GIVEN Fiji’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Oceania Qualifiers performance, the semifinal against New Zealand will be a no-contest.
All Whites will host Fiji on the 21st of March at Sky Stadium, Wellington.
It’s game over.
Why?
If the national football team can’t beat Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia, what makes one believe New Zealand is an easy beat?
The country’s wretched standard isn’t cutting it against the island nations, let alone the All-Whites who will not only obliterate them but shatter their dreams of making it to their first-ever World Cup.
Dreams don’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
While the footballers break every sweat, the reality is that the country doesn’t have what it takes to win in New Zealand, who only put themselves into the predicament as double draws, 3-3 to Papua New Guinea and 1-1 to New Caledonia had them finish second in their pool and that setup an unavoidable clash against the all-whites.
With Fiji’s football style, the team is not worthy to be among football’s prestige, the World Cup.
History
Our past World Cup experience in both U20 men’s and women’s teams has placed the country on notice that if they are to be in the great footballing mix, they should look more than just playing in their regular competition.
Football in the country isn’t good for the world stage, which suggests the country’s national team will only get beat to a pulp before the biggest sporting audience.
Our footballers, who do great in what could only be described as ‘good for pick-up Sunday football’ aren’t ready for what the beautiful game demands and that’s a bitter truth.
Fiji-New Zealand record
Fiji have beaten New Zealand just seven times in 43 encounters – the last 17 years ago in 2008 in Suva with a 2-0 Krishna-inspired win over a domestic-based All Whites team which had already won the Oceania Nations Cup tournament to advance to the FIFA 2010 World Cup finals inter-continental playoffs.
Their finest hour was a series win over the All Whites in Fiji in 1988 where Kevin Fallon’s Kiwis drew 1-1 with a stoppage time equaliser in Suva, then lost 2-0 in Lautoka and 1-0 in 38-degree heat in Ba to a Fijian side coached by the legendary Billy Singh and with Gisborne City Chatham Cup winner Stan Morrell at centre back.
Mentally
Footballers will only change their mentality and learn the reality of soccer if they’re playing outside of Fiji, not necessarily New Zealand and Australia but in leagues where the sport is a religion.
But the question is, if our players fail to make it to top clubs in New Zealand and Australian leagues, what suggests future looks good elsewhere.
Tactical evaluation
Football isn’t just playing ball, it is about the mind, body, tactics and techniques.
For football, tactics have evolved, with an emphasis on structured and disciplined play.
Fiji doesn’t have a style that struggles against teams that are more tactically organized, offensively smart and defensively solid.
It’s not enough to be good anymore, you have to be good, be well mentally and physically prepared, be willing to play, mark and defend even for offensive players, and follow the tactics precisely.
Management and strategy
Changes in coaching staff and management strategies can influence team performance.
Inconsistent leadership or a lack of clear vision can hinder a team’s ability to compete at the highest levels.
This is where the problem lies, as the Fiji Football Association changes national coaches on the fly every few years and it affects training and development programs to strategy.
With all the Fifa funding, one should ask where is football headed.
And as funny as it gets, following embarrassing beats the top down of the FFA put on a straight face praising the team’s efforts.
Roy out
It is fitting that Fiji’s only professional footballer Roy Krishna chose to go under the knife to get his ACL repaired rather than be part of the team.
Roy knows that in football good isn’t about scoring on just penalties, he realizes that football requires more than just a few runs to touches, it’s a collective effort for the 90 minutes.
Batten down the hatches
Rob Sherman couldn’t have put it any better after the Nations Cup, ‘rubbish’, after the all-even scoreline against New Caledonia.
“We played rubbish football in the second half.”
When do they not? And in a game of 90 minutes, expect more of the same or worse against the 2-time 1982 and 2010 World Cup qualifier.
It’s a no-contest.
