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

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]

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
Champions New Caledonia (5th title)
Runners-up Fiji
Third place Vanuatu
Fourth place Solomon Islands
Tournament statistics
Matches played24
Goals scored110 (4.58 per match)
Top scorer(s) Osea Vakatalesau
(10 goals)
Main article: Football at the 2007 South Pacific Games

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

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

Group stage

Group A
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[lower-alpha 1] 4 0 1 3 2 22 −20 1
Source:
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
Referee: Nelson Sogo (Solomon Islands)
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
Referee: Chris Lengata (Solomon Islands)
New Caledonia 3–0 Cook Islands
Kabeu  35', 51', 85' Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Neil Fox (New Zealand)
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
Referee: Neil Fox (New Zealand)
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
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:
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
Referee: Salaiau Sosongan (Papua New Guinea)
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
Referee: Job Minan (Papua New Guinea)
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
Referee: Salaiau Sosongan (Papua New Guinea)
Tonga 4–0 American Samoa
Moala  37' (pen.)
Palu  54', 61'
K. Uhatahi  86'		 Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Job Minan (Papua New Guinea)
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
Referee: Job Minan (Papua New Guinea)

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

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

Final
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

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
2 goals
1 goal
Own goals

See also

References
  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. Long World Cup qualifying road starts in Samoa Reuters; 23 August 2007
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