Oceania Football Center

PNG Kapuls star to arrive at last moment in Qatar

Tommy Semmy is undeniably one of the best Papuan players of the recent years. He recently transferred to the Altona Magic of the Australian NPL after a successful four-year stint playing for the traditional New Zealand club Hamilton Wanderers.

Tommy Semmy in the warm-up matches for the Pacific Games – *Facebook*

However, Tommy Semmy is expected to arrive in Qatar for the World Cup qualifiers only on 14th March – as reported by local media – four days before the opener against New Zealand. He will possibly miss the last training sessions and a friendly match that the coaching staff intends to hold before the opening game.

“Because of my club commitments here, I had to change my flight from March 7 (Monday) to the following week, so I’ll fly out on March 14 and meet the squad there … I’m looking forward to joining the Kapuls in Doha” – Tommy Semmy in an interview with The National

David Browne, another star of Papua New Guinea, may not suffer from the same problem, since was not even on bench in HJK’s friendly yesterday in Finland – meaning he might be already on his way to the Middle East, despite it is also expected he will not have so much time with his teammates as well. The combination Semmy-Browne is something that is set to happen for the first time for the national team.

Cook Islands return to international football after seven years

After seven long years the Cook Islands senior national team is back on the field for the World Cup qualifiers to be held in Qatar. It will be the first time that the national team from the small Pacific archipelago will play outside Oceania.

Cook Islands vs Samoa for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers – *OFC Media*

In Qatar, Cook Islands will have the return of five players who played in the 2015 qualifiers: Ishaq Mohammed, Tyrell Barringer-Tahiri, Grover Harmon, Harlem Simiona and Taylor Saghabi. Saghabi and Harmon were also present in the World Cup qualifiers along with Emiel Burrow who will also be in the squad. The latter did not play in 2015. Incidentally, Taylor Saghabi is the highest scorer in the history of the Cook Islands national team with 6 goals in 10 games played – a true legend for the sport in his country.

The coach:

The team that will be coached by the Englishman Alan Taylor – Oceania Football Center already posted about the head coach: “Alan Taylor to coach Cook Islands in World Cup qualifiers”

The key players:

Cook Islands will have two huge reinforcements for Qatar: Ben Mata, Wellington Olympic defender who will represent his country for the first time, and the forward Maro Bonsu-Maro – who has already represented Cook Islands in the OFC U-17 Championship and will wear Cook’s colours for the first time at senior level.

Bonsu-Maro playing for Manukau United – *Facebook*

Both will add quality to the squad, Mata can bring a defensive security that has been lacking for Cook Islands in the last two qualifiers and Bonsu-Maro should be the star of the attack, as only Taylor Saghabi scored for Cook Islands in the last World Cup qualifiers.

The Young Guns:

Cook Islands has 4 players who played in the 2016 OFC U-19 Championship: Orin Prattley, Thane Beal, Jarves Aperau and Dwayne Tiputoa. They managed to qualify for the final round of that tournament. They are players who can add a lot for the team especially for their defensive performance everything in that tournament.

The Rarotonga-based players have been training with coach Alan Taylor since late November. Taylor was not able to have all the players because of Covid-19. Now they are gathered in New Zealand and should meet the players who are in Australia and England only in Qatar. The delegation is expected to travel on Saturday, 12th March.

Cook Islands is for sure the underdog in group A, but good additions have been made to the squad, even with little training time, the individual quality of players like Bonsu-Maro and Ben Mata can excel.

Cook Islands plays its first match on March 17th against Solomon Islands.

Papua New Guinea hopes to repeat 2016 heroic campaign

Papua New Guinea’s national team traveled to Qatar today to compete in the World Cup qualifiers.

21 players plus the staff members departed from Port Moresby. Brazilian Marcos Gusmão will be the Kapuls coach.

The last time the Papua New Guinea national team played an official match was at the Pacific Games 2019, where they finished second in group B and lost the bronze medal match in the penalty shootout to Fiji. They were currently on a training camp in Port Moresby playing against local squads.

Papua New Guinea national team vs Solomon Islands – *OFC Media*

In 2016 Papua New Guinea reached the Nations Cup final for the first time; of the squad that will be in Doha 14 players are with the delegation, including the best player of that tournament – David Muta – who returns to the national team after 5 years. On that occasion the Kapuls led by Flemming Serritslev – who now leads the Fijian national team – lost the title to New Zealand on penalties after a brilliant 120 minute performance.

