Guwahati: France thrashed Honduras 5-1 here on Saturday to enter the second round of the ongoing Fifa U-17 World Cup as the winners of Group E.
Alexis Flips (23rd, 64th minutes) scored once in each half after left winger Wilson Isidore (14th) had handed France the lead.
Amine Gouri (86th) and Yacine Adli (90+6) piled on the misery for Honduras in the closing stages.
France have finished the first round as the winners of Group E with the full nine points.
New Caledonia rode skipper Jekob Jeno’s late strike to hold Japan 1-1 in another match of the group but the Asian outfit advanced to the pre-quarter finals of the event.
The result saw Japan go through to the knockouts as second in the group having four points from three matches. France topped the group with full nine points from their three engagements.
For Japan, Keito Nakamura scored in the seventh minute only for Jeno to equalise in the 83rd minute. The draw gave New Caledonia their first point of the tournament.
With the draw, New Caledonia ended their campaign with a cheer as they gained their first ever point in a Fifa World Cup across age categories.
Japan went ahead in the seventh minute through forward Keito Nakamura, but New Caledonia’s Jeno restored parity seven minutes from time at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan encounter.
Japan seemingly paid for their overconfidence as their coach tested the reserve bench by resting as many as nine regulars. They had the bulk of ball possession, got more scoring opportunities, but missed some gilt-edged opportunities, with the woodwork also standing in their way twice.
New Caledonia, on the other hand, did not lose heart despite the waves of Japanese raids in the early minutes of the match, relied on counters and finally ended the 90 minutes on evens stevens.
Located in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, New Caledonia is a special Collectivity of France, with a population of around 280,000 — similar to the Indian towns of Purnia (in Bihar) and Satna (in Madhya Pradesh), and had become the smallest nation to qualify for any World Cup in February when they finished runners up in the OFC U-17 championships.
Along with hosts India, they were the debutants in any Fifa World Cup across age groups and conceded a dozen goals in their first two matches (1-7 to France and 0-5 to Honduras).