WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood scored a hat trick of headed goals as New Zealand beat Fiji 7-0 Friday to join New Caledonia in the Oceania qualifying final for the 2026 World Cup.
New Caledonia earlier beat Tahiti 3-0 in the first semifinal in FIFA's smallest confederation.
The winner of the Oceania qualifying series will gain direct entry to the World Cup for the first time. That means the victor in Monday’s final in Auckland, New Zealand will join hosts Canada, the United States and Mexico and Japan, which on Thursday became the first nation to qualify for the 48-team tournament.
New Zealand captain Wood headed Sarpreet Singh's cross home to open New Zealand's scoring in the sixth minute as it led 4-0 halftime. He then scored off Tim Payne crosses in the 56th and 59th minutes for his 43rd and 44th goals in 81 internationals before being substituted in the 61st minute.
Wood received a yellow card when climbed into the grandstand to finish the game among the crowd, surrounded by fans and signing autographs for eager children.
Singh and Payne also scored in the first half along with an own goal by Fiji. Payne's goal was his first for New Zealand since 2013. Kosta Barbarouses scored the final goal in the 73rd minute while Ben Waine missed an 87th-minute penalty.
“It's all about team,” Wood said. “We had a pretty dominant first half and we wanted to keep it going into the second half. I think the team did really well in that sense.”
Earlier, New Caledonia's 36-year-old striker Georges Gope-Fenepej scored twice in his team's win over Tahiti. The 14-year international veteran collected the rebound from captain Cesar Zeoula's saved shot in the 50th minute and delicately chipped the ball into the Tahiti goal from close range.
In the 75th minute, he launched a spectacular left-foot shot from 30 meters, catching the goalkeeper off his line. Substitute Lues Waya added to the scoring in stoppage time.
“We're all obviously football fans so to see someone like Georges play and the display he put on today is absolutely magnifique and wonderful,” New Caledonia coach Johann Sidaner said.
The loser of the Oceania final will still have a chance to qualify through an intercontinental playoff.
The decision to award direct entry to Oceania offers an historic opportunity to some of soccer's smallest nations. New Zealand with a population of 5 million, ranked 89, is the largest and highest-ranked of the Oceania nations and has qualified twice before, in Spain in 1982 and South Africa in 2010.
New Caledonia had to overcome political unrest in its homeland to qualify for Friday's match. Violent protests against voting reforms broke out last year, leaving 13 dead before the French army was deployed to restore order.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Steve Mcmorran, The Associated Press
