The Vodafone Fiji Under 20 Soccer team have created history by becoming the first team to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand next year.
Fiji managed to defeat the Solomon Islands 2-1 in their last match of the OFC Under 20 Championship last night.
Victory handed Fiji soccer its first ever appearance at a FIFA world event and ended a 40 year wait to claim the OFC U-20 Championship title.
Fiji coach Ravinesh Kumar said the win ended a three quarter of a century wait for the nation to step onto the global football stage.
Kumar said this victory is for the whole country as they have been waiting to play in a FIFA world event for a long time.
Meanwhile, the Solomon Islands team showed they were out to spoil Fiji’s party and they did just that when they scored inside the first eight minutes to silence the supporters at the ANZ Stadium.
But the hosts bounced back when Nickel Chand pounced on the equaliser after a handling mistake by Solomon Islands goalkeeper Philip Mango saw the left midfielder roll the ball into an empty net in the 26th minute.
Fiji nosed in front when Praneel Naidu nailed a perfect free kick to hand Fiji a 2-1 advantage just two minutes later.
Kumar said he had a strong message for the team during the half time break.
Both sides threw everything into an entertaining second half but Fiji held on for a famous victory.
Meanwhile, 2014 OFC Under-20 FIFA Fair Play was awarded to the Solomon Islands team, Solomon Striker Atkin Kaua scooped the Golden Boot award, Fiji’s Misiwani Nairube was given the Golden Gloves award while Vanuatu’s Jacky Ruben was awarded the Golden Ball award.
Story by: Prasheel Chandra & Ronal Deo
