Fiji U17 thrash American Samoa

The Fiji Under 17 soccer team made a promising start to the OFC U-17 Championship after thrashing American Samoa 9-0 in the opening match in New Zealand this afternoon.

The Fijians stuck to their game plan and never looked back.

Fiji's first goal was scored by Narend Rao and the floodgates opened soon after.

Fiji's other goals were scored by Iosefo Verevou, Altaf Sahib, while Akram Hussein got a double.

American Samoa goal-keeper also netted an own goal in the dying stages of the match.

Fiji plays its next match against Papua New Guinea on Monday at 1.30pm.

Meanwhile, Group B matches start tomorrow when New Caledonia meet Solomon Islands and Tonga take on Tahiti.

Defending champions New Zealand have a bye first up and will not begin the defence of their crown until facing Vanuatu on Monday while Cook Islands also have a bye before meeting New Caledonia on Tuesday.

Story by: Dhanjay Deo