2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)

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2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Tournament details
Host countryQatar[1]
Dates13–30 March 2022[1]
Teams9 (from 1 confederation)
← 2018
2026 →

The Oceanian section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification will act as qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, for national teams which are members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). A total of 0.5 slots in the final tournament is available for OFC teams, which equates to one inter-confederation play-off slot.[2]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania, the qualification will be held as a centralised tournament in Qatar from 13 to 30 March 2022.[3]

Format[]

In November 2021, the OFC confirmed the format for the qualifiers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] The qualifying stage will be a single match between the two lowest-ranked participating OFC nations in the FIFA World Rankings, with the winner advancing to the group stage. The group stage will then see eight teams (being the winner of the qualification stage match and the other seven nations) drawn into two groups of four, with each team playing each of their group opponents once (single round-robin, with three group matches for each team). The winner and runner-up from each group qualify for a single leg semi-final match, with the two winners advancing to a single leg final match. The winner advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Entrants[]

Nine FIFA-affiliated national teams from the OFC will enter qualification. American Samoa and Samoa withdrew from the qualifying campaign on 29 November 2021.[3]

From the November 2021 FIFA World Rankings[5]
Bye to the group stage
(Ranked 1st to 7th) 		Competing in qualification match
(Ranked 8th to 9th) 		Withdrew prior to the draw
  1.  New Zealand (110)
  2.  Solomon Islands (141)
  3.  New Caledonia (153)
  4.  Tahiti (159)
  5.  Fiji (161)
  6.  Vanuatu (163)
  7.  Papua New Guinea (164)
  1.  Tonga (199)
  2.  Cook Islands (NR)

Schedule[]

Qualifying was initially expected to begin in September 2020,[6] but many international matches scheduled for the FIFA window in that month were cancelled in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the inter-confederation play-offs were also moved from March to June 2022.[7]

In November 2020, the OFC announced a further delay in the qualifying process until June 2021.[8]

In March 2021, the confederation announced that this timeframe would not be achievable either, outlining a potential option organise a competition in January 2022, keeping the FIFA International Match Calendar dates in March available for preparation matches ahead of the inter-confederation play-off in June.[9][10] Fiji and New Caledonia were proposed as possible venues.[11]

By September 2021, continued delays meant that the OFC felt it was "not possible at this time to organise a qualifying competition within the Oceania region" and, as an alternative, they would request FIFA's approval for the qualification to be held in Qatar in March 2022.[1]

Qualification match[]

A qualification match will be held between the two lowest ranked teams (Tonga and the Cook Islands) to determine the eighth team to compete in the group stage.

Summary[]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Tonga  13 Mar  Cook Islands

Match[]

Tonga v Cook Islands
Report (FIFA)

Group stage[]

The seven highest ranking OFC teams which entered the competition were given a bye to the group stage alongside the winner of the qualification match. The teams will be divided into two groups, each containing four teams. Each team will play every other team in their group once in a round-robin format, and the winners and runners-up of each group will advance to the semi-finals.[3]

Draw[]

The group stage draw was held in Zürich, Switzerland on 29 November 2021, 21:00 CET (30 November, 09:00 NZDT).[12][13] The identity of the qualification match winner was not known at the time of the draw. The draw began with pot 2 and finished with pot 1, with teams being allocated to the groups sequentially (firstly A, then B). The first two teams drawn were assigned to position 4, while the next two were assigned to position 3, and the first two from pot 1 to position 2. The two highest ranked teams, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands, were assigned to positions A1 and B1, and were therefore not drawn in the same group.[14]

From the November 2021 FIFA World Rankings[15]
Pot 1 Pot 2
  1.  New Zealand (110)
  2.  Solomon Islands (141)
  3.  New Caledonia (153)
  4.  Tahiti (159)
  1.  Fiji (161)
  2.  Vanuatu (163)
  3.  Papua New Guinea (164)
  4. Qualification match winner

