Khelo, the Official Mascot of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 (© FIFA)
The New Caledonia U-17 national team qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 with a 3-2 against Solomon Islands in the OFC U-17 Championship semi-finals.
The young team coached by Michael Clarque made history not only at their age group, but for their tiny country as they claimed their first ever spot at a FIFA tournamant.
Speaking to the official website of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), U-17 Head Coach Michael Clarque said: “It’s beautiful because it goes well beyond what I could have imagined!”
“I was a bit worried that the stress would affect them because it is not easy knowing that you’re playing a World Cup Qualification match, but we played with strong spirit and it gave us confidence.”
“Now we have seven months to work and we’ll see how we’ll perform in the World Cup. We’ve made our mark on the history of New Caledonian football today,” Clarque added.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 will take place from October 6 to 28, 2017. The tournament will be also a historic one for India as the subcontinent will be hosting and participating in a FIFA tournament for the very first time.