BY PHILIP LILOMO
THIS raw talent from the island of Ranongga in the Western Province of Solomon Islands has got Oceania football talking after some scintillating performances in the Under-19 World Cup qualifiers currently underway in Apia, Samoa.
A student at Buri Community High School in Ranongga, James Laena, has no prior football experience outside of his home village before boarding the flight to Apia.
Even his village folks are surprised by how young Laena is stamping his mark with this Solomon Islands National Youth Team, even though his talent was evident to them playing in various small tournaments on the island.
“Direct from Vile (village) to the squad. We all knew he had the talent, but how fast he adapted to playing football outside of the country surprised us,” said one of Laena’s Ranongga wantoks.
“We are all proud of Laena. He is the second player from our Island to represent our Island in a national team after Tutizama Tanito,” this very happy Ranongga friend said.
Young Laena was scouted by SIFF officials playing in a tournament in Koriovuku (2 Rivs) village earlier this year.
This was part of the SIFF’s Talent Identification Scouting Program in provinces around the country, and football legend Batram Suri is part of this program and he is also the Under-19 Head coach.
I will definitely ask Batram what he saw in young Laena when they saw him play in Koroivuku, for now let’s just assume Batram knows a natural striker just like himself when he sees one.
Leana said leana and took the opportunity, travelled to Honiara, and trained with the Under-19 training squad.
Thursday 11 July 2024, having already qualified for the semifinal yet played a crucial final pool game against Tahiti.
Why it was crucial? Oceania powerhouse New Zealand was in the other pool. A defeat against Tahiti and face the possibility of playing NZ in the semis.
Oceania now has 2 slots at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup. The winner and runner in Oceania goes to the World Cup.
The Solomon Islands is now one win away from qualifying for the 2025 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Chile, South America.
And Laena, a humble young lad from Ranongga Island part Vella La Vela, played a crucial role in getting to this stage, one game away from going to Chile for the World Cup.
The Under-19 squad were stranded in Fiji on their way to Apia. Only 12 players went ahead to Apia, the rest slept at the airport in Nadi, Fiji.
The rest of the team made it in time, only hours before their opening game against Vanuatu.
Restless, the Solomon Islands took the pitch. Young Laena showed his class by scoring the winning goal as a tired Solomon Islands beat Vanuatu 1-0.
He featured prominently again as Solomon Islands dominated Fiji to a 3-0 victory in their second game.
Final pool game yesterday, Solomon Islands was already in a good position to progress to the semis with a draw, but need a win to top their group and avoid a potential clash with NZ.
Leana stepped up again, scoring a second-half winner to send Solomon Islands top of the pool and to the semi-final with a 1-0 win against a strong Tahiti side.
Even the OFC commentators dare compare Laena with the sensational Benjamin Totori in his youth.
Anyways, the Solomon Islands match on to the semis next week, all the best boys.
The story remains unwritten for now, but what a beautiful story it would be.
From his home island of Ranongga, can Leana lead Solomon Islands to Chile.
