The Vanuatu National Senior Men’s Pre-Squad played their second national friendly match this week at Port Vila Municipal Stadium, going down 3–2 against Tafea Football Club.
The friendly served as preparation for the upcoming MSG Prime Ministers Cup, set to kick off on November 10 in Papua New Guinea. It also gave Head Coach Richard Iwai the chance to assess players before finalizing his 23-man squad to represent Vanuatu.
In this match, Tafea FC opened the scoring before the pre-squad equalized late in the first half. In the second period, Tafea came out strong, with Tony Kaltak chipping the goalkeeper for their second goal, followed by a volley from Kalver Kaltak that extended the lead to 3–1.
In the dying minutes of the third period, Mauriki FC striker Mila Loloa, who is also in the pre-squad, converted a penalty to narrow the scoreline.
The final score was Tafea FC 3 – Vanuatu Pre-Squad 2.
The national team will play one more friendly on Tuesday, October 1, at 3 pm against North Efate United FC. This will be the final test match before Coach Iwai names his 25-man squad for the MSG Prime Ministers Cup.
