Soccer-NZ win Oceania qualifiers, face playoff for World Cup spot
Sept 5 (Reuters) - Myer Bevan's first international goal and an own goal by Haddis Gagame was enough for New Zealand to advance to an inter-continental playoff for the 2018 World Cup finals following a 2-2 draw with the Solomon Islands on Tuesday. The result in the final round of Oceania qualifying gave New Zealand an 8-3 aggregate victory following a 6-1 win in the first leg in Auckland. Micah Lea'alafa slotted a first-half penalty, while captain Henry Fa'arado did the same in the second half for the home side, who took advantage of sweltering conditions in Honiara to put in a better performance than they did last Friday. New Zealand, who qualified for the 1982 and 2010 World Cup finals, now face the fifth-placed South American side -- currently twice champions Argentina -- in a two-legged playoff in November. (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
