[Source: OFC Oceania Football/Facebook]

It was an emotional day for Fiji’s Under-16 football head coach, Sunil Kumar, as his team made history by qualifying for their first-ever FIFA U17 World Cup next year.

Kumar reflected on the challenging journey through the the current championship, crediting the players for their resilience and ability to step up when it mattered most.

He also shared that the players performed remarkably during their semi-final clash against Tahiti last night, a shift in play that he found inspiring.

Kumar says that achieving this milestone was their goal coming into the tournament.

“I’ve lost my voice first, but thank you, I’m so, so proud of the boys’ performance. We had a tough pool game, we didn’t get a lot of positive, I would say, remarks for the pool match because the performance was not there. But we knew that boys can do better than this, and I’m so, so proud of the boys’ performance. They lifted it up to another level today.”

As the team gears up for their final showdown against New Zealand, the Baby Bula Boys are determined to finish the tournament on a high note.

The two rivals will face off at 4 pm on Sunday.