New Zealand Men's U-17s

5-1
The switch has been flicked now. 

Clegg assists Reuben Lee Sang with a driven cross that finds its way to the back post. Nice finish.

This ref certainly not afraid to show a yellow card. Must be about the fourth or fifth one he's dished out to us.

Followed by another yellow card a minute later - That's the sixth. Very soft...

By my count he’s made 10 appearances for the Ressies this CL season (including nine starts) - not sure about last season but Greenie will certainly have the measure of him.

Pitch looks very hard and bouncy.

https://twitter.com/NZ_Football/status/2077514137413075328

https://twitter.com/NZ_Football/status/2077514137413075328

Kastrinakis with a rainbow flick in the corner after four minutes. Bullock will be screaming

Shot from a tight angle with multiple open in the box too - looks very talented, but these are the kind of things ironed out with age

Only watched 5 mins, enough to see the 2nd goal. Main takeaway is the pitch is awful.

FIFA/OFC have got to improve the pitch standards in the Islands, to see any real progress in bettering technical football skills in the region.

6-1n win over Tahiti. Into the semis.

Bullock called it a mixed performance. Vanuatu then the semi.

15' | NZ 3 - 0 Vanuatu
Going to get really ugly for Vanuatu if this keeps up. 

First was from a lovely cross from the right hand side (Reuben Lee Sang) and flicked in neatly by Cashmore. 

2nd - From a long ball over the top, not dealt with by Vanuatu and Cashmore gets a toe to it.

3rd - Another long ball. Missed header at the back and Cashmore latches onto it for a 10 minute hattrick.

4-0 - Goalkeeping error, drops a cross from the right hand flank and it falls at the feet of Cashmore who has all four.

Ben Trenberth on next. End score 7:0.

NZ to play PNG in the semis. Win that and their place at next year's annual U17 WC is locked in.

https://twitter.com/NZ_Football/status/2079846223599788134

https://twitter.com/NZ_Football/status/2079846223599788134

0-0 approaching H/T.

We seem to be in too much of a rush to try and get forward and it just looks like we're trying to crack them open at every opportunity, when it might be a better option to just slow things down and control the ball a bit better.

PNG scrambling well, but the way both teams are playing definitely suits PNG more than it does us.

Tuning in late at 85 mins. 
NZ only 2-0 up, so obviously alot tougher than their pool games.
0-0 until 50 mins

At least PNG will get a crack at OFC's 3rd spot at the U17 WC when they play the Solomons in 3rd/4th playoff.

NZ will play Fiji in the final. Fiji edging SI on pens (0-0 in NT) in their semi.

Edit - last kick of the game Cruz Pietersen sneaks in to score, and 3-0. He got a hat trick to be the star 

Edit 2 - last one maybe an oggie??

Qualify for 2027 U17 WC. Aaron Clapham on the coaching staff.

Coach Bullock saying they had to modify the game plan because the Port Moresby pitch has deteriorated further. Fair enough, it does look bad. Again OFC need to work to improve the pitches.

Ref has been honking, the amount of clear fouls he is letting go!

NZ guilty of some, but PNG have gotten away with almost everything.

A Cruz Pietersen hattrick sends New Zealand to the 2027 U17 World Cup!

https://twitter.com/NZ_Football/status/2079892497422323960

https://twitter.com/NZ_Football/status/2079892497422323960

5-0 win over Fiji in the final.

https://www.oceaniafootball.com/new-zealand-win-ofc-u-16-mens-championship-2026/

I was expecting a closer game tbh.

Fiji were their own worst enemy though, soft turnovers in their defensive ⅓ and an own goal accounted for four of our goals. 😅

Solomons beat PNG on pens to finish 3rd and join NZ & Fiji at next years U17 WC.

Tough on PNG who easily gave NZ their toughest game.

https://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/2026/07/26/solomon-islands-to-join-new-zealand-and-fiji-at-fifa-u-17-mens-world-cup/

Play-off for 3rd
Solomon Islands 1 (Andrew Kabolo 84′)
Papua New Guinea 1 (Matthew Sopo 66′)
*Solomon Islands win 4-1 on penalties

Final
Fiji 0
New Zealand 5 (Zach Cashmore 2′, Davi Valles Dos Santos 36′, 81′, own goal 45+1′, Jack Clegg 76′)

Their captain Ben Trenberth, from the Phoenix Academy got the golden ball award for the tournament. 
Sign him to the A League Chris Greenacre. If not now, then next year.
He's listed as central midfield as with Anaru Cassidy but they should bring him in because he's showing promise already at a younger age than Anaru.
Maybe give him a deal for 4 seasons to develop.
Debut from the bench, train with the 1st team. Then get more regular minutes from season 2.

20 yr old Cassidy has a bit a size about him, and so I think alot more ready to handle the physical demands of the ALM.

But for sure Trenberth and Clegg are ones to watch. They are only 15 ain't they?
Have they played much senior football in Central League?
See whether South Island United can take them on loan for the OFC Pro League, from early 2027?
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1577701754386633&set=pcb.1577701814386627

12 months ago Ethan Dyer won last year's OFC U16 tourney Golden Ball. He has just debuted for Sydney FC in the Australia Cup.

2 goals each at Central League for Clegg & Trenberth, think they've just made the step up this year. Nathan Walker (3) the only Nix player with more this season.

Ben Trenberth - 9 starts + 1 bench
Jack Clegg - 3 starts + 2 bench

Yes, he could think about OFC Pro League for 1 season. That would guarantee him game time.

I like the look of this Valle dos Santos kid. Do we think he'll get some time with Macarthur's A-League team?

Yes, I hope so. 

Big wraps from those in and around the club for Trenberth (16), Clegg (16) and Pietersen (15) who are also students at the New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa - Or the Wellington Phoenix charter school (alongside Bancroft and Amyes).

Those three were easily the prominent performers across the OFC Championship (Kumar, Lee Sang, and Cashmore looked decent too imho) and hey, it looks like we're about to sell a guy for several hundred thousand $$$ in LBS to Portsmouth over in England, so why not try and find the next one?

Worth noting here too that Cruz Pietersen was also the winner of the Auckland x AFC Bournemouth experience after last December's Western Springs U17 tournament. But because he was too young to satisfy FIFA rules he wasn't able to attend - He was 14 at the time! They are monitoring his progress to see if they can get him over the future though. Some good people have kept him in Wellington too, because he is an Auckland lad and wanted to move back North... Hopefully this is the catalyst for him to make a name for himself with the Nix at the very least.

Get the scholarship deals lined up for all these kids, get them playing regularly for the ressies and in and around the first team and watch them go to the next level.