2026 OFC U-16 Men's Championship

2026 OFC U-16 Men's Championship
Tournament details
Host countryPapua New Guinea
CityPort Moresby
Dates12 – 25 July
Teams8 (from 1 confederation)
← 2025
TBD →

The 2026 OFC U-16 Men's Championship was the 23rd edition of the OFC U-16 Men's Championship, the international youth football championship organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the men's under-16 national teams. The final tournament was played in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from 12 to 25 July.[1]

The top three teams of the tournament qualified for the 2027 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar as the OFC representatives.[2]

Background

Papua New Guinea was selected as the host nation in May 2025.[3] It will be one of fifteen international tournaments hosted by OFC in 2026.[4] The draw for the group stage was held on 18 February 2026.[5]

Teams

All 11 FIFA-affiliated national teams from the OFC entered the tournament, but only 8 played in the final tournament

Note: All appearance statistics include those in the qualifying stage (2016 and 2018).

Team App. Previous best performance
 American Samoa12thGroup stage (1999, 2001, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2023)
 Cook Islands13thEighth place (2025)
 Fiji21stRunners-up (1999, 2024)
 New Caledonia15thRunners-up (2003, 2013, 2017, 2023, 2025)
 New Zealand20thChampions (1997, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2023, 2024, 2025)
 Papua New Guinea (hosts)12thSemi-finals (2017), Fourth place (1986, 2025)
 Samoa12thQuarter-finals (2023)
 Solomon Islands12thRunners-up (1993, 2018)
 Tahiti16thRunners-up (2007, 2009, 2011, 2015)
 Tonga13thQuarter-finals (2023)
 Vanuatu18thRunners-up (2005)

Venues

Tonga Papua New Guinea
‘Atele Port Moresby
Loto-Tonga Soka Centre PNG Football Stadium Sir Hubert Murray Stadium
Capacity: 500 Capacity: 14,800 Capacity: 20,000
2026 OFC U-16 Men's Championship is located in Tonga
‘Atele
‘Atele

Qualifying stage

A qualification round will be held from 25 to 31 March 2026 in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga.[6]

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Vanuatu 3 3 0 0 29 2 +27 9 Qualify for Final tournament
2  Cook Islands 3 2 0 1 7 3 +4 6
3  Tonga (H) 3 1 0 2 6 9 −3 3
4  American Samoa 3 0 0 3 1 29 −28 0
Source: OFC
(H) Hosts
Cook Islands 4–0 American Samoa
  • Angene 24'
  • Nand 31'
  • Denny 45+1'
  • Samania 64'
 Report
Loto-Tonga Soka Centre, ‘Atele, Tonga
Attendance: 50
Referee: Caleb Downes (New Zealand)
Tonga 1–6 Vanuatu
  • Kautai 25'
 Report
  • Masauvakalo 6' (pen.), 38'
  • Leao red-colored football 18' (o.g.)
  • Tevunga red-colored football 47' (o.g.)
  • Shem 50'
  • Tawia 67'
Loto-Tonga Soka Centre, ‘Atele, Tonga
Attendance: 250
Referee: Ruben Wajoka (Tahiti)
Vanuatu 20–0 American Samoa
  • Shem 2', 45+3', 53'
  • Robert 3', 15', 35', 52'
  • Masauvakalo 9', 10', 21', 43', 44', 45+4'
  • Mulipola red-colored football 24' (o.g.)
  • Kaluat 28'
  • Vuti 49', 57'
  • Vanuaroro 72'
  • Ne'emia red-colored football 80' (o.g.)
  • Naviti 83'
 Report
Loto-Tonga Soka Centre, ‘Atele, Tonga
Attendance: 100
Referee: Lafi Ioane (Samoa)
Cook Islands 2–0 Tonga
  • Williams 16'
  • Denny 19'
 Report
Loto-Tonga Soka Centre, ‘Atele, Tonga
Attendance: 250
Referee: Avikanshay Nand (Fiji)
Vanuatu 3–1 Cook Islands
  • Shem 45', 90+2'
  • Robert 80'
 Report
  • Williams 37'
Loto-Tonga Soka Centre, ‘Atele, Tonga
Attendance: 100
Referee: Caleb Downes (New Zealand)
American Samoa 1–5 Tonga
  • Maifala 43'
 Report
  • Matakaiongo 26', 36', 47'
  • Tupou 28'
  • Fiu 88'
Loto-Tonga Soka Centre, ‘Atele, Tonga
Attendance: 250
Referee: Lafi Ioane (Samoa)

Group stage

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Fiji 3 3 0 0 10 0 +10 9 Knockout stage
2  Papua New Guinea (H) 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
3  New Caledonia 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1 5th place match
4  Samoa 3 0 1 2 1 10 −9 1 7th place match
First match(es) will be played: 1 September 2026. Source: OFC
(H) Hosts
New Caledonia 0–2 Fiji
Report
  • Shah 13'
  • Baselala 16'
Papua New Guinea 4–0 Samoa
  • Eron 14'
  • Goro 16'
  • Tommy 61'
  • Steven 80'
 [Report]
Samoa 0–5 Fiji
[Report]
  • Prasad 19'
  • Swami 26'
  • Baselala 43', 62'
  • Fatu Fasi red-colored football 80' (o.g.)
New Caledonia 0–1 Papua New Guinea
[Report]
  • Steven 73'
Fiji 3–0 Papua New Guinea
  • Shah 6'
  • Levea 29'
  • Baselala 43'
 [Report]
Samoa 1–1 New Caledonia
  • Schick 30'
 [Report]
  • Andrew 74'

