Wellington qualify for Club WC with Oceania triumph

WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s Team Wellington qualified to take on some of the best teams in the world at December’s Club World Cup after winning the Oceania Champions League for the first time on Sunday.

A 4-3 second leg win in Fiji on Sunday gave Wellington a 10-3 aggregate victory over Lautoka and a spot in the seven-team FIFA tournament, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates from Dec. 12-22.Mexico’s Guadalajara and Al Ain, who qualify as champions of the host country, have also already qualified and will be joined by the other winners of the top club competition in each of football’s continental confederations.

Liverpool and Club World Cup champions Real Madrid will face off in the European Champions League final next weekend but the winner of South America’s Libertadores Cup will not be known until November.

Team Wellington are the junior professional team in the New Zealand capital as Wellington Phoenix play in the A-League in Australia, which moved from the Oceania to the Asian confederation in 2006.Their triumph ended a run of seven straight Oceania Champions League titles for Auckland City, who have managed three wins from 15 matches over nine Club World Cup appearances.