Oceania representatives Fiji and New Caledonia have had tough starts to the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup in Qatar, losing their opening group games.
Fiji lost 6-0 to Tunisia in Group D, while New Caledonia went down 6-1 to Portugal in Group B.
Main photo: New Caledonia lost to Portugal. Photo credit: FIFA via Getty Images.
Fiji, New Caledonia and New Zealand are representing the Oceania region at the 48-nation tournament.
New Zealand play their first game at the tournament, against Mali, on Thursday (see fixtures below).
The tournament is being streamed live and free on FIFA+, as well as all New Zealand games on TVNZ.
Fiji make debut at FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup
Making their first appearance at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Fiji marked a proud moment in their footballing history, despite going down 6-0 to Tunisia in their campaign opener at the Aspire Zone in Doha.
Fiji showed early composure and defensive structure against a confident Tunisian side. The young Fijians absorbed pressure well in the opening stages, with goalkeeper Melvin Prakash standing strong at the back as the Fiji backline held firm during Tunisia’s waves of pressure.
The breakthrough came in the 30th minute when Tunisia capitalised on a swift counterattack down the left for Wassim Slama to open the scoring. The North Africans doubled their advantage six minutes later through another move from the flanks, taking control of the match before halftime.
Fiji regrouped well after the break, showing determination as they tried to regain momentum, but Tunisia’s intensity and attacking precision continued to rise. Fiji came closest to scoring when Tukai Ravonakula fired a volley on target, only to be denied by the Tunisian goalkeeper.
Four more goals followed in the second half as the North Africans extended their lead and sealed a dominant victory. Despite the scoreline, Fiji showed moments of promise and resilience, with their defensive line working tirelessly against sustained pressure.
Fiji will face Belgium in their second group match on Friday (NZT).
Fiji (white shirts) fight for possession against Tunisia. Photo credit: FIFA via Getty Images.
New Caledonia score first but go down in tournament opener
New Caledonia opened their 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup campaign with a 6-1 defeat to Portugal at the Aspire Zone in Doha.
The OFC representatives stunned the European champions by taking the lead and remaining level on the scoreboard at the half-time break, before ultimately falling to defeat and conceding five second-half goals.
The tournament marks New Caledonia’s third appearance at a FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup, qualifying for the tournament after finishing third at the 2024 OFC U-16 Men’s Championship.
Portugal’s striker, Anisio Cabral, thought he’d opened the scoring with a header inside the first 10 minutes, only for the video assistant referee (VAR) to intervene, disallowing the goal and ruling a penalty for New Caledonia down the other end.
Ezekiel Wamowe powered the spot kick into the back of the net, handing New Caledonia a shock lead in the 11th minute, and scoring their first goal at the FIFA U-17 World Cup since 2017’s famous draw with Japan.
Cabral wasn’t going to be denied a second time, levelling the scores for Portugal in the 22nd minute with a header into the top-right corner.
Portugal bossed more than 80% of the possession throughout the game, but found themselves frustrated by New Caledonia at half-time, Manuel Figueiredo hitting the crossbar, as it remained 1-1 at the break.
New Caledonia had done so well to hang on, but two goals in just eight minutes at the start of the second half allowed the European champions to pull away.
Cabral scored his second in the 47th minute after latching onto a low cross off the right flank, before Stevan Manuel scored Portugal’s third in the 53rd with a low-driven left-footed shot from close range.
Mateus Mide made it four in the 59th minute, sweeping the ball into the bottom-left corner with a right-footed effort from outside the box.
Goalkeeper Nicolas Kutran made a number of top saves between the sticks, but couldn’t stop Mauro Furtado from adding Portugal’s fifth in the 85th minute.
Jose Neto rounded out the scoring with the sixth goal in the final moments of stoppage time, lashing a sumptuous left-footed volley into the bottom-right corner of the net.
New Caledonia will continue their cup campaign against Japan at the Aspire Zone in Doha on Friday (NZT).
Results
Games played on Tuesday November 4, 2025 (NZT)
Group B
New Caledonia 1 (Ezekiel Xupa Wamowe 11′ pen)
Portugal 6 (Anisio Cabral 22′, 47′, Stevan Manuel 52′, Mateus Mide 59′, Mauro Furtado 85′, José Neto 90+7′)
Japan 2 (Taiga Seguchi 57′, Hirashima Daigo 90+8′)
Morocco 0
Group D
Tunisia 6 (Wassim Slama 30′, 53′, Fedi Tayechi 36′, 86′, Anisse Saidi 74′, Saifedin Haj Abdallah 80′)
Fiji 0
Argentina 3 (Ramiro Tulian 36′, Facundo Jainikoski 69′, Felipe Esquivel 71′)
Belgium 2 (Arthur De Kimpe 45+4′, Stan Naert 59′)
Fixtures
Game to be played on Thursday November 6, 2025 (NZT)
Group L
New Zealand v Mali
Aspire Zone, Doha, 3.45am (NZT)
Game to be played on Sunday November 9, 2025 (NZT)
Group L
New Zealand v Saudi Arabia
Aspire Zone, Doha, 4.45am (NZT)
Game to be played on Wednesday November 12, 2025
Group L
New Zealand v Austria
Aspire Zone, Doha, 4.45am (NZT)
FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup groups
Group A
Qatar
Italy
South Africa
Bolivia
Group B
Japan
Morocco
New Caledonia
Portugal
Group C
Senegal
Croatia
Costa Rica
United Arab Emirates
Group D
Argentina
Belgium
Tunisia
Fiji
Group E
England
Venezuela
Haiti
Egypt
Group F
Mexico
Korea Republic
Côte d’Ivoire
Switzerland
Group G
Germany
Colombia
Korea DPR
El Salvador
Group H
Brazil
Honduras
Indonesia
Zambia
Group I
United States
Burkina Faso
Tajikistan
Czechia
Group J
Paraguay
Uzbekistan
Panama
Republic of Ireland
Group K
France
Chile
Canada
Uganda
Group L
Mali
New Zealand
Austria
Saudi Arabia
Tournament format
The top two teams in each group, and the eight best third-placed sides, will qualify for the Round of 32.
From the Round of 32 onwards, the tournament will be played in a knockout format.
In knockout fixtures, if a game is level at the end of normal playing time, no extra time shall be played and a penalty shootout will determine the winner of the match.
Previous winners
1985: Nigeria
1987: Soviet Union
1989: Saudi Arabia
1991: Ghana
1993: Nigeria
1995: Ghana
1997: Brazil
1999: Brazil
2001: France
2003: Brazil
2005: Mexico
2007: Nigeria
2009: Switzerland
2011: Mexico
2013: Nigeria
2015: Nigeria
2017: England
2019: Brazil
2023: Germany
This story was first published on November 4, 2025.
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