2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)

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2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Tournament details
Dates31 August 2015 – 5 September 2017
Teams11 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played35
Goals scored106 (3.03 per match)
Attendance127,093 (3,631 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of New Zealand.svg Chris Wood (8 goals)
← 2014
2022 →

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 (i.e. 1 inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament was available for OFC teams. [1]

Contents

The 2016 edition of the OFC Nations Cup once again doubled as the second round of the OFC qualifying competition for the 2018 FIFA World Cup (similar to the 2012 OFC Nations Cup and the OFC qualifying competition for the 2014 FIFA World Cup). [2] Unlike in 2012, however, the team that won the qualifying competition and advanced to the intercontinental play-off, New Zealand, was the same team that also won the OFC Nations Cup and represented the OFC at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Format

The qualification structure was as follows: [2] [3] [4]

The OFC had considered different proposals of the qualifying tournament. [5] A previous proposal adopted by the OFC in October 2014 had the eight teams divided into two groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches in the second round, followed by the top two teams of each group advancing to the third round to play in a single group of home-and-away round-robin matches to decide the winner of the 2016 OFC Nations Cup which would both qualify to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and advance to the inter-confederation play-offs. [6] However, it was later reported in April 2015 that the OFC had reversed its decision, and the 2016 OFC Nations Cup will be played as a one-off tournament similar to the 2012 OFC Nations Cup. [7]

Entrants

All 11 FIFA-affiliated national teams from the OFC entered qualification. [8] The four lowest ranked teams (based on FIFA World Ranking and sporting reasons[ further explanation needed ]) entered the first round, while the other seven teams entered the second round.

Bye to second roundCompeting in first round

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows. [5] [9] [2] [3] [10]

RoundMatchdayDate
First round Matchday 131 August 2015
Matchday 22 September 2015
Matchday 34 September 2015
Second round
(OFC Nations Cup)		Matchday 128–29 May 2016
Matchday 231 May – 1 June 2016
Matchday 34–5 June 2016
Semi-finals8 June 2016
Final11 June 2016
RoundMatchdayDate
Third round Matchday 17–15 November 2016
Matchday 2
Matchday 320–28 March 2017
Matchday 4
Matchday 55–13 June 2017
Matchday 6
Final first leg28 August – 5 September 2017
Final second leg

The inter-confederation play-offs were scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017. [11]

First round

The match schedule was revealed on 30 July 2015, following a draw held at OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. [12]

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7): [13]
  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Overall goal difference
  3. Overall goals scored
  4. Points in matches between tied teams
  5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
  6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
  7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
  8. Fair play points
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
    • direct red card: minus 4 points
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
  9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Samoa.svgFlag of American Samoa.svgFlag of the Cook Islands.svgFlag of Tonga.svg
1Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 320163+36Advance to 2016 OFC Nations Cup/second round— 3–2 ——
2Flag of American Samoa.svg  American Samoa 320164+26—— 2–0 2–1
3Flag of the Cook Islands.svg  Cook Islands 320142+26 1–0 —— 3–0
4Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga (H)300318−70 0–3 ———
Source: FIFA
(H) Hosts

Second round

The draw for the second round was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia. [14]

Group stage

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7): [15]
  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Overall goal difference
  3. Overall goals scored
  4. Points in matches between tied teams
  5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
  6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
  7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
  8. Fair play points
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
    • direct red card: minus 4 points
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
  9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

Group A

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of Papua New Guinea.svgFlags of New Caledonia.svgFlag of French Polynesia.svgFlag of Samoa.svg
1Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea (H)3120113+85Qualification to Nations Cup knockout stage
and World Cup qualifying third round 		— 1–1 2–2 —
2New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg  New Caledonia 312092+75——— 7–0
3Flag of French Polynesia.svg  Tahiti 312073+45Qualification to World Cup qualifying third round — 1–1 — 4–0
4Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 3003019−190 0–8 ———
Source: FIFA
(H) Hosts

Group B

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualificationFlag of New Zealand.svgFlag of the Solomon Islands.svgFlag of Fiji.svgFlag of Vanuatu.svg
1Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 330091+89Qualification to Nations Cup knockout stage
and World Cup qualifying third round 		— 1–0 3–1 —
2Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 310212−13—— 0–1 —
3Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 310246−23Qualification to World Cup qualifying third round ——— 2–3
4Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu 310238−53 0–5 0–1 ——
Source: FIFA

Knockout stage

While the results of the OFC Nations Cup knockout stage matches have no effect on the teams qualified for the third round of World Cup qualifying, for statistical purposes these matches are considered part of World Cup qualifying, with FIFA counting goalscorers in the qualifying statistics, and cards given may contribute to suspensions in the third round of World Cup qualifying (similar to the setup for 2014 World Cup qualifying).

