2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)

Last updated

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Tournament details
Dates22 November 2011 - 20 November 2013
Teams11 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played34
Goals scored121 (3.56 per match)
Attendance211,336 (6,216 per match)
Top scorer(s) New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg Georges Gope-Fenepej
(8 Goals)
2010
2018

The OFC qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup saw teams of the Oceania Football Confederation competing for a place in the finals held in Brazil.

Contents

Format

The initial format was scheduled to begin in August 2011 at the 2011 Pacific Games in Noumea, New Caledonia, where the men's football tournament was to double as the first stage of the OFC World Cup qualifying competition. [1]

However, in June 2011 the format was amended, and the Pacific Games were no longer part of the qualification process. [2] The new structure saw the four lowest ranked entrants play a single round-robin tournament from 22 to 26 November 2011 in Samoa. The top team in this tournament then joined the other seven teams in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, with the four semifinalists from that tournament advancing to the third round. This stage was originally scheduled to be held in Fiji in June 2012, but on 14 March 2012 the hosting rights were stripped from Fiji [3] as a result of an ongoing legal dispute involving OFC general secretary Tai Nicholas and Fijian authorities. [4] The loss of the finals was confirmed by the Fiji Football Association on 16 March. [5]

The third round consisted of a double round-robin held on a home-and-away basis, scheduled to take place between 7 September 2012 and 26 March 2013. The third round winners competed in the intercontinental play-offs with CONCACAF's fourth-placed team, which was chosen through a random draw, [6] rather than being decided by FIFA beforehand as in previous tournaments (e.g., 2010 against a team from AFC, 2006 against a team from CONMEBOL).

An early proposal to allow the qualifying winner to the final group stage of AFC qualification was submitted by New Zealand Football to FIFA. This proposal, supported by OFC, would have replaced the intercontinental play-off that had been used in recent qualification tournaments, [7] but was not adopted.

Entrants

The July 2011 FIFA Ranking is shown in brackets.

Bye to second round
(Ranked 1st to 6th + PNG)
Competing in first round
(Ranked 7th to 10th)
  1. Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand (94)
  2. Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji (156)
  3. New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg  New Caledonia (164)
  4. Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu (169)
  5. Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands (181)
  6. Flag of French Polynesia.svg  Tahiti (182)
  7. Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea (unranked)
  1. Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa (189)
  2. Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga (192)
  3. Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands (195)
  4. Flag of American Samoa.svg  American Samoa (203)

First round

Based on FIFA ranks and other sporting considerations, the first round featured American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga and were played as a single round-robin tournament in Samoa from 22 to 26 November 2011. The winner of the group advanced to the second round.

TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Samoa.svg Flag of Tonga.svg Flag of American Samoa.svg Flag of the Cook Islands.svg
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 321053+27Qualified for the 2012 OFC Nations Cup 1–1 1–0
Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga 31114404 2–1
Flag of American Samoa.svg  American Samoa 31113304 2–1 1–1
Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands 30124621 2–3
Source: [8]

The matches involving American Samoa are featured in the 2014 documentary Next Goal Wins and the 2023 dramatized film of the same name.

Second round

The winner of the first round joined the remaining seven OFC teams in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup. The four semifinalists (the top two teams from each group in the group stage) advanced to the third round. The groups were drawn at the World Cup Preliminary Draw at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 30 July 2011.

The tournament was held in the Solomon Islands from 1 to 10 June 2012. [9] Fiji had been the proposed host, but had their hosting rights revoked on 14 March 2012. [5]

Seeding

The teams were seeded into two pots of 4 based on the July 2011 FIFA World Rankings, with the first round winner automatically seeded eighth. Each group consisted of two teams from each pot.

Pot 1Pot 2

Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji
New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg  New Caledonia
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu

Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands
Flag of French Polynesia.svg  Tahiti
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa

First round winner whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.

