Vanuatu has unfortunately withdrawn from the OFC World Cup qualifiers because of an outbreak of Covid-19 in its delegation. Fiji was eliminated by Papua New Guinea early in the group stage after a 2-1 defeat. Both national teams took advantage of the rare opportunity to play a friendly match – which will count towards the FIFA rankings. The match took place this Monday – 28th March – in Doha, as both sides were still in the Middle East nation.
For Vanuatu it was the opportunity to play an official match since the Pacific Games and also to check the debut of a number of players, including the Australian-based defender Jared Clark. The Melanesians took an early lead through Andre Batick – who scored his first goal for the national team.
Roy Krishna – FFA Media
The Fijian superstar Roy Krishna scored twice before the break to give the Bula Boys the win. Krishna is now the all-time leading scorer for the Fiji national team, tied with Esala Masi – both with 31 goals.
It is not known if the teams will play anyother friendly matches in Qatar. The next scheduled tournament for both Vanuatu and Fiji is the Pacific Games to be held next year in Honiara, Solomon Islands.
New Zealand and Solomon Islands take the field at Gran Hamad Stadium to play in the finals of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers – just as they did in 2017. On that occasion New Zealand beat the Bonitos in Auckland 6-1 and drew 2-2 at the Lawson Tama in Honiara – thus achieving qualification for the intercontinental playoff where they faced and lost to South America’s confederation 5th placed-side Peru.
New Zealand vs Solomon Islands in 2017 – NZ Football
New Zealand will probably count on the return of midfielder Marko Stamenic, who returns after being rested against Tahiti due to physical exhaustion, and may be the only change in the team that started the game against the Polynesians.
Good news for the All Whites is that the Solomon Islands are Chris Wood biggest victims – he netted 8 goals including two hattricks against their next opponents, one in the 2012 Nations Cup third-place match playoff and the other in the 2017 World Cup qualifying final.
New Zealand players celebrating their goal against Tahiti – NZ Football
New Zealand will have to be patient to break through the Solomon Islands’ blockade and have more patience to create the scoring opportunities, something that did not happen against Tahiti – considering the islanders will need a more defensive approach then they had in their previous matches in the competition.
The All Whites there were only two remnants left from the 2017 clashes – Chris Wood and Stefan Marinovic. After 2018 the team got younger and increased in terms quality in its squad – It is certainly a better team than the one that beat the Solomon Islands on that occasion.
As for the Solomon Islands, they have been hit hard – Javin Wae got injured against Papua New Guinea and is unlikely to play in the final, as is Alwin Hou, who got also injured against the Kapuls. Gagame Feni should replace Alwin Hou in attack while Leon Kofana should replace Wavin Jae in defense.
Raphael Le’ai vs Papua New Guinea – OFC Media
The Solomon Islands will have to play a perfect game to come away with a victory from Doha – New Zealand has not lost a qualifying match since 2008. Raphael Lea’i and Joses Nawo have to watch out for gaps in the New Zealand backline, something Tahiti have not been able to exploit very well. They will also need much attention than Tahiti had in semifinals, allowing New Zealand as little space as possible and stay focused for during the entire game.
New Zealand and Solomon Islands face each other at the Grand Hamad Stadium at 5pm Local Time (Doha, Qatar).
New Zealand and Tahiti played at the Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha to decide who would face the Solomon Islands in the final of the OFC World Cup qualifiers.
New Zealand just missed the midfielder Marko Stamenic in their squad meaning the All Whites were virtually at full strength. Tahiti, meanwhile, had only one change from the team that lost to the Solomon Islands, Kevin Barbe was replaced by Mauri Heitaa.
The match started with New Zealand pushing Tahiti back, trying to infiltrate its defense. The match had a high number of fouls in the first half with both teams battling hard for the ball possesion. New Zealand’s first and only scoring chance was on a Matt Garbett header that went over Teave Teamotuaitau‘s goal – The Kiwis faced a very tough challenge from Tahitian defensive system.
In the second half the script of the match was the same with New Zealand pressing Tahiti in search of space – New Zealand exchanged many passes and did not offer much danger to the Polynesians – until the seventy minute when Liberato Cacace found Alex Greive in the box who crossed, Matt Garbett misjudged and the ball was left for Liberato Cacace himself to shoot and score his first goal at senior level for New Zealand. You can watch the goal by clicking here.