Group A[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Solomon Islands French Polynesia Vanuatu
1  Solomon Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to final round — 24 Mar 20 Mar —
2  Tahiti 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 17 Mar —
3  Vanuatu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — 24 Mar
4 Qualification match winner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 Mar 20 Mar — —
First match(es) will be played on 17 March 2022. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
v Solomon Islands
Report (FIFA)
Tahiti v Vanuatu
Report (FIFA)
v Tahiti
Report (FIFA)
Solomon Islands v Vanuatu
Report (FIFA)
Vanuatu v
Report (FIFA)
Solomon Islands v Tahiti
Report (FIFA)

Group B[]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification New Zealand New Caledonia Fiji Papua New Guinea
1  New Zealand 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to final round — 24 Mar 21 Mar —
2  New Caledonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — 18 Mar —
3  Fiji 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — 24 Mar
4  Papua New Guinea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 Mar 21 Mar — —
First match(es) will be played on 18 March 2022. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Papua New Guinea v New Zealand
Report (FIFA)
New Caledonia v Fiji
Report (FIFA)
New Zealand v Fiji
Report (FIFA)
Papua New Guinea v New Caledonia
Report (FIFA)
New Zealand v New Caledonia
Report (FIFA)
Fiji v Papua New Guinea
Report (FIFA)

Final stage[]

In the single-leg matches of the final stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time will be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) to decide the winner. If still tied after extra time, the match will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.[16]

Bracket[]

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
27 March 2022 – TBD
 
 
Winner Group A
 
30 March 2022 – TBD
 
Runner-up Group B
 
Winner semi-final 1
 
27 March 2022 – TBD
 
Winner semi-final 2
 
Winner Group B
 
 
Runner-up Group A
 

Semi-finals[]

Winner Group ASemi-final 1Runner-up Group B
Report (FIFA)
Winner Group BSemi-final 2Runner-up Group A
Report (FIFA)

Final[]

The winner of the final will advance to the inter-confederation play-off.

Winner semi-final 1vWinner semi-final 2
Report (FIFA)

Inter-confederation play-off[]

Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–OFC play-off)

The inter-confederation play-off was determined by a draw held on 26 November 2021. The winner from OFC was drawn against the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF.[17] The play-off is scheduled to be played as a single match in Qatar on 13 or 14 June 2022.[18]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
CONCACAF Third Round 4th place 13–14 Jun OFC Final winner

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "OFC update on FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Oceania Qualifiers". Oceania Football Confederation. 16 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup confederation slots maintained". FIFA.com. 30 May 2015. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Update on FIFA Club World Cup and OFC preliminary competition for Qatar 2022". FIFA. 29 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Format set for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 OFC preliminary competition". Oceania Football Confederation. 29 November 2021.
  5. ^ "FIFA Men's Rankings – November 2021 (OFC)". FIFA.com. 26 November 2021.
  6. ^ "New Zealand Football successful with bid to host the 2020 OFC Nations Cup". Stuff. 10 January 2020.
  7. ^ "FIFA Council unanimously approves COVID-19 Relief Plan". FIFA.com. 25 June 2020.
  8. ^ "OFC announces schedule changes for early 2021". Oceania Football Confederation. 5 November 2020.
  9. ^ "OFC confirms schedule changes". Oceania Football Confederation. 4 March 2021.
  10. ^ "INTERNATIONAL MATCH CALENDAR 2020–2024" (PDF). FIFA.
  11. ^ "OFC Competitions 2022 Calendar (updated 4/6/2021)" (PDF). Oceania Football Confederation. Fédération Tahitienne de Football. 4 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Date set for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 OFC Preliminary Draw". Oceania Football Confederation. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Date set for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 OFC Preliminary Draw". FIFA. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  14. ^ "OFC Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 2022: Draw Procedures" (PDF). FIFA. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  15. ^ "FIFA Men's Rankings – November 2021 (OFC)". FIFA.com. 26 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Regulations FIFA World Cup 2022 Preliminary Competition: Including COVID-19 Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  17. ^ "European and intercontinental play-off draw results and reaction". FIFA. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  18. ^ Allen, William (26 November 2021). "2022 World Cup inter-confederation play-off draw: fixtures and format". as.com. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

External links[]

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