Three days after registering their largest win in two decades, the All Whites soccer side went and did so again, beating Samoa 8-0 in a “weird” Oceania World Cup qualifier at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland.
That description belonged to coach Darren Bazeley, used in reference to the fact that Samoa remained in a solid defensive block even as they fell further and further behind, a set of circumstances his team of professionals were rather unaccustomed to facing.
For large stretches, it felt like a training-ground exercise between a team of professionals and a team of plucky amateurs, but for the fact that 5,237 fans were in the stands watching and cheering on the two sides last night.
The All Whites will now play Fiji, led by Roy Krishna, in a qualifying semifinal at Sky Stadium in Wellington on March 21st, eyeing a spot in the final against either New Caledonia or Tahiti at Eden Park in Auckland three days later.
The winner of that match will qualify for the expanded 48-team World Cup in North America in June and July 2026, while the loser will book their place in a two-stage intercontinental playoff earlier that year.
[Source: Stuff.co.nz]
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