European champions Spain have overwhelmed Oceania representatives New Caledonia 11-0 to secure their place in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup knockout stages.
The tournament favourites scored five first-half goals in their Group F encounter in Sosnowiec, Poland, before adding six more after the interval.
Despite the scoreline, New Caledonia produced determined defending and several fine saves as Spain maintained pressure throughout the match.
Pau Comendador opened the scoring inside 10 minutes, while Marisa Garcia struck twice before half-time, alongside goals from Celia Segura and Alba Cerrato.
Segura finished with four goals, including a penalty, while Comendador and Garcia scored twice each.
Cerrato, Carla Julia and Rosalia Dominguez completed the scoring, with Dominguez finding the net during stoppage time.
Main photo: Spain’s Julia Torres (left) and Alban Cerrato. Photo credit: FIFA.
The result equalled the biggest winning margin in tournament history, matching France’s 11-0 victory against fellow Oceania representatives Fiji in 2024.
It also surpassed Argentina’s 8-0 victory against Benin as the biggest winning margin at Poland 2026.
During the match, Spain had 64 attempts on goal, of which 31 were on target. New Caledonia had no shots at goal during the match. Spain had 31 corners, while New Caledonia had none.
New Caledonia coach Leon Waitronyie said his players understood they would spend much of the match defending against Spain.
“I think the instructions were clear from the start: of course, we were going to suffer, but we had to keep fighting until the end,” Waitronyie said.
“We knew that Spain were going to take control of the game, but we had to remain competitive.
“From the first minute to the 92nd minute, we couldn’t give up.”
New Caledonia captain Kenza Kenon said facing one of world football’s leading nations had produced mixed emotions.
“I’m emotional because we faced a great nation like Spain. It mainly makes me feel happy,” Kenon said.
“These are tears of joy, but also a little sadness because when you’re competitive, conceding so many goals always hurts.
“Honestly, we expected it, but my team tried to give everything we had, and I think that’s what we did.”
New Caledonia will complete their Group F campaign against Nigeria in Łódź, after losing their opening match 5-0 to China PR.
Oceania’s other representatives, New Zealand, have lost their two games in Group D.
They play the United States in Sosnowiec on Sunday.
Acknowledgement
We thank FIFA for providing information for this story.
Results
Games played on Friday September 11, 2026 (NZT)
Group F
Spain 11 (Pau Comendador 10′, 49′, Marisa García 17′, 45+1′, Celia Segura 33′, 46′, 53′, 65′ pen, Alba Cerrato 43′, Carla Julia 89′, Rosalía Domínguez 90+4′)
New Caledonia 0
China 0
Nigeria 0
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Group F
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Spain
2
2
0
0
13
0
13
6
China
2
1
1
0
5
0
5
4
Nigeria
2
0
1
1
0
2
-2
1
New Caledonia
2
0
0
2
0
16
-16
0
Fixtures
Games to be played September 13, 2026 (NZT)
Group D
Italy v Japan
Stadion Miejski LKS, Lódz, 1am (NZT)
New Zealand v United States
Arena Sosnowiec, Sosnowiec, 1am (NZT)
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Group D
Team
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Italy
2
2
0
0
5
1
4
6
Japan
2
1
1
0
4
3
1
4
United States
2
0
1
1
3
5
-1
1
New Zealand
2
0
0
2
1
5
-4
0
Games to be played on Monday September 14, 2026 (NZT)
Group F
Nigeria v New Caledonia
Stadion Miejski LKS, Łódź, 1am (NZT)
China v Spain
Arena Sosnowiec, Sosnowiec, 1am (NZT)
This story was first published on September 11, 2026.