Liberato Cacace (left) celebrating his goal – NZ Football
Tahiti then even tried to come forward in the final minutes – but it was too late. For the Tahitian side, the performances of defenders Alvin Tehau and François Hapipi were outstanding, and they were always precise when they had to act – especially against New Zealand’s skipper Chris Wood.
Now New Zealand advances to the final to repeat their 2017 clash, when they also faced the Solomon Islands in the WCQ final. The match will be on Wednesday 5pm Local local time (Doha, Qatar).
Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea clashed at the Al-Arabi Stadium in Doha, Qatar, for a place in the final of the World Cup qualifiers. In an eventful match, the Solomons secured the victory and advanced to meet New Zealand or Tahiti in the final.
The first opportunity of the game came from Ati Kepo‘s feet, causing danger to the Solomon Islands defense. On the other side, the Solomon Islands were in danger from Raphael Lea’i down the right wing. The first goal of the match was scored by Alwin Komolong, after a free-kick taken by Tommy Semmy.
The Solomon Islands were not discouraged by the goal conceded, and continued to maintain their good level of play. Alwin Hou had a chance to tie the game, but the ball was saved by Ronald Warisan.
Papua New Guinea suffered a major loss when Daniel Joe had to be replaced through injury. Koriak Upaiga came on to play in his place. Within the next minute Alwin Hou scored with his left foot to equalize the match.
Alwin Hou scored for Solomon Islands – OFC Media
Things got even worse for the Kapuls when Alwin Komolong brought down Raphael Lea’i inside the box and the referee awarded a penalty kick. Fortunately for Papua New Guinea, Micah Lea’alafa‘s shot stopped at the post. Other bad news for the Solomon Islands was Javin Wae‘s injury late in the first half – forcing coach Felipe Vega-Arango to put Leon Kofana on the field for the second half.
With the tension growing and the score tied, both teams started making too many mistakes. Ati Kepo had a chance to score in the first minutes of the second half, but his header was saved by Phillip Mango. Both coaches tried to change the course of things. For the Kapuls, Joshua Talau replaced Koriak Upaiga, while Jerry Donga breathed new life into the Solomon Islands midfield by replacing William Komasi.
Alwin Hou was on a good day, and took a good opportunity to put the Solomon Islands ahead by scoring his second goal of the match. Unfortunately, he was subsequently injured and replaced by Gagame Feni. Vega-Arango’s team increased their lead to two goals when Raphael Lea’i’s shot found the net in the 71st minute.
With a big disadvantage on the scoreboard, Marcos Gusmão decided to make his last change in the Kapuls’ team. Emmanuel Simon was replaced by Yagi Yasasa, in an attempt to make the team more offensive. In the final minutes, Papua New Guinea managed to score on a lucky shot by Ati Kepo – but it was not enough. At the final whistle, the Solomon Islands won by 3-2. You can check the goals of the match by clicking here.
Solomon Islands will meet New Zealand or Tahiti in World Cup qualifiers final. The match is scheduled to take place on Wednesday at Al-Arabi Stadium.
Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands have a recent history of meeting in tournament semifinals. In 2016, the teams met in the semifinals of the OFC Nations Cup. Papua New Guinea won 2-1 and advanced to the final of the tournament.
The following year, they faced each other in Port Moresby worth a place in the World Cup qualifier final against New Zealand. On that occasion, the Solomon Islands beat the Kapuls 2-1, and then were defeated in the final.
Today – March 27 – the two teams meet again in a semifinal. The winner of this contest will face either New Zealand or Tahiti in the final of the World Cup qualifier to fight for a spot in the intercontinental playoff.
Solomons celebrating the goal against PNG – OFC Media
The Solomon Islands have their hopes pinned on their attacking quartet consisting of Alwin Hou, Joses Nawo, Micah Lea’alafa and Raphael Lea’i – all of whom have scored a goal or provided an assist so far. The team coached by Felipe Vega-Arango has shown engaging soccer, with lots of passing and control of possession, with Micah Lea’alafa playing a major role in the team’s success.