Group stage

Group A

TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of French Polynesia.svg New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg Flag of Vanuatu.svg Flag of Samoa.svg
Flag of French Polynesia.svg  Tahiti 3300185+139 Semifinals and World Cup qualifying third round 4–1
New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg  New Caledonia 3201176+116 3–4 5–2 9–0
Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu 31028913
Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 3003124230 1–10 0–5
Source: [8]

Group B

TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of New Zealand.svg Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg Flag of Fiji.svg Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 321042+27 Semifinals and World Cup qualifying third round 1–1 2–1
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 312021+15
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 30211212 0–1 0–0 1–1
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 30122421 0–1
Source: [8]

Knockout stage

The four semifinalists in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup advanced to the third round of World Cup qualifying, regardless of the outcome of the knockout rounds. The final results of the OFC Nations Cup knockout stage matches do count in other ways as part of the World Cup qualifying, with FIFA counting goalscorers in the qualifying statistics, and cards given contributing to suspensions in the third round of World Cup qualifying.

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
 
 
 
Flag of French Polynesia.svg  Tahiti 1
 
 
 
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 0
 
Flag of French Polynesia.svg  Tahiti 1
 
 
 
New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg  New Caledonia 0
 
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 0
 
 
New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg  New Caledonia 2
 
Third place
 
 
 
 
 
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 3
 
 
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 4

Third round

The four remaining teams played a double round-robin between 7 September 2012 and 26 March 2013, with the top team advancing to the intercontinental play-off.

Note that – unlike the previously announced format – this means the team that advances to the intercontinental play-off may be different from the team that wins the OFC Nations Cup, and represents the OFC at the 2013 Confederations Cup.

The draw for the fixtures was conducted at OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand on 26 June 2012. [10] The matches were scheduled to take place in the period from 7 September 2012 to 26 March 2013. [11]

TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of New Zealand.svg New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg Flag of French Polynesia.svg Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 6600172+1518Advanced to the CONCACAF v OFC play-off 2–1 3–0 6–1
New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg  New Caledonia 6402176+1112 0–2 1–0 5–0
Flag of French Polynesia.svg  Tahiti 6105212103 0–2 0–4 2–0
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 6105521163 0–2 2–6 2–0
Source: [8]

Inter-confederation play-offs

The winner of the OFC qualification tournament, New Zealand, played against CONCACAF's fourth-placed team, Mexico, in a home-and-away play-off. Mexico, the winner of this play-off, qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The first leg was played on 13 November 2013, and the second leg was played on 20 November 2013. [12]

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Mexico  Flag of Mexico.svg9–3Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 5–1 4–2

Top goalscorers

There were 121 goals scored in 34 matches, for an average of 3.56 goals per match. Note: Statistics include goals scored in the knockout stage of the OFC Nations Cup as these matches are also considered by FIFA as part of the qualifiers. [13]

8 goals

7 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

Below are full goalscorer lists for each round:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OFC Men's Nations Cup</span> OFC association football tournament for mens national teams

The OFC Men's Nations Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), determining the continental champion of Oceania. The winning team became the champion of Oceania and until 2016 qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oceania Football Confederation</span> International governing body for association football in Oceania

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Samoa national football team</span> National association football team

The American Samoa men's national football team represents American Samoa in men's international association football and is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa, the governing body of the sport in the territory. American Samoa's home ground is the Pago Park Soccer Stadium in Pago Pago and their head coach is Tunoa Lui.

The Solomon Islands men's national football team is the national football team of Solomon Islands, administered by the Solomon Islands Football Federation. The Solomon Islands national football team was founded in 1978. They were officially recognised by FIFA a decade later, in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiji national football team</span> Mens association football team representing Fiji

The Fiji men's national football team is Fiji's national men's team and is controlled by the governing body of football in Fiji, the Fiji Football Association. The team plays most of their home games at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua New Guinea national soccer team</span> National association football team

The Papua New Guinea national soccer team is the men's national soccer team of Papua New Guinea and is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association. Its nickname is the Kapuls, which is Tok Pisin for Cuscus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cook Islands national football team</span>

The Cook Islands men's national football team is the men's football team that represents the Cook Islands in international competition since 1971. It is governed by the Cook Islands Football Association which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and FIFA.

Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) – was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament. A total of 205 teams entered the qualification competition, with South Africa, as the host, qualifying for the World Cup automatically. The first qualification matches were played on 25 August 2007 and qualification concluded on 18 November 2009. Overall, 2,338 goals were scored over 852 matches, scoring on average 2.74 per match.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) selected New Zealand to compete in a two-legged home-and-away playoff against Bahrain, the fifth-place team from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for a spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Its final round was the 2008 OFC Nations Cup. Consequently, New Zealand is also considered the OFC Nations Cup champion, and represented the OFC in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by a qualification process, in which the other 207 teams, from the six FIFA confederations, competed. Most of the successful teams were determined within these confederations, with a limited number of inter-confederation play-offs occurring at the end of the process.

The 2012 OFC Nations Cup was the ninth edition of the OFC Nations Cup organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The group stage of the tournament also doubled as the second round of the OFC qualification tournament for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The four semi-finalists advanced to the final round of OFC qualifying, where they would compete for the OFC spot in the inter-confederation play-offs. The qualifying tournament was to be the football competition at the 2011 Pacific Games in Nouméa, New Caledonia. However, in June 2011 the format was amended, and the Pacific Games were no longer part of the qualification process. The new structure saw four of the lowest ranked entrants play a single round-robin tournament from 22 to 26 November 2011 in Samoa. The winner of this qualifying stage joined the other seven teams that received a bye to the Nations Cup proper.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

This page provides the summaries of the Oceania Football Confederation first round matches for 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Association football is one of the popular sports in Oceania, and 2 members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) have competed at the sport's biggest event – the men's FIFA World Cup.

The 2016 OFC Nations Cup was the tenth edition of the OFC Nations Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Oceania organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The tournament was played between 28 May and 11 June 2016 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The winner qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.

The Oceanian section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Russia, for national teams which are members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). A total of 0.5 slots in the final tournament was available for OFC teams.

The first round of OFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification was played from 31 August to 4 September 2015 in Tonga.

The 2018 OFC Women's Nations Cup qualification tournament was a football competition that took place from 24 to 30 August 2018 in Lautoka, Fiji to determine the final women's national team which joined the seven automatically qualified teams in the 2018 OFC Women's Nations Cup final tournament in New Caledonia.

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The 2022 OFC Women's Nations Cup was the 12th edition of the OFC Women's Nations Cup, the quadrennial international football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the women's national teams of the Oceanian region. It was originally scheduled from July to August 2022, but was moved to January and February to accommodate changes to the FIFA Women's International Match Calendar. The OFC announced on 4 March 2021 that it was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on 29 April 2022 announced that Fiji would host the tournament from 13 to 30 July.

References

  1. MoU agreement with OFC
  2. Pacific Games no longer part of qualification Archived 3 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "OFC strip Fiji of Nation Cup hosting rights". FijiLive.com. 14 March 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  4. "OFC takes tournaments away from Fiji". FijiLive.com. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Presidents Corner - Fiji Football Association President - Rajesh Patel". Fiji Football Association . 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  6. "Financial report presented & decisions taken on competition hosts & Brazil 2014 slots" (Press release). FIFA. 3 March 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  7. Woodcock, Fred (27 June 2010). "All Whites keen to mix it with Asia's best". Stuff.co.nz . Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC) 2014, football - tables and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  9. "Honiara to host OFC Nations Cup". Oceania Football Confederation. 28 March 2012. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  10. "World Cup trail laid out for Stage 3 sides". Oceania Football Confederation. 26 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
  11. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil - Preliminary Competition Format and Draw Procedures - Oceanian Zone" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 November 2011.
  12. "International Match Calendar 2013–2018" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  13. "Oceania Top Scorers". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2007.