Wood hat-trick powers New Zealand to dominant win over Fiji
Chris Wood scored a hat-trick of headers as New Zealand thrashed Fiji 7-0 on Friday, moving within one win of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
New Zealand will face New Caledonia in Auckland on Monday, with the winner securing a place at the tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Ranked 89th in the world, New Zealand are firm favourites to reach their third World Cup, having previously appeared in 1982 and 2010.
Wood opened the scoring after six minutes and struck again in the 56th and 60th minutes, taking his international tally to 44 goals in 81 appearances. The 33-year-old Nottingham Forest striker was substituted shortly after completing his treble and made headlines by climbing into the stands in Wellington to sign autographs—earning a yellow card in the process.
“If that’s the rules, that’s the rules. Just doing something nice and trying to sign for the fans,” said Wood, who has scored 18 Premier League goals this season to push Forest into Champions League contention.
Sarpreet Singh, Tyler Bindon, Tim Payne, and Kosta Barbarouses also found the net as New Zealand overwhelmed Fiji’s amateur side.
“It was a dominant first half and we kept it going into the second half,” said Wood. “The team did really well in that sense.”
New Caledonia, ranked 152nd, secured their place in the final with a 3-0 win over Tahiti. This edition marks the first time Oceania’s top team will qualify directly without an intercontinental playoff.
(Source: AFP)