So we can conclude that PNG will send a very experienced team to Qatar, with the second-highest average age of the entire tournament – what could cost them dearly. The squad renewal seems to be at a lower stage than in the other nations.

The key players:

For the qualifiers, Papua New Guinea will have the duo of David Browne and Tommy Semmy available for the first time. The HJK striker is the first Papuan to play professionally in Europe and was in danger of missing the qualifiers because of a problem on renewing his passport, but everything has been sorted out and he will play for the first time with Tommy Semmy in the national team attack. Both were even called up for the Pacific Games in 2019 but none of them played in that tournament. At the 2016 Nations Cup Semmy shined in the PNG jersey and Browne was cut from the final list. Tommy Semmy comes from four seasons playing at a high level in New Zealand and has now gone to play in the Australian NPL.

David Browne and Patrick Aisa celebrating their goal against Solomon Islands – *OFC Media*

The Kapuls squad still has names like Alwin and Felix Komolong, and the experienced Michael Foster and the top scorer Raymond Gunemba. You can check the complete list for Papua New Guinea by clicking here.

Coach:

Marcos Gusmão arrived in PNG and implemented a new style of playing football in the team, very different from the fast transition game that the team was with Flemming Serritslev and the physical game with Bobby Morris. The Kapuls will try to retain the ball more in their games, taking advantage of the qualities of their midfielders like Emmanuel Simon.

Papua New Guinea is expected to play another friendly match as soon as it arrives in Qatar as the match against Vanuatu was cancelled for logistical reasons.

The Kapuls play their first match against New Zealand on 18th March.

Vanuatu plays last friendly match before FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Vanuatu played its last friendly match before leaving for Qatar to play the World Cup qualifiers.

The team won 1-0 against the Port Vila squad and reached their third victory in four matches in the preparatory friendly. Kensi Tangis scored the goal.

Vanuatu players celebrating the goal – *Port Vila FA*

The team is set to leave to Qatar on 8th March. In Qatar the overseas-based players will join the national team squad: the team Captain Brian Kaltak, and the two Australian-based players Jared Clark and Mitch Cooper.

New Caledonia plays two friendly matches in France

🇫🇷Français

On Sunday – 27th Feb – New Caledonia national ream traveled to France to continue their preparation for the World Cup qualifiers.

The team settled in Nantes, where they were able to meet coach of Nantes of Ligue 1 – the New Caledonian football legend Antoine Kombouaré. Born in Nouméa, he made his career in French football with Nantes for seven years and also with clubs such as PSG and Scottish giants Aberdeen. They watched the semifinal match of Coupe de France where Nantes beat Monaco on penalties shootout that placed the Kombouaré-coached side to the finals after 22 years.

Two friendlies were on the agenda for Dominique Wacalie’s coached team. In the first match the opponent was Vertou of the fifth division of French football – a comfortable victory for the Cagous by 2-0, goals by Pierre Bako and Morgan Mathelon.

In the second clash the opponent was Orvault from the sixth level of France. The Cagous took the field with a completely changed team, with Wacalie testing new variations. Even so, the New Caledonians won 3-0, with goals from Pierre Kauma, Cédric Decoire and Bertrand Kai.

New Caledonia is set now to travel to Doha, Qatar next Monday, 7th March. They will start their campaign against Fiji on 18th March.

Exclusive interview with Fiji’s Flemming Serritslev

Oceania Football Center had the opportunity of a telephone interview with the head coach of Fiji’s national team, Flemming Serritslev before the highly anticipated World Cup qualifying tournament in Qatar. He is a man with great ambitions for Fiji and is very passionate about the development of football in Oceania.

How is the weather down there?

“It’s a nice climate down here. There has been a rainy season but other than that it’s great.”

“It’s a lovely country.” – Flemming adds.

How has preparations for the upcoming tournament been going?

“The preparations have gone well all in all. We have had a lot of training sessions together. But the Covid-19 pandemic has inhibited us from playing any matches. Last year we had 6 months where all sports were on lockdown. I have been here for 2 years but we are yet to play a game. It is our biggest challenge. It can be difficult to judge our level compared to everyone else when we can’t play matches.”

New Zealand is the only team with match preparation for the upcoming tournament.

