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.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 17 October 2007 – 19 November 2008 |
| Teams | 4 (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 played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 39 (3.25 per match) |
| Attendance | 44,989 (3,749 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Shane Smeltz (8 goals) |
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:
New Zealand (automatic qualifier)
New Caledonia (gold medalists at the 2007 South Pacific Games)
Fiji (silver medalists at the 2007 South Pacific Games)
Vanuatu (bronze medalists at the 2007 South Pacific Games)
Squads edit
Final tournament edit
Ranking edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|
|
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand
|
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 15 | Advance to AFC–OFC play-off | — | 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 | — |
Results edit
| Fiji | 0–2 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Vicelich  37'Smeltz 86' |
| Fiji | 3–3 | New Caledonia |
|---|---|---|
| Nawatu 2' Vakatalesau 27', 86' |
Report | Gjamaci 66' Kaudre 83'M. Hmaé 87' |
| Vanuatu | 1–1 | New Caledonia |
|---|---|---|
| Mermer 77' |
Report | Djamali 73' |
| New Caledonia | 1–3 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| M. Hmaé 55' |
Report | Sigmund 16' Smeltz 65', 75' |
| New Zealand | 3–0 | New Caledonia |
|---|---|---|
| Smeltz 49', 76' Christie 69' |
Report |
| New Zealand | 0–2 | Fiji |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Krishna 63', 90' |
Notes edit
- ^ 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
- Maciu Dunadamu
- Roy Krishna
- Osea Vakatalesau
- Pierre Wajoka
- Francois Sakama
1 goal
References edit
- ^ "FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC) 2010, football - table and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Media Statement: New Zealand vs Fiji Match, Oceania Football Confederation. Accessed 2009-09-09. Archived 2009-09-11.
- ^ FIFA cancels New Zealand-Fiji, FIFA.com
- ^ New Zealand to finish World Cup qualifying campaign in Fiji Archived 2008-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, Oceania Football Confederation.
External links edit
- RSSSF. Accessed 21 February 2010.