“Fiji U19’s Journey to World Cup Dreams Ends in Narrow Semi-Final Loss”

Fiji U19’s aspirations to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup™ 2025 in Chile ended with a 1-0 defeat to New Zealand in the OFC Men’s U19 Championship semi-final.

The team started strong, managing to keep New Zealand scoreless for over 40 minutes—an achievement no other team in the tournament matched. Goalkeeper Ilisoni Koro made several key saves before halftime.

In the second half, New Zealand came out stronger, with Ryan Watson scoring from a right-side pass. Shortly after, Fiji had a chance to equalize, but New Zealand’s goalie, Alby Kelly-Heald, stopped Aiden Singh’s penalty. 

Despite continuing to press and create chances, Fiji could not find the net, often shooting over the goal. 

The Digicel Junior Bula Boys will now play for third place against the Solomon Islands at 10 am, while New Zealand will face New Caledonia in the final on Thursday at 1 pm.

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