Men's football at the 2007 South Pacific Games
The 2007 South Pacific Games Football was held at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex in Apia, Samoa in from 25 August to 7 September 2007.[1]
The men's tournament formed the first stage of the Oceania Football Confederation's (OFC) qualification tournament for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the qualification tournament for the 2008 OFC Nations Cup.[2]
Tournament
The final accredited athlete list at the SPG website shows 10 entered sides. Papua New Guinea, although listed by FIFA as having applied for the 2010 World Cup, did not enter. Tuvalu did enter (although they were not eligible for the World Cup). The group stage draw, undertaken by Tim Cahill, was held on 12 June 2007 in Auckland, New Zealand.
New Caledonia's captain, Pierre Wajoka scored a ninth-minute penalty against Tahiti in the opening fixture of the games, earning him the distinction of being the scorer of the first goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification process.
Group seedings
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
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Notes:
- Tuvalu was unranked by FIFA as it was not a member (and not an entrant to the World Cup).
- Although the draw took place in June, FIFA rankings are shown as of February 2007, which accords with press reports of the rankings used in the draw seeding.
Results
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fiji |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 1 | +24 | 10 |
 New Caledonia |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 10 |
 Tahiti |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 4 |
 Cook Islands |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 3 |
 Tuvalu |
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 22 | −20 | 1 |
| Fiji |
16 – 0 | Tuvalu |
|---|---|---|
Krishna  6', 14', 22'Rabo 11', 34', 45'Baleitoga 17'Tiwa 28', 30'Vakatalesau 42', 46', 65', 73', 82', 89'Finau 68' (pen.) |
Report |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Solomon Islands |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | +20 | 12 |
 Vanuatu |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 3 | +20 | 9 |
 Samoa |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 6 |
 Tonga |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 3 |
 American Samoa |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 38 | −37 | 0 |
| Solomon Islands |
12 – 1 | American Samoa |
|---|---|---|
| Totori 12', 15' Menapi 20' (pen.), 41', 75', 82'Fa'arodo 43'Waita 58', 85'Bebeu 69' Molea 77'Takayama 90+2' |
Report | Ott 55' (pen.) |
Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex, Apia, Samoa Attendance: 300 Referee: Salaiau Sosongan (Papua New Guinea) |
| American Samoa |
0 – 7 | Samoa |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Tumua 24', 51' Faaiuaso 29'Cahill 43' (pen.), 67'Fonoti 61'Michael 76' |
| American Samoa |
0 – 15 | Vanuatu |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Poida 19' Mermer 24', 45', 45+1', 68'Sakama 43', 79', 90+1'Chichirua 56'Iwai 62'Tomake 72'Soromon 81', 84', 86', 90+2' |
| Samoa |
2 – 1 | Tonga |
|---|---|---|
| Faaiuaso 45+1' Taylor 83' |
Report | Feao 54' |
Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex, Apia, Samoa Attendance: 1,850 Referee: Salaiau Sosongan (Papua New Guinea) |
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||
| Solomon Islands |
2 | ||||||
| New Caledonia |
3 | ||||||
| New Caledonia |
1 | ||||||
| Fiji |
0 | ||||||
| Third place | |||||||
| Fiji |
3 | Solomon Islands |
0 | ||||
| Vanuatu |
0 | Vanuatu |
2 | ||||
Semi-finals
Bronze medal match (Third Place Match)
Gold medal match (Final)
| 2007 South Pacific Games Winners |
|---|
New Caledonia Fifth title |
(Note):The three medallists, New Caledonia, Fiji, and Vanuatu, advanced to the 2008 OFC Nations Cup (together with automatic qualifier New Zealand).
Advancement questions
Tuvalu
There remained some uncertainty as to what procedure would occur to Tuvalu advance - as they were not members of FIFA (and therefore did not enter the 2010 FIFA World Cup). While no explicit ruling was communicated on this matter, comments in the press release for the OFC Second Stage draw referred to "nine eligible nations", suggesting that Tuvalu would not have advanced to the OFC Nations Cup regardless of their performance in the South Pacific Games. Had Tuvalu finished in a medal position, the fourth place team would presumably have qualified for the next round of qualifying with the other two medal winners and New Zealand. Tuvalu's early elimination from the competition put an end to any complication over the qualifying process for the next round.
This was the first time ever that a non-FIFA nation has competed in the World Cup.[3] The closest situation in the past was the case of New Caledonia during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. However, they were at the time in the process of accession to the organisation, and were eliminated from contention for the finals just days before their final admission to the FIFA family.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, having initially entered the 2010 World Cup and indicated their intention to enter the South Pacific Games, were involved in a dispute with their sporting authorities and failed to meet the official accreditation deadline for the South Pacific Games. This meant they were effectively disqualified from the World Cup.
Goalscorers
There were 110 goals scored in 24 games, for an average of 4.58 goals per game.
Players in bold advanced to the next round.
- 10 goals
- 9 goals
- 7 goals
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
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- 2 goals
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- 1 goal
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|
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- Own goals
- Stephen Willis (for Tuvalu)
See also
References
- ↑ OFC - WORLD CUP & OLYMPIC MATCH SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED OFC; 15 June 2007
- ↑ OFC - OFC 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP ROUTE VIA ASIA OFC; 7 December 2006; Accessed 15 February 2007
- ↑ Long World Cup qualifying road starts in Samoa Reuters; 23 August 2007
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