The Solomon Islands will be New Zealand's opponents in the final of the Oceania World Cup qualifying process. <\/p>\n
A 2-1 win over 10-man Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby was enough for the Bonitos to advance to a two-leg final against the All Whites on August 28 and September 5. <\/p>\n
New Zealand had already finished top of their group courtesy of an unbeaten record against Fiji and New Caledonia. <\/p>\n
The Solomon Islands needed only draw but prevailed comfortably to finish on 9 points in group B. Tahiti registered 6 points and Papua New Guinea 3. <\/p>\n
All the goals came in the first half. <\/p>\n
Raymond Gunemba put the hosts in front in the 18th minute but the match turned on the half-hour mark when Felix Komolong was shown a red card for handling the ball in front of goal. <\/p>\n
Henry Fa'arodo converted from the spot before Jerry Donga put the Solomon Islands in front just before the break. <\/p>\n
The winners of the final advance to an inter-confederation play-off against the fifth-placed team from South America (CONMEBOL federation) in November. <\/p>\n
That two-leg series determines one team to play at next year's World Cup in Russia. <\/p>\n
NZN <\/p>\n
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See the original post here:<\/p>\n
All Whites to face Solomon Islands Oceania qualifying final - Newshub<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Solomon Islands will be New Zealand's opponents in the final of the Oceania World Cup qualifying process. A 2-1 win over 10-man Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby was enough for the Bonitos to advance to a two-leg final against the All Whites on August 28 and September 5. New Zealand had already finished top of their group courtesy of an unbeaten record against Fiji and New Caledonia Continue reading