2008 OFC Nations Cup

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2008 OFC Nations Cup
Tournament details
Dates17 October 2007 – 19 November 2008
Teams4 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)5 (in 5 host cities)
Final positions
Champions New Zealand (4th title)
Runners-up New Caledonia
Third place Fiji
Fourth place Vanuatu
Tournament statistics
Matches played12
Goals scored39 (3.25 per match)
Top scorer(s)New Zealand Shane Smeltz (8 goals)
← 2004
2012 →

The 2008 OFC Nations Cup was the eighth edition of the OFC Nations Cup, and the first under a new format that was introduced. It took place as a series of as a home-and-away round-robin tournament on FIFA match dates in 2007 and 2008. Doubling as the qualification tournament for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the tournament was substantially different from earlier editions: 2004 champions Australia did not compete after leaving the Oceania Football Confederation for the Asian Football Confederation, and for the first time since the 1996 OFC Nations Cup, no fixed venue was used. Unlike the 2004 OFC Nations Cup, which had featured six teams from the Oceania Football Confederation, the 2008 tournament had just four teams.

The Cup was won by New Zealand, who as a result qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, and the World Cup qualifying play-off with the AFC 5th-placed team, Bahrain, in which New Zealand were successful.

Participating teams[]

Main article: Men's football at the 2007 South Pacific Games

The four qualified teams for the 2008 OFC Nations Cup were:

Squads[]

See 2008 OFC Nations Cup squads

Final tournament[]

Ranking[]

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts New Zealand New Caledonia Fiji Vanuatu
 New Zealand 6 5 0 1 14 5 +9 15 — 3–0 0–2 4–1
 New Caledonia 6 2 2 2 12 10 +2 8 1–3 — 4–0 3–0
 Fiji 6 2 1 3 8 11 −3 7 0–2 3–3 — 2–0
 Vanuatu 6 1 1 4 5 13 −8 4 1–2 1–1 2–1 —
Source:[citation needed]

New Zealand advanced to the AFC-OFC Play-off

Results[]

Fiji 0–2 New Zealand
Report Vicelich Goal 37'
Smeltz Goal 86'
Churchill Park, Lautoka
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Vanuatu 1–2 New Zealand
Naprapol Goal 32' Report Smeltz Goal 53'
Mulligan Goal 90+3'
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: (Papua New Guinea)
Fiji 3–3 New Caledonia
Nawatu Goal 2'
Vakatalesau Goal 27' Goal 86'		 Report Gjamaci Goal 66'
Kaudre Goal 83'
M. Hmaé Goal 87'
Attendance: 1,500
New Zealand 4–1 Vanuatu
Mulligan Goal 17' Goal 81'
Smeltz Goal 29' (pen.) Goal 34'		 Report Sakama Goal 50'
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Averii Jacques (Tahiti)
New Caledonia 4–0 Fiji
Wajoka Goal 29' (pen.)
M. Hmaé Goal 32' Goal 61'
Mapou Goal 64'		 Report
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Matthew Breeze (Australia)
Vanuatu 1–1 New Caledonia
Mermer Goal 77' Report Djamali Goal 73'
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: (Fiji)
New Caledonia 3–0 Vanuatu
Wajoka Goal 36'
M. Hmaé Goal 60'
Diaike Goal 87'		 Report
Attendance: 2,700
Fiji 2–0 Vanuatu
Kumar Goal 7'
Dunadamu Goal 87'		 Report
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: (Papua New Guinea)
New Caledonia 1–3 New Zealand
M. Hmaé Goal 55' Report Sigmund Goal 16'
Smeltz Goal 65' Goal 75'
Attendance: 2,589
Referee: (Fiji)
Vanuatu 2–1 Fiji
Sakama Goal 59'
Malas Goal 90+2'		 Report Dunadamu Goal 90+3'
Attendance: 1,200
New Zealand 3–0 New Caledonia
Smeltz Goal 49' Goal 76'
Christie Goal 69'		 Report
Attendance: 8,000
New Zealand 0–2 Fiji
Report Krishna Goal 63' Goal 90'
Churchill Park, Lautoka (Fiji)
[note 1]
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Lencie Fred (Vanuatu)

Notes[]

  1. ^ The New Zealand vs Fiji match was originally scheduled for 13 October 2007, but was postponed by FIFA after Fijian goalkeeper Simione Tamanisau was denied a visa by the New Zealand immigration authorities. The match was first rescheduled to be played in the neutral country of Samoa,[1][2] but subsequently moved again to Fiji.[3]


 2008 OFC Nations Cup Winners 

New Zealand
Fourth title

Goalscorers[]

There were 39 goals scored in 12 games, for an average of 3.25 goals per game. Players in bold advanced to the next round in qualifying.

8 goals
5 goals
3 goals
  • New Zealand David Mulligan (NZL)
2 goals
1 goal

References[]

  1. ^ Media Statement: New Zealand vs Fiji Match, Oceania Football Confederation. Accessed 2009-09-09. Archived 2009-09-11.
  2. ^ FIFA cancels New Zealand-Fiji, FIFA.com
  3. ^ New Zealand to finish World Cup qualifying campaign in Fiji Archived 2008-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, Oceania Football Confederation.

External links[]

  • RSSSF. Accessed 21 February 2010.
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