Oceania Qualifiers

Solomon Islands head coach Felipe Vega-Arango sent out the same starting eleven that overcame Tahiti in their previous fixture. Meanwhile, Marcos Gusmao made just one change from Papua New Guinea’s clutch victory over Fiji, Raymond Gunemba replacing Stahl Gubag in attack.

"Vanuatu's next match day is in the next two days, and VFF do not have sufficient time to replace the players and officials ... The current circumstances are beyond their control," the country's governing body said in a statement.

Under the Ministry of Public Health regulations for the State of Qatar Healthcare Protocol, the positive cases must isolate for a minimum period of seven days, reports RNZ Pacific.

Substitute Ben Waine scored the winner in his first senior international game for New Zealand from a free kick in the 75th minute.

The Wellington Phoenix player had only been on the field for less than 10 minutes when he scored from close range.

Papua New Guinea had not played an international fixture since 2019, whereas the All Whites last played in January.

The Kapuls are ranked 165 on Fifa's ranking, more than 50 places below New Zealand (111).

New Zealand had several chances to score late in the game but could not convert.