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New Zealand Qualify for 2026 World Cup with 3-0 Win Over New Caledonia

New Zealand's team celebrate after their victory during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Oceania qualifiers group final football match between New Zealand and New Caledonia at Eden Park Stadium in Auckland on March 24, 2025. (Photo by DAVID ROWLAND / AFP)
New Zealand's team celebrate after their victory during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Oceania qualifiers group final football match between New Zealand and New Caledonia at Eden Park Stadium in Auckland on March 24, 2025. (Photo by DAVID ROWLAND / AFP)
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New Zealand Qualify for 2026 World Cup with 3-0 Win Over New Caledonia

New Zealand's team celebrate after their victory during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Oceania qualifiers group final football match between New Zealand and New Caledonia at Eden Park Stadium in Auckland on March 24, 2025. (Photo by DAVID ROWLAND / AFP)
New Zealand's team celebrate after their victory during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Oceania qualifiers group final football match between New Zealand and New Caledonia at Eden Park Stadium in Auckland on March 24, 2025. (Photo by DAVID ROWLAND / AFP)

New Zealand qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Monday as veterans Michael Boxall and Kosta Barbarouses scored in a second-half burst to beat New Caledonia 3-0 in Auckland.
Centre back Boxall scored his first goal for New Zealand in his 55th international with a header on the one hour mark at Eden Park before Barbarouses volleyed over the goalkeeper five minutes later.
Substitute Elijah Just capped the win with a third goal in the 80th minute as the All Whites celebrated the nation's third World Cup appearance after 1982 and 2010.
While New Zealand won the regional qualifying round for the last three tournaments, they missed out on the finals after losing in the intercontinental playoffs.
For 2026, whichever team topped the table in Oceania had an automatic berth in the finals for the first time.
New Zealand become the second team to qualify, with Japan - competing in the Asian region - booking their ticket with a 2-0 home win over Bahrain last week.
Injury soured New Zealand's victory slightly with captain Chris Wood limping off early in the second half.
Ranked 152nd in the world and dominated by amateur footballers, the Pacific territory of New Caledonia battled hard to keep the All Whites from scoring for more than 60 minutes before Boxall's header proved the breakthrough.
New Caledonia will have another chance to qualify for 2026, which is being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, in the intercontinental playoffs.

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Bayern Munich's Hiroki Itō Suffers Recurrence of Foot Injury

Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)
Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)
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Bayern Munich's Hiroki Itō Suffers Recurrence of Foot Injury

Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)
Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)

Bayern Munich defender Hiroki Itō is out indefinitely with another serious foot injury, adding to the team’s defensive woes ahead of its Champions League quarterfinal against Inter Milan.
The Bavarian powerhouse said Sunday that Itō suffered a recurrence of a fracture in his right metatarsal during Bayern’s 3-2 win over St. Pauli in the Bundesliga on Saturday, The Associated Press reported. Itō had gone on as a substitute and was unable to finish the game, leaving Bayern, which had used all of its substitutes, a player short for the final minutes.
Itō, who joined Bayern from league rival Stuttgart before the season, first suffered the injury in a pre-season warmup game against Düren. There was a setback during his comeback in November, necessitating another operation. The Japan defender finally made his comeback in February, playing in six Bundesliga games and two Champions League matches.
“He’s only just battled back after months of rehab and will now be out for a long time again – we can barely imagine how he’s feeling,” board member for sport Max Eberl said. “He’ll get all the support he needs from us.”
Last week, Bayern had defenders Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano ruled out with knee injuries sustained on international duty.
“We’ve now lost a third defender in a short space of time,” Eberl said. “We will now pool our forces even more to continue pursuing our goals.”
Bayern, which leads the Bundesliga by six points with seven rounds remaining, hosts Inter for the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on April 8, with the second leg in Milan on April 16.