The Kiwis won the battle from the spot at the Sir John Guise Stadium as they won the continental tournament for a fifth time.

No goals were scored during the regulation 90 minutes or extra time, leading to penalties.

Rory Fallon scored the opener for New Zealand but Papua New Guinea's Koriak Upaiga then saw his effort saved by Kiwi keeper Stefan Marinovic.

Michael McGlinchey gave the New Zealanders a 2-0 shoot-out lead by sending home keeper Ronald Warisan the wrong way, but Tommy Semmy then put his side on the board by firing under Marinovic.

Moses Dyer and Michael Foster traded penalties before Papua New Guinea were given an opening thanks to Jeremy Brockie blasting wide for New Zealand.

They could not capitalise, however, as Raymond Gunemba - who scored five goals in the group stage to win the tournament's golden boot - was foiled by another Marinovic save.

That presented Marco Rojas with the chance to settle the final and he made no mistake by beating Warisan.

“I’m incredibly proud of the players, they’ve been outstanding since we started 35 days ago in Auckland,” New Zealand coach Anthony Hudson said.

“This was fully deserved and we were the best team here.

"We showed so much character and I’m so pleased for the players and staff.”

Marinovic was awarded the golden glove after New Zealand conceded just one goal all tournament, with Papua New Guinea, who had previously never made it through the group stage at the Nations Cup, having to settle for the runners-up tag.

As well as regaining the continental silverware which was surprisingly won by Tahiti in 2014, New Zealand have also booked their place at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia next year.

Their star striker Chris Wood, who scored four goals in the tournament, opted to miss today's final to attend his sister's wedding.

The nuptials had been arranged for outside of the tournament but the dates of the competition were changed.