Football at the 2007 South Pacific Games – Men's tournament

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Men's Football at the South Pacific Games 2007
Tournament details
Host countrySamoa
Dates25 August – 7 September
Teams10 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsNew Caledonia New Caledonia (5th title)
Runners-up Fiji
Third place Vanuatu
Fourth place Solomon Islands
Tournament statistics
Matches played24
Goals scored110 (4.58 per match)
Attendance13,000 (542 per match)
Top scorer(s)Fiji Osea Vakatalesau
(10 goals)
← 2003
2011 →
Main article: Football at the 2007 South Pacific Games

The 2007 Pacific Games men's football tournament 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[edit]

The final accredited athlete list at the SPG website Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine 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[edit]

Group A Group B

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.

Squads[edit]

Main article: Football at the 2007 Pacific Games – Men's team squads

Group stage[edit]

Group A[edit]

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Fiji 4 3 1 0 25 1 +24 10 1–1 4–0 4–0 16–0
 New Caledonia 4 3 1 0 6 1 +5 10 1–0 3–0 1–0
 Tahiti 4 1 1 2 2 6 −4 4 1–0 1–1
 Cook Islands 4 1 0 3 4 9 −5 3 4–1
 Tuvalu[a] 4 0 1 3 2 22 −20 1
Source: [3]
Notes:
  1. ^ Tuvalu were not members of FIFA and so were not eligible to qualify for the World Cup.
Tahiti 0–1 New Caledonia
Report Wajoka 9' (pen.)
Attendance: 400
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
Attendance: 200
Referee: Fiti Aimaasu (Samoa)
Tuvalu 0–1 New Caledonia
Report Kabeu 52'
Attendance: 250
Fiji 4–0 Cook Islands
Vakatalesau 19'
Waqa 40'
Bukalidi 63'
Kainihewe 82'		 Report
Attendance: 400
Referee: Lencie Fred (Vanuatu)
Tuvalu 1–1 Tahiti
Sekifu 87' Report Williams 45+1'
Attendance: 100
New Caledonia 3–0 Cook Islands
Kabeu 35', 51', 85' Report
Attendance: 200
Cook Islands 4–1 Tuvalu
Mateariki 28', 69'
Le Mouton 88'
Tom 90+3'		 Report Willis 83' (o.g.)
Attendance: 200
Tahiti 0–4 Fiji
Report Waqa 17'
Baleitoga 38'
Vakatalesau 49', 73'
Attendance: 200
New Caledonia 1–1 Fiji
Wajoka 44' Report Kainihewe 56'
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Lencie Fred (Vanuatu)
Cook Islands 0–1 Tahiti
Report Tinorua 64'
Attendance: 100
Referee: Fiti Aimaasu (Samoa)

Group B[edit]

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Solomon Islands 4 4 0 0 21 1 +20 12 2–0 3–0 4–0 12–1
 Vanuatu 4 3 0 1 23 3 +20 9 4–0 4–1 15–0
 Samoa 4 2 0 2 9 8 +1 6 2–1 7–0
 Tonga 4 1 0 3 6 10 −4 3 4–0
 American Samoa 4 0 0 4 1 38 −37 0
Source: [3]
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.)
Attendance: 300
Vanuatu 4–0 Samoa
Iwai 21'
Naprapol 43'
Poida 66'
Soromon 90+2'		 Report
Attendance: 300
Referee: Averii Jacques (Tahiti)
Solomon Islands 4–0 Tonga
Menapi 5', 12'
Fa'arodo 51'
Maemae 66'		 Report
Attendance: 350
Referee: Fiti Aimaasu (Samoa)
American Samoa 0–7 Samoa
Report Tumua 24', 51'
Faaiuaso 29'
Cahill 43' (pen.), 67'
Fonoti 61'
Michael 76'
Attendance: 2,800
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'
Attendance: 200
Samoa 2–1 Tonga
Faaiuaso 45+1'
Taylor 83'		 Report Feao 54'
Attendance: 1,850
Tonga 4–0 American Samoa
Moala 37' (pen.)
Palu 54', 61'
K. Uhatahi 86'		 Report
Attendance: 200
Vanuatu 0–2 Solomon Islands
Report Bebeu 60'
Fa'arodo 64'
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Averii Jacques (Tahiti)
Samoa 0–3 Solomon Islands
Report Totori 1', 37'
Maemae 69'
Attendance: 200
Tonga 1–4 Vanuatu
Savieti 50' Report Soromon 24', 34', 41'
Maleb 76'
Attendance: 50

Knockout stage[edit]

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
 
 
 
  Solomon Islands 2
 
 
 
  New Caledonia 3
 
  New Caledonia 1
 
 
 
  Fiji 0
 
  Fiji 3
 
 
  Vanuatu 0
 
Third place
 
 
 
 
 
  Solomon Islands 0
 
 
  Vanuatu 2

Semi-finals[edit]

Solomon Islands 2–3 New Caledonia
Fa'arodo 40'
Menapi 47'		 Report Kabeu 37'
P. Toto 54'
Mercier 90+4'
Attendance: 1,500
Fiji 3–0 Vanuatu
Baleitoga 44'
Vakatalesau 69' (pen.)
Krishna 70'		 Report
Attendance: 600

Third place match[edit]

Solomon Islands 0–2 Vanuatu
Report Soromon 45+3'
Sakama 50'
Attendance: 200
Referee: Averii Jacques (Tahiti)

Final[edit]

New Caledonia 1–0 Fiji
Hmaé 61' Report
Attendance: 400


 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[edit]

Tuvalu[edit]

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.[4] 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[edit]

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[edit]

There were 110 goals scored in 24 matches, for an average of 4.58 goals per match.

10 goals

9 goals

7 goals

5 goals

  • New Caledonia Iamel Kabeu

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ OFC - WORLD CUP & OLYMPIC MATCH SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED Archived 2007-11-15 at the Wayback Machine OFC; 15 June 2007
  2. ^ OFC - OFC 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP ROUTE VIA ASIA Archived 2007-04-28 at the Wayback Machine OFC; 7 December 2006; Accessed 15 February 2007
  3. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC) 2010, football - table and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  4. ^ Long World Cup qualifying road starts in Samoa Reuters; 23 August 2007
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Football_at_the_2007_South_Pacific_Games_–_Men%27s_tournament&oldid=1218104399"