“Exactly. I think we are on the same level as the other teams except New Zealand. The other teams haven’t been able to play matches as well. Even though several of the other countries’ domestic leagues have begun. That said, I can’t complain. We as a national team have better circumstances than many teams in Europe because we are able to prioritise our national team’s training sessions during our domestic league season. We just had a training camp from the 17th of January until the 2nd of February. We are practising together again now and have been from the 21st of February until the tournament begins. That is extraordinary conditions.”

The duration of the club competitions in Fiji are also shorter.

“Exactly. If the national team is playing, the club competitions are played without the national team players. In order for the clubs to postpone their schedule they must have at least 5 national team players. At this moment it’s only Lautoka that has that amount of players.”

There were problems with two of the national team players (Beniamino Mateinaqara and Dave Radrigai). What was the issue in that regard?

“I had to suspend them both because of some very unprofessional behaviour. I can’t say more on that subject.”

Which of your players are the centre of your team. Is there anybody you want to highlight?

“Not specifically because I think our team is very good. It’s a very talented and young team.”

And Roy Krishna is back!

“Yes. He is our oldest player, you know.” – Flemming says with a slight laugh.”

“He is a skilled player. He unfortunately suffered a long standing injury in his club ATK Mohun Bagan in India. He has been used as a substitute the last couple of games though and is expected to start the next one. Furthermore he was crowned Player of the Tournament in India last year.”

It’s a mystery to me how he never made it to a big league in Europe.

“Yes, because he could easily have made it.”

What is Fiji’s target for the upcoming tournament?

“We want to win the tournament! I think the teams are equally competitive in this tournament. I know New Zealand are the favourites but I played them with Papua New Guinea and we dare to go toe-to-toe with them. They play another type of football now as opposed to then which resembles the way we play football. But we have better circumstances of realising our playing style compared to New Zealand because of our player availability we have in Fiji due to New Zealand’s players playing in foreign leagues.”

You say that Fiji has a similar playing style. What do you mean?

“We try to play a quick passing game where we get the ball forward fast whenever possible. I think the team has adopted that well.”

Like a direct style with counterpressing?

“Yes, but we don’t play long balls forward. We play direct but the ball stays on the ground.”

Don’t you think that can be difficulties against a team like New Zealand who knows their positions on the pitch?

“It might be but I’m an optimist so I think we can match them! We respect them but we aren’t afraid of playing them.”

We saw years ago that New Zealand dominated more because of their opponent’s fear of them. As a Dane I like to compare it to FC Copenhagen 10 years ago where every opponent defended low and was afraid of playing their own game. That’s not the case anymore neither with New Zealand or FCK.

“You are absolutely right. That was the case with Brøndby IF in many years as well. Most teams were afraid of playing when they played at Brøndby Stadion. I think that if you’re afraid of playing your opponent head on then you have already lost the game more or less. I think we have a good team with great players. Time will tell if my optimism is justified.”

We are looking forward to seeing Fiji in action. I think with you as the coach that the team can go deep in the tournament?

“We will see. There are other strong opponents than only New Zealand. We are in a group with New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea as well (PNG is Flemming’s old team). New Caledonia play very good football and they have several players in France. But like New Zealand it can make their preparations difficult. I think it’s a clear advantage to have your players in one place where they can be accessible for the national team’s preparations like in Fiji. Roy Krishna is the only player outside Fiji at the moment and because he’s a forward it is easier for him to adapt to the playing style in a shorter amount of time. That said during the Covid-19 pandemic we have only managed to do individual training. I practised with Roy Krishna and I must say he is a skillful player.” – I can sense some modesty in describing the superstar Roy Krishna.

Now that we mentioned FC Copenhagen and Brøndby IF earlier it is also worth mentioning the 5 players New Zealand are playing in Danish leagues if we reference their latest squad selection.

“Joe Bell who just joined Brøndby I must say is a formidable player.”

I was actually lucky enough to watch his first two games on both TV and live. His performance is positive.

“It is very positive.” – It’s easy to feel Flemming’s excitement for Brøndby’s new star man.

There is a player from Kolding IF (Dalton Wilkins). It must be great for you to follow him (Kolding is one of Flemming’s old clubs). Have you been in touch with him or other of the players playing in Denmark?

“No, not directly but I have watched all of New Zealand’s matches.”

How do you see the future for, not only Fijian, but Oceanian players in general if they want to develop abroad?

