| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Fiji |
| Dates | 3–10 September |
| Teams | 7 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Australia (5th title) |
| Runners-up |  New Zealand |
| Third place |  Taiwan |
| Fourth place |  Fiji |
← 1986 1990 → | |
The OFC U-20 Championship 1988 was held in Suva, Fiji. It also served as qualification for the intercontinental play-offs for the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship.
The following teams entered the tournament:
| Teams | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | +19 | 6 |
| Fiji | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 3 |
 Papua New Guinea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 3 |
 Western Samoa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 31 | –30 | 0 |
| 3 September | Fiji | 0–2 | New Zealand |
| Western Samoa | 0–5 | Papua New Guinea | |
| 5 September | Fiji | 1–1 | Papua New Guinea |
| New Zealand | 16–0 | Western Samoa | |
| 6 September | Fiji | 10–1 | Western Samoa |
| New Zealand | 1–0 | Papua New Guinea |
| Teams | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | +10 | 4 |
| Taiwan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | –4 | 2 |
 Vanuatu | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | –6 | 0 |
| 3 September | Taiwan | 3–2 | Vanuatu |
| 5 September | Australia | 5–0 | Vanuatu |
| 6 September | Australia | 6–1 | Taiwan |
| New Zealand | 2–1 | Taiwan |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1–0 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
Zoran Ilic  26' |
| 1988 OFC U-20 Championship |
|---|
 Australia Fifth title |
Australia and New Zealand both failed to qualify for the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship. They finished 3rd and 4th in an intercontinental play-off group with Syria and Qatar. All matches were played in Aleppo, Syria.
| Teams | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Syria | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 5 |
 Qatar | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 3 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | –6 | 0 |
| 18 January | Australia | 3–0 | New Zealand |
| Qatar | 0–0 | Syria | |
| 20 January | Australia | 1–1 | Qatar |
| Syria | 2–0 | New Zealand | |
| 22 January | Qatar | 1–0 | New Zealand |
| Syria | 1–0 | Australia |