Papua New Guinea is in good form and boasts powerful forward Tommy Semmy. He has scored two goals in the tournament and has been one of the best players in the tournament, along with teammates Alwin Komolong and Ronald Warisan. Marcos Gusmão’s work so far is convincing and now he has the opportunity to lead Papua New Guinea to the final of the tournament.
The clash between the two teams will be contested at the Grand Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is scheduled to start at 5pm local time. The match will be broadcast by Eleven Sports.
New Zealand and Tahiti meet again in a World Cup qualifying match for the first time in almost ten years. On that occasion, the All Whites beat the reigning continental champions 3-0. Alvin Tehau, Chris Wood, Teaonui Tehau and Tommy Smith are the only remnants of that game.
Ivan Vicelich and Jonathan Tehau clash for WCQ 2014 – NZ Football
The All Whites are on a high after winning all their group stage matches. With almost all players playing in Europe in the squad, the Kiwis are the favorites to go through to the final and win the tournament. Chris Wood, who recently became the national team’s all-time leading scorer, is in excellent form after scoring twice against New Caledonia.
Winston Reid, who had a rest against the Cagous, is expected to return to the starting eleven for this clash. It is likely that Bill Tuiloma, Joe Bell and Liberato Cacace, who arrived on Wednesday, will also start the match.
The bad news is that All Whites head coach Danny Hay no longer has any A-League players, as they have returned to their clubs. The only exception is Tim Payne, who also arrived in Doha on Wednesday.
New Zealand players in Doha – NZ Football
Tahiti will try to surprise the world again, just like in 2012. To do so, they will have to play a perfect game and be totally focused during the ninety minutes. Free kicks and corners seem to be Samuel Garcia’s biggest weapon in attack. In defense, the attention should be the same, since New Zealand knows how to leave Chris Wood in good situations in those plays.
Using physical play could be one of Tahiti’s assets – and also exploiting the spaces that will be left by New Zealand’s fullbacks – Tahiti’s tactical and mental game has to be perfect and Samuel Garcia seems to be the man to make it happen. Players like Alvin Tehau, Heimano Bourebare, Roonui Tehau, Li Fung Kuee and Teaonui Tehau have to be on a perfect day.
The match will be held this Sunday at the Al-Arabi Stadium and is scheduled to start at 20:30 local time. As with all the other matches in the tournament, this one will also be broadcast on Eleven Sports.
The OFC World Cup qualifiers have reached their decisive stage. New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tahiti dream of a place in the intercontinental play-off against a team from CONCACAF – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.
New Zealand and Tahiti will face each other at senior level for the first time in almost ten years. On that occasion, the All Whites won 3-0 in Christchurch, with a brace scored bt Michael McGlinchey.
New Zealand and Tahiti last meeting was in 2012- NZ Football
New Zealand is certainly the dominant country in the OFC region. After a hard-fought win against Papua New Guinea, the All Whites defeated Fiji by 4-0 and smashed New Caledonia by 7-1. Tahiti, meanwhile, played only one game in the World Cup Qualifiers – a 3-1 loss to Solomon Islands – due to the withdrawal of Vanuatu and the Cook Islands after a COVID-19 outbreak.
Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea will meet at senior level for the first time since 2017 – when the Solomon Islanders defeated their opponents by 2-1 with goals from Henry Fa’arodo and Jerry Donga, advancing to the 2018 World Cup qualifying final against New Zealand.
PNG’s David Browne and players from the Solomon Islands in 2017- OFC Media
Solomon Islands reach the semifinals after defeating Tahiti by 3-1 with a hat-trick scored by Raphael Lea’i. On the other hand, the Kapuls reached the semifinals by beating New Caledonia and Fiji – after a painful loss to New Zealand.
Both semi-finals will take place on Sunday – March 27: Solomon Islands vs Papua New Guinea – Grand Hamad Stadium – Local time: 5pm and New Zealand vs Tahiti – Grand Hamad Stadium – Local time: 8:30pm.
Already qualified for the semi-finals of the tournament, New Zealand fielded an alternate starting eleven to face New Caledonia last Friday at Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium. Despite the low expectations for this game, the All Whites put on a show on the field in front of an inoperative opponent.
Alex Greive had a fantastic performance by scoring New Zealand’s first and third goals of the match. He also played an important role in the second goal, when he was fouled inside the box in a move that culminated in Logan Rogerson’s penalty kick goal.
