OlyWhites book ticket to Olympics

When Des Buckingham took charge of the OlyWhites at the end of June, he had 100 days to get the team ready for the final of the OFC Olympic qualifying tournament.

In the wake of former coach Fritz Schmid’s abrupt departure, his first task was to pick up the pieces and take the national under-23 men’s team to the Pacific Games, where they stunned senior sides from around the region to win the gold medal.

After that came a pair of friendlies against Australia at the start of September, the first transTasman football matches in four years, where two impressive performances led to two 1-1 draws.

Then came the Olympic qualifiers in Fiji, which culminated with Saturday’s final, where the OlyWhites beat the Solomon Islands 5-0 to book their place in Tokyo next July.

Playing in positive fashion, they scored 33 goals in their five matches and finished with a goal difference of +29 – record marks, on a per-match basis, for a New Zealand men’s age group team in an Oceania competition.

The OlyWhites were heavy favourites when the tournament began, as Kiwi sides always are in Oceania, but they deserve plaudits for doing the job so convincingly, especially when recent under-17 and under-20 campaigns have featured a number of close calls.

‘‘It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with them,’’ Buckingham said of his squad, which was led by All White Logan Rogerson.

‘‘What we’ve tried to create is an environment where players can add value, and the environment we’ve created is a positive one, where they’re hugely supported.’’

New Zealand will have two football teams in Tokyo, with the Football Ferns securing their place in the 12-team women’s tournament last November.