Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

Sign Up Now!

World Cup 2026 Australia thread

HonestSpursFan said:
Today Les Cagous (The Kagus, a type of bird), the New Caledonia national team, will be playing their biggest ever match: an interconfederation playoff against Jamaica. Slim chance but could make history.

ALLEZ LES CAGOUS !!!
Click to expand...
Yeah good luck to them. 4am for me so I'll do a morning catch up.
 
So who does everyone fancy as the easier option for Australia to face - Turkiye or Kosovo?

Surely Kosovo is a really good chance playing this game at home and probably pretty confident after banging 4 past Slovakia.
 
verrelli said:
So who does everyone fancy as the easier option for Australia to face - Turkiye or Kosovo?

Surely Kosovo is a really good chance playing this game at home and probably pretty confident after banging 4 past Slovakia.
Click to expand...
Kosovo can score but also have their defensive vulnerabilities. It'd be a pretty open game against Australia and their involvement would make the group more exciting than Turkey.

Turkey are pretty boring. I expect they'll grind out a result.
 
JS96 said:


New Caledonia fared better than expected but Jamaica in control.
Click to expand...

They need more Christian Karambeus. An Indigenous Melanesian New Caledonian (Kanak), he earned 53 caps for Les Bleus. New Caledonia only became a recognised FIFA member in 2004, long after Karameu's time.

Wikipeedia: Karembeu was a member of the French team that won the 1998 World Cup. He played in 4 matches in the tournament, including starts in the quarter-final, semi-final, and final, totalling 242 minutes.
He was also part of the victorious French team at Euro 2000
 
socceroosmad said:
They need more Christian Karambeus. An Indigenous Melanesian New Caledonian (Kanak), he earned 53 caps for Les Bleus. New Caledonia only became a recognised FIFA member in 2004, long after Karameu's time.

Wikipeedia: Karembeu was a member of the French team that won the 1998 World Cup. He played in 4 matches in the tournament, including starts in the quarter-final, semi-final, and final, totalling 242 minutes.
He was also part of the victorious French team at Euro 2000
Click to expand...
and won the prestigious Oceania Player of the Year after winning that world cup thank you very much
 
socceroosmad said:
They need more Christian Karambeus. An Indigenous Melanesian New Caledonian (Kanak), he earned 53 caps for Les Bleus. New Caledonia only became a recognised FIFA member in 2004, long after Karameu's time.

Wikipeedia: Karembeu was a member of the French team that won the 1998 World Cup. He played in 4 matches in the tournament, including starts in the quarter-final, semi-final, and final, totalling 242 minutes.
He was also part of the victorious French team at Euro 2000
Click to expand...
Regular New Caledonian visitor and former resident (lived there three years) here. Was talking about this before! New Caledonia weren’t a FIFA member till 2004 so missed out on players like Christian Karembeu.

I think Australia is a key part of developing New Caledonian talent, male and female, in the future too, especially if independence (a hotly-contested topic) comes one day (currently free association is the next step). A-League and NPL clubs should look and scout talents similar to how Brian Kaltak was scouted from Vanuatu.

I wonder if Josh Sotirio is the only Aussie/Kiwi player eligible for New Caledonia either. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s someone else somewhere in the NPL and below.
 
JS96 said:


New Caledonia fared better than expected but Jamaica in control.
Click to expand...

Watched the whole game and was talking about it in the general World Cup thread. Quite happy with that effort! A team mostly made up of Super Ligue or lower French tier clubs came close to beating a team with Premier League players! A lot of pride among Les Cagous, and I’m sure that’ll only continue.
 
HonestSpursFan said:
Regular New Caledonian visitor and former resident (lived there three years) here. Was talking about this before! New Caledonia weren’t a FIFA member till 2004 so missed out on players like Christian Karembeu.

I think Australia is a key part of developing New Caledonian talent, male and female, in the future too, especially if independence (a hotly-contested topic) comes one day (currently free association is the next step). A-League and NPL clubs should look and scout talents similar to how Brian Kaltak was scouted from Vanuatu.

I wonder if Josh Sotirio is the only Aussie/Kiwi player eligible for New Caledonia either. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s someone else somewhere in the NPL and below.
Click to expand...
You’d think there’d be a few Tonga/Samoa/Fijians at least hey
 
NicCarBel said:
You’d think there’d be a few Tonga/Samoa/Fijians at least hey
Click to expand...
Possibly, but they overwhelmingly prefer rugby (league and union). I know of Grace Kuilamu though, she plays for Brisbane Roar and has one Matildas cap. Her dad is Fijian while her mum is Romanian so she’s eligible for three countries. Great player, still only 19 too! Unfortunately she tore her ACL though.

Interestingly France has had a few rugby union players from the Pacific territories. They really should get their own teams.
 
HonestSpursFan said:
Possibly, but they overwhelmingly prefer rugby (league and union). I know of Grace Kuilamu though, she plays for Brisbane Roar and has one Matildas cap. Her dad is Fijian while her mum is Romanian so she’s eligible for three countries. Great player, still only 19 too! Unfortunately she tore her ACL though.

Interestingly France has had a few rugby union players from the Pacific territories. They really should get their own teams.
Click to expand...
Just even in general, trying to scout those areas - would be more likely to find a community to fit in. At Yoogali FC, I remember they brought in a contingent of Fijians, one went on to play NPL for Rhinos
 
NicCarBel said:
Just even in general, trying to scout those areas - would be more likely to find a community to fit in. At Yoogali FC, I remember they brought in a contingent of Fijians, one went on to play NPL for Rhinos
Click to expand...
The NPL doesn’t have a foreign player limit right? If not then that and the NZNL are the perfect place to develop players from the OFC (and some ASEAN countries with crap leagues like East Timor).

Pretty cool to see that this is already happening like how you mentioned the Fijians at Yoogali FC! I know Dan Hall is an A-League player too, currently at Auckland FC, though he was born in Australia and for some reason still hasn’t debuted for the Bula Boys yet. Pretty sure there’s a couple of Solomon Islanders in the NPL too.
 
Amazing to think that since the last World Cup we have only had 1 match versus European opponent (England in Oct 2023). I guess Nations League gives us less opportunities for friendlies with European teams. It seems gone are the days of Socceroos having their base in London and games at Craven Cottage etc.
 
verrelli said:
Amazing to think that since the last World Cup we have only had 1 match versus European opponent (England in Oct 2023). I guess Nations League gives us less opportunities for friendlies with European teams. It seems gone are the days of Socceroos having their base in London and games at Craven Cottage etc.
Click to expand...
Gosh I hate the nations league, and you just gave me another reason to
 
HonestSpursFan said:
The NPL doesn’t have a foreign player limit right? If not then that and the NZNL are the perfect place to develop players from the OFC (and some ASEAN countries with crap leagues like East Timor).

Pretty cool to see that this is already happening like how you mentioned the Fijians at Yoogali FC! I know Dan Hall is an A-League player too, currently at Auckland FC, though he was born in Australia and for some reason still hasn’t debuted for the Bula Boys yet. Pretty sure there’s a couple of Solomon Islanders in the NPL too.
Click to expand...
In Qld NPL clubs are only allowed 2 + 1 AFC/OFC visa players (no goalkeepers). I think it is the same/similar in the other state NPL's.
 
Famous last words but are Paraguay perhaps something of a fairer and more honourable South American team?

Uruguay and Argentina are insufferable. Brazil are in their bubble. Chile and Peru have their dirty tricks. Venezuela and Bolivia are perennial victims. Ecuador come across as more noble.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top