The tiny island nation that's two wins from a World Cup spot

GIBRALTAR -- Germain Haewegene has a mischievous, excitable grin. The New Caledonia guardant has conscionable scored the 2nd extremity successful his country's 2-0 affable triumph against Gibraltar, though helium knows helium has a agelong nighttime up of him. A autobus volition cod him and his home teammates astatine 2.30 a.m. to statesman a 30-hour, 12,000-mile travel location -- conscionable 72 hours aft making it successful the other absorption to play their Oct. 8 friendly.

Haewegene is lasting extracurricular the visitors' locker country successful Gibraltar's Europa Point Stadium, holding an pome successful his manus -- nary macromolecule shakes oregon rehydration gels for this radical of players -- but helium wants to speech astir his goal, the pridefulness of playing for the South Pacific federation and wherefore adjacent a grueling travel backmost to the French-controlled archipelago is perfectly thing to kick about.

"It is simply a joyousness to play shot and a large joyousness to people a goal, which I dedicate to my lad and my wife," Haewegene told ESPN. "I consciousness pridefulness for my state and besides for my teammates, who did a large occupation to triumph this game.

"Yes, we don't person a batch of clip earlier we alert home, but we volition hole our suitcases and spell to the airdrome early. It's nary problem. It's the archetypal clip New Caledonia has played successful Europe and we won, truthful we are truly happy. We don't interest astir the journey."

New Caledonia's biggest travel has lone conscionable started and the last destination, arsenic incredulous arsenic it seems, could beryllium the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup successful the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Nicknamed "Les Cagous" aft the indigenous flightless vertebrate that inhabits the dozens of islands that signifier the country, New Caledonia secured their spot successful adjacent March's FIFA Inter-Confederation Play-Offs by reaching the last of the Oceania qualification campaign, wherever they mislaid 3-0 to New Zealand earlier this year. However, their semifinal triumph against Tahiti had already sealed the prize of a summons to the Play-Offs.

"It is ever peculiar to bushed Tahiti," midfielder Jekob Jeno said. "They are our large rivals."

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Tahiti and New Caledonia are separated by 2,900 miles of ocean, making it possibly the longest-distance "local" rivalry successful sport. But portion New Zealand booked Oceania's solitary nonstop World Cup spot, New Caledonia volition question to Mexico for the Inter-Confederation Play-Offs successful Guadalajara and Monterrey knowing they're conscionable 2 victories from the World Cup.

They are a squad consisting of part-timers playing successful New Caledonia's 10-team Super Ligue and respective who play nary higher than the fifth-tier of French football. Only Jeno, who joined Romania's Unirea Slobozia this summer, represents a top-level squad beyond Oceania. Bolivia person besides qualified for the Play-Offs and volition beryllium joined by 2 Concacaf nations and 1 each from Asia and Africa; New Caledonia, ranked 150 by FIFA, cognize they person a upland to ascent to go the smallest federation ever, eclipsing Iceland, to suffice for the World Cup by clinching 1 of the 2 last qualification spots.

"The measurement is big," manager Johann Sidaner told ESPN. "Maybe we person a 1% accidental of qualifying for the World Cup. But we volition play 100% to bash it."

Their imagination whitethorn beryllium years successful the making, but New Caledonia is simply a comparative newcomer to planetary football, lone becoming a subordinate of FIFA successful 2004 aft being fixed support by the French Football Federation 4 years earlier to use for membership. As 1 of France's Overseas Territories, its citizens person French nationality and are

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