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  New Zealand 3 3 0 0 18 2 +16 9 Knockout stage
2  Solomon Islands 3 2 0 1 6 7 −1 6
3  Tahiti 3 1 0 2 6 11 −5 3 5th place match
4  Vanuatu 3 0 0 3 3 13 −10 0 7th place match
First match(es) will be played: 2 September 2026. Source: OFC
Tahiti 4–2 Vanuatu
  • Jamet 51', 60'
  • Covic 54', 86'
 [Report]
  • Masauvakalo 43'
  • Shem 77'
New Zealand 5–1 Solomon Islands
  • Sang 38', 79'
  • Clegg 48', 77'
  • Trenberth 69'
 [Report]
  • Hovoa 59'
Vanuatu 1–2 Solomon Islands
  • Allaleo 30'
 [Report]
  • Gau 35'
  • Lea'i 75'
New Zealand 6–1 Tahiti
  • Clegg 10'
  • Skinner 13'
  • Trenberth 50'
  • Cashmore 65', 88'
  • Bancroft 84'
 [Report]
  • Jamet 80'
Solomon Islands 3–1 Tahiti
  • Lea'i 26'
  • Makarani 48'
  • Gau 90'
 [Report]
  • Jamet 53'
Vanuatu 0–7 New Zealand
[Report]
  • Cashmore 5', 10', 15', 31'
  • Amyes 39'
  • Trenberth 70'
  • Santos 72'

5th place match

New Caledonia 2–3 Tahiti
Bessières 45+1'
Hoang 72'		 [Report] Jamet 12', 51', 71'

7th place match

Samoa 1–7 Vanuatu
Schick 45' [Report] Masauvakalo 3', 27', 43', 49'
Tawia 31'
Shem 6', 51'

Knockout stage

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
22 July 2026 – Port Moresby
 
 
 Fiji0 (4)
 
25 July 2026 – Port Moresby
 
 Solomon Islands0 (2)
 
 Fiji0
 
22 July 2026 – Port Moresby
 
 New Zealand5
 
 New Zealand3
 
 
 Papua New Guinea0
 
Third place match
 
 
25 July 2026 – Port Moresby
 
 
 Solomon Islands1 (4)
 
 
 Papua New Guinea1 (1)

Semi-finals

Fiji 0–0 Solomon Islands
Report
Penalties
4–2
Referee: Caleb Downes (New Zealand)
New Zealand 3–0 Papua New Guinea
Basananuc red-colored football 50' (o.g.)
Pietersen 60', 90'		 Report
Referee: Neeshil Varman (Fiji)

Third place match

 Solomon Islands1–1 Papua New Guinea
  • Kabolo 84'
 [Report]
  • Sopo 65'
Penalties
4–1

Final

Fiji 0–5 New Zealand
Report Cashmore 2'
Valle dos Santos 36', 81'
Maharaj red-colored football 45' (o.g.)
Clegg 76'
Attendance: 300
Referee: Peter Olomaga (Samoa)

Qualified teams for FIFA U-17 World Cup

The following three teams from OFC qualified for the 2027 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.

Team Qualified on Previous appearances1
 Fiji22 July 20262 (2025, 2026)
 New Zealand22 July 202612 (1997, 1999, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2025, 2026)
 Solomon Islands25 July 20261 (2019)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Statistics

Goalscorers

Qualifying stage

8 goals

  • Vanuatu Rohan Masauvakalo

6 goals

  • Vanuatu Franso Shem

5 goals

  • Vanuatu Titus Robert

3 goals

  • Tonga Sione Matakaiongo

Final tournament

Goals Player Team
6 Zach Cashmore

Esdras Jamet

  New Zealand

 Tahiti

5 Rohan Masauvakalo  Vanuatu
4 Isoa Baselala  Fiji
3 Jack Clegg

Ben Trenberth
Franso Shem

  New Zealand

 New Zealand
 Vanuatu

2 George Lea'i

Gregy Gau
Zaman Shah
Santiago Covic
Reuben Lee Sang
Ryan Swami
Cruz Pietersen
Nelson Tawia

  Solomon Islands

 Solomon Islands
 Fiji
 Tahiti
 New Zealand
 Fiji
 New Zealand
 Vanuatu

1 Shahil Prasad

Jerry Levea
Jaru Eron
Toka Goro
Boas Tommy
Te Koha Gabriel Schick
Iga Steven
Vaulton Hovoa
Russle Allaleo
Jackson Skinner
Tristan Bancroft
Jayer Makarani
Ethan Amyes
Davi Valle dos Santos
Kevin Hoang
Lisandro Bessières

  Fiji

 Papua New Guinea
 Papua New Guinea
 Papua New Guinea
 Papua New Guinea
 Samoa
 Papua New Guinea
 Solomon Islands
 Vanuatu
 New Zealand
 New Zealand
 Solomon Islands
 New Zealand
 New Zealand
 New Caledonia
 New Caledonia

Own goals

Player Team Opponent
Fatu Fasi  Fiji  Samoa
Basananuc  Papua New Guinea  New Zealand

Awards

Individual Awards

Award Player Team
Golden Boot
Golden Ball
Golden Glove

Team Awards

Award Team
Champion
Fair Play Award

Broadcasting

All matches are broadcast live on the Oceania Football Confederation's official YouTube Channel.

References

  1. ↑ "OFC U-16 Men's Championship". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
  2. ↑ "Qatar appointed as host of FIFA U-17 World Cup™ annually from 2025 to 2029". FIFA. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  3. ↑ "OFC Executive Committee approves hosts for 2026 competitions". Oceania Football Confederation. 8 May 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "Busy year ahead for international tournaments in Oceana". Friends of Football. 3 January 2026. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "Draws announced for OFC U-16 Men's Championship 2026". Oceania Football Confederation. 18 February 2026. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  6. ↑ "OFC U-16 Men's Championship – Qualifying". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
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