 
 Semi-finals Final
 
      
 
8 June – Port Moresby
 
 
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 1
 
11 June – Port Moresby
 
New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg  New Caledonia 0
 
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand (p)0 (4)
 
8 June – Port Moresby
 
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 0 (2)
 
Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 2
 
 
Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 1
 

Third round

The draw for the third round was held on 8 July 2016, 11:00 NZST (UTC+12), at the OFC headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. [16]

Groups

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7): [17]
  1. Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss)
  2. Overall goal difference
  3. Overall goals scored
  4. Points in matches between tied teams
  5. Goal difference in matches between tied teams
  6. Goals scored in matches between tied teams
  7. Away goals scored in matches between tied teams (if the tie was only between two teams in home-and-away league format)
  8. Fair play points
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points
    • direct red card: minus 4 points
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
  9. Drawing of lots by the FIFA Organising Committee

Group A

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of New Zealand.svg New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg Flag of Fiji.svg
1Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 431060+610Advance to OFC Final — 2–0 2–0
2New Caledonia flags merged (2017).svg  New Caledonia 412145−15 0–0 — 2–1
3Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 401338−51 0–2 2–2 —
Source: FIFA

Group B

PosTeam
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg Flag of French Polynesia.svg Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg
1Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 43016609Advance to OFC Final — 1–0 3–2
2Flag of French Polynesia.svg  Tahiti 420274+36 3–0 [a] — 1–2
3Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 410369−33 1–2 1–3 —
Source: FIFA
Notes:
  1. ↑ FIFA awarded Tahiti a 3–0 win as a result of the Solomon Islands fielding the ineligible player Henry Fa'arodo, after Tahiti had defeated the Solomon Islands 1–0. Fa'arodo failed to serve a one-game ban after receiving two yellow cards in the 2016 OFC Nations Cup. [18]

Final

The draw for the final (which decided the order of legs) was held on 15 June 2017, 16:00 NZST (UTC+12), at the OFC headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand. [19]

The winner of the final advanced to inter-confederation play-offs. Dates were set for the two-legged final as being between 28 August and 5 September 2017. [20]

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg8–3Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 6–1 2–2

New Zealand defeated Solomon Islands 8-3 on aggregate and advanced to the OFC-CONMEBOL play-off

Inter-confederation play-offs

The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg. [3] The first-placed team from OFC was drawn against the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL, with the OFC team hosting the first leg. [21]

Team 1 Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg0–2Flag of Peru (state).svg  Peru 0–0 0–2

Top goalscorers

There were 106 goals scored in 35 matches, for an average of 3.03 goals per match.

8 goals

7 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

Below are full goalscorer lists for each round:

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References

  1. ↑ "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup confederation slots maintained". FIFA.com. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Preliminary competition format outlined". Oceania Football Confederation. 10 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Preliminary Draw procedures outlined". fifa.com. 9 July 2015. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Draw Procedures – Oceanian Zone" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 "OFC Executive Committee decisions". OFC. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "OFC Executive Committee outcomes". Oceania Football Confederation. 20 October 2014. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Football: Heat goes on NZ after switch". New Zealand Herald. 12 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Road to Russia with new milestone". FIFA.com. 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Calendar of Events 2015". Oceania Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "2018 WCQ Stage 3 Schedule & Results". Oceania Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 4 September 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  11. ↑ "FIFA Calendar". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Stage 1 draw revealed". OFC. 30 July 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "World Cup path laid out for Oceania". OFC. 26 July 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
  16. ↑ "Stage 3 draw complete". Oceania Football Confederation. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "Several member associations sanctioned for incidents during FIFA World Cup qualifiers and friendlies". FIFA.com. 19 December 2016. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  19. ↑ "New Zealand at home first in OFC play-off". FIFA. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  20. ↑ "Next steps to Russia laid out". Football NZ. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  21. ↑ "The Preliminary Draw results in full". FIFA.com. 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015.
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