The Oceania Preliminary Qualifying draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ has taken place at FIFA HQ in Zurich, Switzerland. In an unprecedented development for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), the region has been guaranteed a qualifying spot in the World Cup, with a further place available via the FIFA Intercontinental Play-off Tournament. This marksContinue reading “Historic path to glory: OFC nations set for first ever guaranteed FIFA World Cup spot in 2026”
Tag Archives: FIFA World Cup qualifiers
PNG: Meagen Gunemba out of Women’s World Cup playoffs for a very important reason
Meagen Gunemba is undoubtedly one of the greatest talents the Pacific Islands have ever produced in women’s football. She is the sister of another Pacific football legend – Papua New Guinea striker Raymond Gunemba. Since making her international debut in the 2019 Women’s Nations Cup she has 22 caps and 28 goals having won aContinue reading “PNG: Meagen Gunemba out of Women’s World Cup playoffs for a very important reason”
All Whites face Peru before World Cup’s Qualifiers battle
New Zealand confirmed their favoritism and went through the OFC Qualifiers winning all their matches. Now the challenge is the intercontinental playoff against Costa Rica in Qatar for a place in the World Cup. To prepare for the decisive duel against Costa Rica – which takes place on June 14th – the All Whites willContinue reading “All Whites face Peru before World Cup’s Qualifiers battle”
Papua New Guinea wins Tri Nations in Singapore
The Papua New Guinea women’s national team left for the Asian continent to continue their preparation for the OFC Women’s Nations Cup, which will take one team from Oceania to the intercontinental playoff. This time Papua New Guinea played the Tri-Nations tournament; the opponents were the hosts Singapore and the national team from Seychelles. InContinue reading “Papua New Guinea wins Tri Nations in Singapore”
New Zealand smashes Solomon Islands to clinch FIFA World Cup playoff’s berth
Unfortunately for the islanders, Solomon Islands national team was no match for the New Zealand; the All Whites faced no resistance and confirmed their massive favouritism to clinch a berth at FIFA World Cup intercontinental playoff. The New Zealanders will play a single-decisive match against the 4th-placed team from CONCACAF in June, which is CostaContinue reading “New Zealand smashes Solomon Islands to clinch FIFA World Cup playoff’s berth”
New Zealand or Solomon Islands: only one side keeps its World Cup’s dream alive
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 forContinue reading “New Zealand or Solomon Islands: only one side keeps its World Cup’s dream alive”
New Zealand beats Tahiti and advances to the WCQ Final
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 changeContinue reading “New Zealand beats Tahiti and advances to the WCQ Final”
Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands vie for a place in the WCQ final
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 inContinue reading “Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands vie for a place in the WCQ final”
New Zealand and Tahiti duel for a spot in the WCQ final
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. The All Whites are on a highContinue reading “New Zealand and Tahiti duel for a spot in the WCQ final”
The OFC World Cup qualifiers’ semifinals are defined
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 forContinue reading “The OFC World Cup qualifiers’ semifinals are defined”
Oceania Football Center 