Oceania Football Center

Trina Davis will be at Fiji training camp

Trina Davis is the first Fijian woman player to play professional football, her rise in the Fiji national team was like a meteor, leading Fiji to the 2018 Nations Cup final. She will be at the Fiji women’s national team training camp next month. She made the announcement herself in a post on her Instagram profile.

The announcement comes after coach Lisa Cole told the Fiji FA website that she is open to other players after finishing her first camp with the Fiji national team in preparation for the Nations Cup.

She has been without a club since she left Israeli football due to the tensions between Israel and Hamas in May last year. She hopes to return to play professionally later this year and is considering Finland and France as alternatives for her return.

Solomon Islands to play three friendly matches in Australia

The Solomon Islands will play three friendly matches in Queensland, Australia before leaving for Qatar to play World Cup qualifiers.

The national team had been training since November, and in the last few weeks the Spanish coach Felipe Vega-Arango decided who would be the players representing the Solomon Islands in the race for a place in the World Cup. You can check the list by clicking here. Currently they are staying in a hotel in Honiara waiting to leave for Australia.

Solomon Islands players training at Lawson Tama Stadium – *SIFF*

The first friendly match is a high-level test against A-League team Brisbane Roar on 1st March. Then on 5th March the duel is against Caboolture Sports of the Queensland Premier League, third tier of Australian football. The Bonitos finish the series of three friendly matches against Brisbane Strikers on 8th March, who also play the Queensland Premier League. Soon after they will embark for Doha.

The Solomon Islands will face Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Tahiti in the World Cup qualifiers.

Roy Krishna returns to action in Indian Super League

The best Fijian footballer of all-time, Roy Krishna, missed a total of five games for his club in ATK Mohun Bagan in India; the striker was sidelined due an injury that forced the player to stop his prolific form in the most important football league of the South Asian region.

Just days after being confirmed in the national team squad, and as team captain, Krishna returned to the pitch coming from the bench in a hard-fought 2-2 draw of his team against Kerala Blasters. The Fijian Flyer played a total of 18 minutes in the game, but it is a good sign Krishna is slowly returning to his full fitness as the FIFA World Cup qualifiers approach.

Krishna, that guided ATK Mohun Bagan in the past two seasons to the grand final of the Indian Super League, sees himself with a total of four goals and four assists so far in the season – playing only 11 games. ATK Mohun Bagan sits third in the table, getting close to secure a berth one more time in the league’s postseason.

The already 34-year-old star player turned himself into an iconic figure in Indian football scenario, not only with his skills in the pitch, but also with his connectivity with Indian culture as his grandparents come from this Asian country.

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Vanuatu displays great performance in friendly

In their second friendly match heading for FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, the Vanuatu had a very good performance against the traditional side of Ifira Black Bird. The match was played this Tuesday at Port Vila Stadium. The Etienne Mermer-coached side had no problems to thrash the opponents by a compreehensive margin of 7 goals to nil.

The starting line-up for Vanuatu was as follows: Massing Kalotang; Tasso Jeffrey, Jesse Kalopong, Tom Saksak and Alphonse Lency; Claude Aru, Jacky Ruben and Edwin Bai; Ronaldo Wilkins, Kensi Tangis and Andre Batick. The Ifira Black Bird side was also a decent squad that counted on the former U20 World Cup member Jonathan Spokeyjack and PVFA Premier League standout Jayson Tari.

Vanuatu national team in training kits for the warm-up match – *PVFA Media*

The team captain Kensi Tangis provided the assist for Galaxy’s FC star-striker Andre Batick to score the first goal of the match. Tangis himself scored the second for the national team and still inside the 10-minute mark former Malampa Revivors’ star Edwin Bai scored the third for his side.

The first half ended with three-goal advantage for the national team, but in the early stages of the second half Tangis secured his brace adding for Vanuatu. The introduction of the young talented Jordy Tasip proved effective by Mermer – the speedster was fouled out into the penalty box, the striker himself took the penalty and scored the fifth for Vanuatu.

Edwin Bai scored his second in the game and the sixth for his team and in the 88th minute of the match iCount Yatel star Barry Mansale made impact coming from the bench as he scored the seventh for the team and the last of the day for the Ni-Vanuatuans.

Another friendly against a local team will played this month: Vanuatu will play once again the local powerhose Galaxy FC on 24th Feb at Port Vila Stadium. The teams also met previously, in a match that ended up with a narrow win for the national team side.

Still three overseas-based players will join Etienne Mermer squad for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers that will be held in Qatar this March – you can see the full squad by clicking here.

Tommy Semmy makes his debut in Australia

Last saturday was very special day for a certain Papua New Guinean citizen – one of the most celebrated sportsman of his country: Tommy Semmy. The strong striker made his debut in Australia after several succesful seasons in New Zealand playing for the traditional Hamilton Wanderers. Now Semmy represents Altona Magic from Melbourne, another traditional team that plays in National Premier League, the second-most important football league in the country.

Semmy and his teammates played against Hume City at home but were unable to grab a season-opener win since the match ended up in a stalemate 0-0. Another key player for Oceania football starred in this match, but not alongside Semmy: Mitch Cooper, the Ni-Vanuatu international, is a key member in Hume City’s squad.

Despite the 0-0 draw, the former Hekari United man was influential in his debut match: starting the match as a left-winger, Semmy was always a danger to Hume City’s defensive line and started match in high intensity almost scoring twice for his team.

Semmy is one of the most celebrated players of Papua New Guinea currently and he certainly will be a very important member of the Kapuls in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers tournament to be held in Qatar this March. The new Altona Magic man was confirmed in head coach Marcos Gusmão squad – you can see the full squad list of PNG National Team by clicking here.

