New Zealand met the Solomon Islands in the final of the OFC tournament, which was moved to Qatar’s capital city Doha due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Goals from midfielder Bill Tuiloma and striker Chris Wood gave New Zealand a 2-0 cushion at halftime at the Al-Arabi Stadium.

Joe Bell found the net directly from a corner in the second half to extend the lead, with the effort his first goal for New Zealand.

Tuiloma headed New Zealand into a 4-0 lead in the 70th minute, before Matt Garbett’s maiden international goal came in stoppage time to complete a dominant victory.

New Zealand will participate in their fourth consecutive playoff for a World Cup place.

New Zealand won a two-legged playoff 1-0 against Bahrain to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which marked the first qualification process since Australia moved to the Asian Football Confederation.

Mexico overcame New Zealand 9-3 on aggregate to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, while Peru were 2-0 winners to reach Russia 2018.

New Zealand will face the fourth-placed team from the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football qualification system.

Barring unlikely results in the final round of matches, Costa Rica look set to face the OFC winners in the playoff in June.

The two teams will be included in the draw for Qatar 2022, which is scheduled to take place on Friday (April 1).

New Zealand had finished unbeaten in the OFC tournament, winning all three of their Group B matches against Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Caledonia.

New Zealand overcame Tahiti 1-0 in the semi-finals, while the Solomon Islands were 3-2 winners against Papua New Guinea to reach the final.

Vanuatu and the Cook Islands had been forced to withdraw from Group A of the qualification event following positive COVID-19 cases.