Local officials believe Papua New Guineans will get behind the quarter finalists in the FIFA Under 20 Women's World Cup, despite the hosts exiting the tournament at the group stage.
PNG were beaten in all three pool matches against Brazil, Sweden and North Korea, with striker Nicollete Ageva scoring the country's first ever goal at a FIFA tournament in their final game.
The PNG Under 20 women's team line-up before their World Cup opener against Brazil. Photo: PNG Football Association
PNG Football CEO Dimirit Mileng said Port Moresby has really got behind the various World Cup teams.
"The atmosphere started from the first day of competition," he said.
"The city has been organising the different country support teams and the hype is really building.
"We had a very emotional event last night (Sunday) with the team from Canada after they lost their last match and is out of the group matches. There was a very emotional local support team that gave them some comfort before they left."
The quarter final match-ups begin on Thursday with North Korea up against Spain and Japan facing Brazil.
The United States take on Mexico and Germany and France square off on Friday.
The Spanish Under 20s team are through to the World Cup quarter finals in PNG. Photo: PNG Football Association