“First and foremost I have to say that the Australian clubs have been lazy. They haven’t scouted Oceania well enough. We have a lot of good players who could play in Australia and Asia and some in Europe. You are going to see an incredibly skilled forward this month whose name is Sairusi Nalaubu. I am certain most clubs would want him. He would be at any point be able to play in Europe. Many people think that Oceania is a 3rd world continent when it comes to football. Of course we haven’t got the same level as in Europe but we really do have talents. Not only in Fiji but on the islands in general.”

Could Denmark be a stepping stone for Oceanic players in the future?

“We could. We have 4 or 5 players in our team who could play in the Danish Superliga. Unfortunately the players don’t have the same training and match conditions like the European players have. If the players had the opportunity to develop in a professional environment they would have excellent conditions to develop into top players.”

It would be amazing if Football had more attention in Oceania. A game like rugby is huge here and Fiji is dominating the sport globally (back-to-back defending gold medalists in Rugby 7’s).

“Yes. Rugby is the biggest competitor to football in the area. It’s only in the Solomon Islands where football is the biggest. They are totally crazy about football.”

Solomon Islands is the best ranked team in Oceania (142) after New Zealand (111).

“They have great players. It helps that football is their main sport. Football unfortunately plays second fiddle in Fiji.”

What do you think of Nabil Begg’s chances of turning pro?

“Nabil Begg is the biggest talent in Fiji. He is only 17 years and immensely talented. He will most certainly get far. We have a German technical director that has said that Nabil easily could play in the German U19 Bundesliga.”

He will be exciting to watch in the future. But no matter the talent, don’t you think players are running a huge risk, for example economically, by going to Europe if they don’t succeed? How do we prepare for situations like that?

“Our centre forward, Sairusi, runs 100 metres in 10.2 seconds. Give him half a year in a top professional club and he would easily play in the Danish Superligaen. I think he might even have a shot right now. The same for Nabil Begg. Give him some time and he could play in a top club in Europe.” – Implicitly Flemming doesn’t see the big risk I’m talking about because of the players’ huge potential.

“It’s a question about getting the chance. In Fiji and Oceania in general they play amateur football so they don’t have the same possibilities for development.”

There are some professional/semi-professional players in Oceania.

“There are some who don’t do anything other than football but I wouldn’t call them professionals. The clubs don’t make training available in the morning. The paid players meet at the same time as the rest of the team at 4 PM. The circumstances aren’t great for those with talent.”

What is your prediction for the upcoming tournament?

“I have no idea!” – Flemming says laughing.

“It’s only New Zealand who have played matches. You mean besides them?”

Yes, that’s what I mean. New Zealand are the favourites.

“Of course New Zealand are the favourites but not having every player available in their first match can make life difficult for them. They should have a full roster when they play us in the second game. I think it’s unfair for New Zealand. You would think I would be happy with a weakened Kiwi side but I want to play them at their best. That way we can test our level against the best. It is an unfair decision from UEFA to not let every team have their best players available. In the recent AFCON the European clubs had to make do with sending their profiles to the continental tournament. I think it would be reasonable to expand the FIFA window for at least a week so Oceania has better conditions. It’s not that many players we are talking about. In Fiji we are running the risk of not having Roy Krishna available until the 21st of March which means he potentially will miss two matches.”

I agree. Last question: Can you sing God Bless Fiji – Fiji National Anthem – by heart and will you be singing the anthem at the games?

“Not yet but I will make sure to learn it.”

You have 14 days to learn it!

“I have been practising a little already.” – Flemming says with a smile.

*The interview was made by Danish contributor Axel Ljungquist.

See the full squad Serritslev called-up to represent Fiji at FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Tahiti plays first friendly match in France

🇫🇷Français

Tahiti was the first Oceania national team to leave the continent to work their preparation for the World Cup Qualifiers. On French soil they faced Cognac of the National 3, the fifth tier of French football.

Cognac is coached by Thierry Sardo, who was in charge of New Caledonia’s national team for seven years. This is reflected in the French club’s squad which features three New Caledonian internationals: Cesar Zeoula, Joris Kenon, and the brother of legend Georges Gope-Fenepej, Paul Gope-Fenepej.