“Unacceptable Behaviour” drops two from the Fiji national team squad

Unfortunately, one more time, Fiji football faces the same problem: behaviour issues with its players. This time the Fiji Football Association adressed the situation as an “unacceptable behaviour” what forced the national to be reduced: “[…] the squad has now been further reduced to 22 players as two players have been dropped from the squad due to unacceptable behaviour. They will now go through our stipulated disciplinary processes.” said the entity in social media.

Initially the squad was composed by 24 players – after the announcement made on Ilisoni Logaivau last weekend. The two players that were dropped from the squad are the experienced internationals Dave Radrigai and Beniamino Mateinaqara. The Fiji Football Association also informed there will be no new inclusions in the team commanded by the Danish head coach Flemming Serritslev.

Dave Radrigai and Beniamino Mateinaqara – *FFA Media*

The football governing body in Fiji did not mention what was indeed the reason of dropping two of their most important players – nor adressed what meant for the entity an “unnaceptable behaviour”. Oceania Football Center talked to the veteran goalkeeper Beniamino Mateinaqara about the situation; the Lautoka’s recent addition mentioned he sustained an injury: “I got injured on Sunday and I know that It will not heal in time”. The goalkeeper was forced to be subbed in the most recent match of his team at Digicel Premier League last Sunday. Despite the injury issue, Mateinaqara also added: “I just did not go to the camp. So I am not going to Qatar anymore“. All players called up by Serristlev were expected to show up in camp this Monday at Ba academy.

Oceania Football Center also tried to contact Dave Radrigai, but unsuccessfully until this reporting. You can check the updated full squad of Fiji for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers by clicking here.

Papua New Guinea defeats ‘Lae Select’ in friendly match

The Papua New Guinea National Football Team faced a local select at PNGFA Education Center as part of their preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, to be held in Qatar next month.

Coached by Brazilian head coach Marcos Gusmão, the Kapuls defeated their opponents by 5-2. Mathew David scored twice while Patrick Aisa, Raymond Gunemba and Stahl Gubag scored once each. Lae Select’s goals were scored by Nigel Dabinyaba.

Papua New Guinea National Football Team defeated ‘Lae Select’ in friendly match – *PNGFA Media*

After the match, Gusmão expressed his happiness with the team’s evolution during the preparation for Qualifiers: “I am pleased with the defense’s capacity to leave opponents in offside position. In addition, we have evolved tactically in the Positional Play”, he stated.

The Brazilian coach is not yet counting on all his players, since David Browne will only join the team in Qatar. The Kapuls are going to debut at the qualifiers on March 18th against New Zealand.

Labasa’s Ilisoni Logaivou is called up for Fiji National Team

After some speculation, the final list of Fiji National Team is complete: the last player to join Flemming Serritslev team is coming from Labasa FC and he is Ilisoni Logaivau. The Labasa man has enjoyed great seasons with the Babasiga Lions and now his performances received attention from the national team head coach.

The Danish head coach of Fiji announced recently his list of players for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers to be held in Qatar this march, but one spot was missing in his call up. The decision was to be done in the incoming weekened within the next round of matches of the Digicel Premier League – Logaivou was the chosen one to fill in the gap.

You can check the entire call up for the Bula Boys by clicking here.

Fijian goalkeeper heads to Australian A-League

There is some hope for the future for the Fijian football fans, especially when it comes to the goalkeeping position: recently it was announced by Football Queensland that the Fijian goalkeeper Ryan Mudaliar moved from NPL’s side Brisbane Striker to the A-League club Western United. The young goalkeeper caught interest from a club of the top-tier league in Australia and has now a big chance in rising career.

Oceania Football Center already featured Ryan Mudaliar, presenting the young goalkeeper to the Fijian football fans. Despite his quality, the player is still to be contacted by the Fijian FA in order to represent the country internationally.

Ryan Mudaliar – *Brisbane Strikers Media*

The very young shot-stopper proved his capabilities with the Brisbane’s side and he is heading for a bigger challenge in his career. It is still unclear if Mudaliar will be incorporated in the first team squad of Western United or will join the youth squad of the A-League side, but, certainly, it is a very important move for the talented player.

PNG Kapuls: David Browne is confirmed in national team squad

After a lot of rumours around the participation or not of Papua New Guinea’s sole full professional player in the next FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Oceania Football Center is delighted to announce that HJK’s David Browne will take part in the competition donning the colours of his home country. The news were confirmed by PNG Kapuls head coach Marcos Gusmão when asked if the player was cleared or not to represent Papua New Guinea.

The former Auckland City man was not in the previous list released by PNGFA; the football entity revealed the player was not eligible to represent the country since his passport was expired – the player that has a British father and was born in Papua New Guinean soil was playing in Europe under his British passport. The forward that is currently playing in top-tier league of Finland was denied at first a chance to represent once again his national team.

Recently, it was reported by local media that PNGFA was close to clear Browne to play again for the national team, since they were able to provide most of the paperwork needed to him. It was also mentioned that the player was waiting the approval of an important document and then so would be cleared to join the squad.

The last time Browne played for the national was in 2017 – the player has only three international caps and is set now to continue his international duty with Papua New Guinea. The 26-year-old will be a very important addition to Gusmão’s squad, with a promissing partnership upfront alongside Tommy Semmy being very anticipated by the local fans.

Gusmão also stated the player will join the squad in Qatar, where the tournament will be hosted this March, meaning so the player will not train with the rest of the squad in Papua New Guinea.

PNG Kapuls will have a very difficult start in their campaign in the qualifiers since their first match will be against New Zealand. They will also need to surpass Fiji and New Caledonia if they want to proceed to the semi-final stage of the competition.

You can see the full squad of Papua New Guinea for the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers by clicking here.