The 2008 OFC Nations Cup was the eighth edition of the OFC Nations Cup and the first under a new format. 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.

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)
Attendance44,989 (3,749 per match)
Top scorer(s)New Zealand Shane Smeltz
(8 goals)
2004
2012

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 Asian 5th-placed team, Bahrain, in which New Zealand were successful.

Participating teams

edit

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

Squads

edit
See 2008 OFC Nations Cup squads

Final tournament

edit

Ranking

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification        
1   New Zealand 6 5 0 1 14 5 +9 15 Advance to AFC–OFC play-off 3–0 0–2 4–1
2   New Caledonia 6 2 2 2 12 10 +2 8 1–3 4–0 3–0
3   Fiji 6 2 1 3 8 11 −3 7 0–2 3–3 2–0
4   Vanuatu 6 1 1 4 5 13 −8 4 1–2 1–1 2–1
Source: [1]

Results

edit
Fiji  0–2  New Zealand
Report Vicelich   37'
Smeltz   86'
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA)

Vanuatu  1–2  New Zealand
Naprapol   32' Report Smeltz   53'
Mulligan   90+3'
Fiji  3–3  New Caledonia
Nawatu   2'
Vakatalesau   27', 86'
Report Gjamaci   66'
Kaudre   83'
M. Hmaé   87'
Attendance: 1,500

New Zealand  4–1  Vanuatu
Mulligan   17', 81'
Smeltz   29' (pen.), 34'
Report Sakama   50'
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Averii Jacques (Tahiti)
New Caledonia  4–0  Fiji
Wajoka   29' (pen.)
M. Hmaé   32', 61'
Mapou   64'
Report

Vanuatu  1–1  New Caledonia
Mermer   77' Report Djamali   73'
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Rakesh Varman (Fiji)

New Caledonia  3–0  Vanuatu
Wajoka   36'
M. Hmaé   60'
Diaike   87'
Report

Fiji  2–0  Vanuatu
Kumar   7'
Dunadamu   87'
Report
Attendance: 3,000
New Caledonia  1–3  New Zealand
M. Hmaé   55' Report Sigmund   16'
Smeltz   65', 75'
Attendance: 2,589
Referee: Rakesh Varman (Fiji)

Vanuatu  2–1  Fiji
Sakama   59'
Malas   90+2'
Report Dunadamu   90+3'
New Zealand  3–0  New Caledonia
Smeltz   49', 76'
Christie   69'
Report

New Zealand  0–2  Fiji
Report Krishna   63', 90'
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Lencie Fred (Vanuatu)

Notes

edit
  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,[2][3] but subsequently moved again to Fiji.[4]


 2008 OFC Nations Cup winners 
 
New Zealand

Fourth title

Goalscorers

edit

There were 39 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 3.25 goals per match.

8 goals

5 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

References

edit
  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC) 2010, football - table and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  2. ^ Media Statement: New Zealand vs Fiji Match, Oceania Football Confederation. Accessed 2009-09-09. Archived 2009-09-11.
  3. ^ FIFA cancels New Zealand-Fiji, FIFA.com
  4. ^ New Zealand to finish World Cup qualifying campaign in Fiji Archived 2008-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, Oceania Football Confederation.
edit
  • RSSSF. Accessed 21 February 2010.