Revealed the second team officially won a ticket to the 2026 World Cup

New Zealand easily defeated New Caledonia in the final of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in Oceania (OFC), thanks to three goals scored in the second half by Michael Boxall, Kosta Barbarouses and Elijah Just in the 61st, 66th and 80th minutes.

The 2026 World Cup now has a total of 5 participating teams, as of March 24.

Photo: Reuters

Meanwhile, New Zealand's star player, striker Chris Wood, who is playing brilliantly for Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League, played only 54 minutes before being forced off with an injury. Previously, Chris Wood had been instrumental in getting the All Whites into the final against New Caledonia, scoring a hat-trick in a 7-0 win over Fiji.

In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the Oceania region, there is only 1 official spot and 1 Intercontinental play-off spot. The Australian team in this region has long since switched to compete in the Asian region (AFC).

This has enabled New Zealand to qualify early for the World Cup finals for the first time since 2010 in South Africa, when the 2026 World Cup is expanded to 48 teams.

This is also the third time in history that the New Zealand team has participated in the World Cup finals after the first time in 1982, the time in 2010 and now 2026 in the US, Mexico and Canada.

Meanwhile, despite losing the regional qualifying final to the overwhelmingly strong New Zealand team, the New Caledonia team still has a chance to attend the 2026 World Cup when participating in the Intercontinental play-off round, competing for 1 of 2 tickets with representatives from Asia, Africa, South America and 2 teams from CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean).

This week, the 2026 World Cup qualifiers continue, with matches in the 8th round of the 3rd qualifying round in Asia, the 14th round of the South American region and the 2nd round of the group stage in Europe.'

It is expected that another team will officially qualify for the finals, specifically Argentina, also the reigning World Cup champion, when they only need to win 1 more point against Brazil.

There are currently a total of 5 teams participating in the 2026 World Cup, including Japan, New Zealand and the 3 co-host teams of the US, Mexico and Canada.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lo-dien-doi-tuyen-thu-2-chinh-thuc-gianh-ve-du-world-cup-2026-185250324152128252.htm