Determine the 2nd team to win a ticket to the 2026 World Cup

(Dan Tri) - After Japan, New Zealand became the second team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup (not counting the three host teams USA, Canada and Mexico).

On the afternoon of March 24, New Zealand faced New Caledonia in the final of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round for the Oceania region (OFC) at Eden Park (Auckland). This is the match that will decide the only ticket for Oceania to participate in the number one football tournament on the planet.

New Zealand qualified for the 2026 World Cup after defeating New Caledonia (Photo: ESPN).

New Zealand had no trouble securing this ticket with a 3-0 victory. The difference in level between the two teams was too big, but in a day of unlucky play, Chris Wood and his teammates could not find the net of New Caledonia in the first half.

However, in the second half, the situation changed completely when New Zealand showed their sharpness. In the 61st minute, Michael Boxall scored the opening goal for the home team. They had two more goals thanks to Barbarouses in the 66th minute and Elijah Just in the 80th minute.

Thus, New Zealand has become the second team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup (not counting the three host teams USA, Canada and Mexico). A few days ago, Japan won the first ticket after winning 2-0 against Bahrain in the 7th match of the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.

New Zealand is participating in the World Cup for the third time in history (Photo: Getty).

This is the third time in their history that New Zealand has qualified for the World Cup. They previously participated in the tournament in 1982 and 2010. In both previous appearances, New Zealand failed to get past the group stage.

Previously, Oceania had only 0.5 World Cup spots. Even before the 2006 World Cup, New Zealand had to compete fiercely with Australia. Therefore, this team did not have many opportunities to participate in the biggest football festival on the planet.

After New Zealand, FIFA is likely to confirm two more teams to qualify for the World Cup in the matches on March 25, which are Iran and Argentina. These two teams only need to draw with Uzbekistan and Brazil to register for the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/xac-dinh-doi-thu-2-gianh-ve-tham-du-world-cup-2026-20250324170751236.htm