Two games of football – that is what it will take for Papua New Guinea to make history. As they take the field in New Zealand this week for the World Cup intercontinental playoffs, two wins would see the Pacific island nation reach its first World Cup.
The journey has been far from easy. The national team did not play a match from July 2019 until April 2022 but with New Zealand co-hosting the tournament this July and August, PNG seized the opportunity to qualify by winning the Oceania Nations Cup last July. Since then, results have slid, with Nicola Demaine losing her job as manager and little to no football played over almost three months.
