PREVIEW: Tonga import players from America for Olympic qualifier against Ferns

Six players sourced from leagues in North America could help Tonga’s cause in their opening OFC Olympic Qualifier match against New Zealand’s Football Ferns.

The teams meet in Apia, Samoa, on Wednesday for their Group B fixture at the eight-team tournament to decide who will represent Oceania at July’s Olympic Games in Paris.

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Main photo: The Tonga squad at the OFC Olympic Qualifier tournament in Samoa. Photo credit: OFC Media.

Tonga arrive at the tournament on the back of an eighth-placing at November’s 10-team Pacific Games.

Since then, the team has drafted in half a dozen players from North America, including four who will make their international debut at the Olympic Qualifiers.

The debutants are Telly Vunipola, Lisimani Helu, Leila Hausia-Haugen, and Eden Makaafi.

Californian midfielder Vunipola (23) is with Washington State University, moving there last year after four seasons of college football in Syracuse and Louisiana.

United States-born defender Helu (20) played for New Mexico State in 2023 after missing the 2022 season through injury.

Prior to that, she was the MVP for her State Championship-winning San Mateo High School, scoring 21 goals as a defender.

Defender Hausia-Haugen (19) is another United States-born player, who plays for Washington’s Puget Sound Loggers.

Striker Makaafi won several end-of-season awards after scoring 13 goals for College of Idaho in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

Makaafi (22) was named in the NAIA’s All-American third team, and was chosen for the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region side.

Two more North America-based players are in the Tongan squad, having already worn the red national shirt.

Canadian-born attacking midfielder Sachi Swift (26) plays for the Victoria Highlanders in Canada’s League 1 British Columbia, regarded as a third-tier of domestic competition. She played for Tonga at November’s Pacific Games.

America-born defender Daviana Vaka (22) is in her fourth year of college football in the United States, where she plays for the University of Florida’s Gators, and has played for her home state club, the Utah Avalanche.

She’s the twin sister of defender Laveni Vaka who made history on January 12, 2024, when she became the first-ever Tonga professional women’s player, when signed by San Francisco’s Bay FC in the draft for the 2024 NWSL.

Laveni Vaka is not in the Olympic qualifier squad.

Of the remaining squad members, eight are graduates from Tonga’s 2023 U-19 side while two step up from the U-16 team.

The youngsters include Tama’a Faletau (16), who scored all five of her side’s goals in Tonga’s 5-1 win against the Solomon Islands at the 2023 OFC U-16 Women’s Championship.

Fixture

Game to be played on Wednesday February 7, 2024

New Zealand v Tonga
Apia Park, Apia, Samoa, 1pm (NZT)

Squads

Tournament draw

# indicates current FIFA world ranking

The top two sides from each pool will advance to the semi-final stage with each pool winner meeting the runners-up from the other group.

The winning semi-finalists will meet in a sudden-death final.

Match schedule

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