Alex Greive had an outstanding performance against New Caledonia – Photo Sport
The first half ended with the score 3-1 for the All Whites, as experienced striker Jean-Philippe Saïko scored in favor of New Caledonia in the 11th minute to tie the match at that point of the game. This was the first and, so far, only goal New Zealand conceded in the tournament.
In the second half, the match remained lukewarm until coach Danny Hay decided to make changes to his team. Andre de Jong, Bill Tuiloma, Chris Wood, Joe Bell and Liberato Cacace came in – and all the goals scored since then have come from these players.
All Whites players celebrating a goal against New Caledonia – OFC Media
De Jong and Tuiloma each scored a goal, while Chris Wood, who recently became the all-time leading scorer in New Zealand national team history, scored the last two goals of the match to seal a 7-1 victory for the All Whites. You can watch all goals from this match by clicking here.
New Caledonia returns home with three losses and ten goals conceded in the tournament. New Zealand, on the other hand, will face the Solomon Islands this Sunday for a place in the final of the tournament.
Fiji and Papua New Guinea met at Grand Hamad Stadium to duel for a place in the semifinals of the World Cup Qualifiers. The Kapuls needed only a draw, while the Bula Boys needed to win to advance.
In the eighth minute a good play by Roy Krishna and Ashnil Raju left Sairusi Nalaubu in front of goal, but his shot was saved by Papua New Guinean goalkeepeer Ronald Warisan. Four minutes later, Tevita Waranaivalu opened the scoreboard for Bula Boys after a nice cross by Setareki Hughes – at this point, Fiji was qualifying for the semifinals.
Roy Krishna and Alwin Komolong battling – OFC Media
Despite the advantage, things got bad for Fiji. Waranaivalu was sent off in the last minutes of the first half for assaulting Jacob Sabua. A few moments later, Ati Kepo easily passed through the Fijian defense to equalize.
In the 63rd minute, a sensational pass from Jacob Sabua found Tommy Semmy inside the box. He finished brilliantly to put Papua New Guinea ahead on the scoreboard. The team coached by Marcos Gusmão still managed to create more opportunities in the final minutes, but the score remained 2-1 – which qualified the Kapuls for the semifinals. You can watch the goals of this contest by clicking here.
Papua New Guinea will face Solomon Islands in the semifinals on Sunday, while Fiji is knocked out in the group stage for the third consecutive time in the OFC senior men’s tournaments.
Solomon Islands and Tahiti clashed at Al-Arabi Stadium in Doha to decide which side would finish on top of Group A after the withdrawal of Vanuatu and the Cook Islands from the tournament.
The team coached by Felipe Vega-Arango had only one change to its starting eleven compared to their previous game against the Cook Islands. Javin Wae, back from injury, returned to the backline in place of Leon Kofana. On the other hand, Tahiti was playing its first official match since the 2019 Pacific Games.
Solomon Islands adopted an attacking mentality from the start of the match, with their first scoring chance coming from Micah Lea’alafa after good play by Raphael Lea’i down the right wing. A few minutes later, Lea’i showed his skills to score a beautiful goal to put his side ahead.
Raphael Lea’i (right) celebrating one of his goals against Tahiti – OFC Media
Unfortunately for the Solomon Islands, their lead did not last long, as Alvin Tehau equalized after a confused play inside the box. Both teams had chances to score more goals in the first half. Tahiti had chances through François Hapipi, Matatia Paama, and Roonui Tehau, while Raphael Lea’i saw his beautiful shot being denied by the post in the 33rd minute.
Both teams came back to the second half determined to win. Within the first few minutes, Lea’i scored his second goal of the game after an excellent counter-attack. Solomon Islands continued to have the better of the match, while the Tahitian team was ineffective.
The final blow came on stoppage time when Raphael Lea’i, assisted by Adrian Mara, calmly pushed the ball into the net to seal his hat-trick. At the final whistle, the score was 3-1 in favor of the Solomon Islands. You can watch the goals by clicking here.
In the semifinals, the Solomon Islands are going to face Papua New Guinea, while Tahiti will face New Zealand. Both matches are scheduled for this Sunday.
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