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New Zealand knocked out of 2006 World Cup finals
The New Zealand soccer team came back Sunday night from an Oceania Nations Cup tournament in Australia after it was knocked out of next year's Confederations Cup and the chance of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup. During a match Sunday night, the Solomon Islands held Australia to a 2-2 draw, enabling the team to finish runners-up to Australia. The result has denied New Zealand the opportunity of a spot in next year's Confederations Cup and the chance of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. The All Whites paid the ultimate price for last Wednesday's 2-4 loss to Vanuatu. Despite bouncing back to beat Tahiti - and Fiji 2-0 earlier Sunday night - the All Whites finished a point behind the Solomons. All Whites coach Mick Waitt watched in shock and disbelief as the Solomons, ranked 154th in the world, dished up one of the most embarrassing results in Australian Socceroos history. Striker Commins Menapi was the hero for the Solomons, opening the scoring on the stroke of halftime before pouncing again in the 75th minute to cancel out early second half goals to Australian team's Tim Cahill and Brett Emerton. Australia and the Solomons will now play-off in October to determine Oceania's representative at the Confederations Cup. In September 2005, they will meet again to decide which nation will play a South American qualifier for a berth at the 2006 World Cup. |
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