ete, Tahiti. Kumar recognizes New Zealand as the favored team but remains hopeful that Fiji can pull off an upset.
“We came to this tournament with the goal of creating history,” Kumar stated. “Fiji has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, and we managed to achieve that. However, we also aspired to win the championship.”
Kumar emphasized the importance of the upcoming match, urging his players to approach it with a clear mindset. “We want to give it our best shot. There is no better opportunity than this for the boys and the team.”
New Zealand, coached by Martin Bullock, is the clear favorite after convincingly defeating Fiji 7-1 during group play. In their four matches, New Zealand has scored 28 goals while conceding just one.
“We’ve already played Fiji and won that match, which likely positions us as favorites,” Bullock said. “Our performance was impressive, and we will take what we learned from our previous encounter into the final. Both teams will have insights into each other’s play styles. We’ll strategize on how to exploit that while playing our game. Regardless of the type of competition, reaching a final means you want to win, and we’re eager for the challenge ahead.”