On the field, in the first 45 minutes we saw a spectacular performance from Samuel Garcia’s side, Teaouni Tehau’s hattrick put the Polynesians in a comfortable 3-1 lead. In the second half Samuel Garcia made a lot of changes and saw the team suffer three goals – with including two penalty goals in less than two minutes by the home team. Even so, the Tahitian coach did not regret the defeat:

Tahiti players celebrating the first goal – *Maëlle F.*

“We arrived at the beginning of the week in Cognac where we were very well received and we would like to thank our hosts. We had sunshines and the cold is bearable, so the conditions are good. I am very happy with the adaptation of my players. Concerning the match, I wanted to play two teams. The first one won 3-1 and the second one lost 3-0. The idea was that the players could have 45 minutes in the legs. If these two teams were not balanced, the objective was really to mobilize everyone and see how we can improve. Tonight, I do not care about the score. I am satisfied with what all my boys did, we saw some very nice things. We have to take into account the fatigue of the trip and we knew that we would not be at 100% today. We did not lose the sight of our objective, it remains March 17. Cognac is a step for us to get to that date.”

Tahiti still return to the field against Ligue 2’s Rodez and will also play Occitania national team – a CONIFA member – before traveling to Qatar.

New Caledonian international signs his first professional contract in France

🇫🇷Français

After making a name for himself playing in the under-17 World Cup, Jekob Jeno left for France to play in the youth team of SC Amiens. Unfortunately he did not have game time and got transfered to AC Amiens, a neighbouring club in the sixth tier of French football; he played only five matches in the National 3 as the COVID-19 crisis prevented the continuation of the season. Soon after the return of football in the country he had trials at Grenoble and was signed for its ‘B’ team.

With Grenoble under risks of relegation in the Ligue 2, he got his first opportunity in the match against Auxerre coming from the bench and made his debut as starter in the match against Niort. Against Nimes, he played only 24 minutes, after receiving two yellow cards and being sent off.

Jeno will wear the number 15 shirt at Grenoble – *Grenoble Media*

Now, Grenoble has announced that they have signed the New Caledonian midfielder until 2025.

“When I left New Caledonia at 18, I knew it was late but I had this goal of turning professional. Today, it is a great pride and I can not wait to announce this good news to my parents and my family who does not know yet. When I joined the first team group in Grenoble, I knew that the transition to the pros was possible if I performed well. I had the opportunity to integrate little by little the group and I was lucky enough to get some minutes and even to make two starts. Now I know that the hardest part is starting and that I still have to learn but I was welcomed by the whole group and players like Manu Perez nad Franck Bambock, who have experience, give me a lot of advice.” – Jeno to Grenoble’s website

He is the third player to represent New Caledonian to reach the professional level in France – only Gope-Fenepej and Zeoula have achieved this before Jeno.

Jeno played two matches for the New Caledonia senior national team at the Pacific Games and is not on Dominique Wacalie’s World Cup qualifying list for still unknown reasons.

Fiji: 18-year-old English-based player is called up to the Bula Boys

More news came from the Fiji national team camp in Ba today; the most recent addition to the squad was the Labasa’s man Ilisoni Logaivau, as recently stated by Oceania Football Center, but unfortunately for Logaivau he sustained an injury in his team most recent match against Rewa: “Our medical team, after getting his scan reports, has ruled him out for a minimum of four weeks. Medical recommendation is that he needs complete rest for 4 weeks before he can start light training“, said the Fiji Football Association in social media.

The player chosen to replace Logaivau was the London-based defender Peter Ravai. The only 18-year-old player, that also can play as a midfielder, is set to make his debut internationally in Qatar for Fiji. Ravai already talked to Oceania Football Center about his desire to play for the Bula Boys.

After the forced change in the national team squad, you can check the new list of players that will represent Fiji at the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers this March by clicking here.

Galaxy FC beats Vanuatu national team in friendly match

The third friendly match played by Vanuatu national team in their home soil against local teams ended up in their first defeat – after beating Galaxy in their first match and hammering Ifira Black Bird by 7-0 in the second – as they suffered a hard fought 2-1 loss to Galaxy FC.

The current national champions jumped upfront in the scoreline thanks to Moli Vuti at the 41st minute of the game. The advtange kept the same until Tasso Jeffrey scored from long range to level the score.

But in the late stages of the tall the recent Galaxy signing James Chilia scored the winning goal for Galaxy through a header, putting the ball in the nets of the young goalkeeper Massing Kalotang.

James Chilia (left) celebrates his goal – *PVFA Media*

The game also served as a preparation for Galaxy as they will take soon on RueRue FC to determine which of the teams will represent Vanuatu at the next edition of the OFC Champions League – that is still uncertain when it will be played.

Vanuatu will play another local friendly on 2nd March against a Selection of Port Vila League players. The VFF stated that due to Covid-19 travel restrictions the team is not being able to play against overseas’ based teams.