New Zealand have successfully defended their Oceania U-17 championship title at Luganville Soccer City Stadium in Luganville, Vanuatu, after defeating Papua New Guinea 4-0.
The Young All Whites, having dominated the tournament and securing five wins from five games, will represent the Oceania region at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates later this year.
New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley says it is a great feeling to secure a record five wins to qualify for the World Cup, as that was the priority coming into this event.
"Credit to the , because they've had some tough moments and it certainly hasn't been easy. The teams are all improving and they made it hard for us.
"Obviously the weather conditions have made it difficult for us at times as well. The players have worked really hard to get here and have played some good football.
"I'm pleased for them and really proud of what they've done."
Papua New Guinea did their best to keep the New Zealanders at bay during the Match Day Five opener, keeping them locked at 0-0 going into the break, despite the Kiwis dominating possession. Having wasted most of their chances in the first period with off-target shots, New Zealand turned the notch up a level, as a tired Papua New Guinea were slowly worn down by the persistent Kiwi attackers.
After some first-half misses Stuart Holthusen finally put his side on the scoreboard with a 57th minute chip over goalkeeper Koniel Vagi. Three minutes later, Monty Patterson went one-on-one with Vagi, who stayed down after sliding in to clear the ball from Patterson's feet and Holthusen was able to slot into an empty goal for his second.
Vagi left the field on a stretcher and replacement Peter Pitor was soon forced into action, as New Zealand continued their goal assault. Following a powerful advance up the right flank, Andrew Blake cut the ball back for Patterson, who tapped home.
Blake again played provider less than 10 minutes later, with a similar play finding Holthusen in the centre, who knocked in for his hat-trick.
Bazeley says his side started the match very tired after putting in so much work over the course of the campaign.
"The first half was a bit edgy, but credit to Papua New Guinea. They're a team that had only conceded four goals up until today, so we expected them to be quite strong and they frustrated us for half the game.
"At half-time, we asked the boys to dig deep and show a big effort to finish the tournament on high, and they played really well in the second half."
In the indidividual awards, New Zealand pair Stuart Holthusen and Monty Patterson picked up the Golden Boot, with Patterson also earning the Golden Ball, while Young All White's goalkeeper Zac Speedy was awarded the Golden Gloves.