The Fiji men’s football side missed out on the gold medal this evening, losing 1-0 to New Caledonia at the Pacific Games.

The Peni Finau-captained side settled for the silver medal despite a strong first half. New Caledonia’s lone goal came in the final half from Iamel Kabeu.

National coach Carlos Buzzetti praised the boys for their hard effort, disappointed they did not top the competition but happy nonetheless they qualified for the World Cup Qualifiers against the New Zealand All Whites.

“There could be only one winner and it is sad that it wasn’t us,” Buzzetti said.

“But that’s not the end of the road for us. We finished second-one the three countries that advance on to the round robin match against NZ.”

Buzzetti said now the team would go back home and pick up from where they left off.

“Time was never on our side when we were preparing for the Pacific Games but after advancing right through to the finals, there was definitely something different about this team.”

“We learn from here, go back home and keep on improving,” he added.

Meanwhile the women’s team defeated Tahiti 1-0 to win the bronze medal.

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