2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Tournament details | |
---|---|
Dates | 31 August 2015 – 10 October 2017 |
Teams | 11 (from 1 confederation) |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 12 |
Goals scored | 34 (2.83 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | Taylor Saghabi (4 goals) |
The Oceanian section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification will act as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Russia, for national teams which are members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). A total of 0.5 slots (i.e. 1 inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament are available for OFC teams.[1]
The 2016 edition of the OFC Nations Cup will once again double as the second round of the OFC qualifying competition for the 2018 FIFA World Cup (similar to the 2012 OFC Nations Cup and the OFC qualifying competition for the 2014 FIFA World Cup).[2] This means that once again, the team that wins the qualifying competition and advances to the intercontinental play-off may be different from the team that wins the OFC Nations Cup and represents the OFC at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Contents
Format
The qualification structure is as follows:[2][3][4]
- First round: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, and Tonga will play a round-robin tournament at a single country. The winner will advance to the second round.
- Second round (OFC Nations Cup): A total of eight teams (Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu, and the first round winner) will play the tournament at a single country. For the group stage, they will be divided into two groups of four teams. The top three teams of each group will advance to the third round of World Cup qualifying. The top two teams of each group will also advance to the knockout stage (semi-finals and final) to decide the 2016 OFC Nations Cup winner which will play in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
- Third round: The six teams which advance from the second round will be divided into two groups of three teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The two group winners will meet in a two-legged match with the winner advancing to the inter-confederation play-offs in November 2017 where they will play a team from another confederation for a place in the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals.
The OFC have considered different proposals of the qualifying tournament.[5] A previous proposal adopted by the OFC in October 2014 had the eight teams divided into two groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches in the second round, followed by the top two teams of each group advancing to the third round to play in a single group of home-and-away round-robin matches to decide the winner of the 2016 OFC Nations Cup which would both qualify to the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.[6] However, it was later reported in April 2015 that the OFC had reversed its decision, and the 2016 OFC Nations Cup will be played as a one-off tournament similar to the 2012 OFC Nations Cup.[7]
Entrants
All 11 FIFA-affiliated national teams from the OFC entered qualification.[8] The four lowest ranked teams (based on FIFA World Ranking and sporting reasons) enter the first round, while the other seven teams enter the second round.
Bye to second round | Competing in first round |
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Schedule
The schedule of the competition is as follows.[5][9][2][3]
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The inter-confederation play-offs are scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017.[10]
First round
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2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers |
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In home-and-away league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[11]
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Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Samoa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | Advance to 2016 OFC Nations Cup/second round | — | 3–2 | — | — | |
2 | American Samoa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | — | — | 2–0 | — | ||
3 | Cook Islands | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 | 1–0 | — | — | — | ||
4 | Tonga (H) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — |
Second round
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The draw for the second round was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.[12]
Group stage
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers |
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In home-and-away league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[11]
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Group A
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Caledonia (X) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 4 | Qualification to Nations Cup knockout stage and World Cup qualifying third round |
— | — | — | 7–0 | |
2 | Tahiti (X) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 4 | 5 Jun | — | — | 4–0 | ||
3 | Papua New Guinea (H) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | Qualification to World Cup qualifying third round | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | — | |
4 | Samoa (Y) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | −11 | 0 | — | — | 5 Jun | — |
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(H) Host; (X) Assured of at least World Cup qualifying third round; (Y) Eliminated from Nations Cup knockout stage, but may advance to World Cup qualifying third round.
Group B
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Zealand (X) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 6 | Qualification to Nations Cup knockout stage and World Cup qualifying third round |
— | 4 Jun | 3–1 | — | |
2 | Solomon Islands | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | — | — | 0–1 | — | ||
3 | Fiji | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | Qualification to World Cup qualifying third round | — | — | — | 4 Jun | |
4 | Vanuatu | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 | 0–5 | 0–1 | — | — |
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
(X) Assured of at least World Cup qualifying third round.
Knockout stage
While the results of the OFC Nations Cup knockout stage matches have no effect on the teams qualified for the third round of World Cup qualifying, for statistical purposes these matches are considered part of World Cup qualifying, with FIFA counting goalscorers in the qualifying statistics, and cards given may contribute to suspensions in the third round of World Cup qualifying (similar to the setup for 2014 World Cup qualifying).
Semi-finals | Final | |||||
8 June – Port Moresby | ||||||
Winner Group A | ||||||
11 June – Port Moresby | ||||||
Runner-up Group B | ||||||
Winner Semi-final 1 | ||||||
8 June – Port Moresby | ||||||
Winner Semi-final 2 | ||||||
Winner Group B | ||||||
Runner-up Group A | ||||||
Third round
The draw for the third round will be held after the second round is completed.
- Qualified teams
Groups
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers |
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In home-and-away league format, the ranking of teams in each group is based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[11]
|
Group A
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | A1 | A2 | A3 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Team A1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to OFC Final match | — | TBD | TBD | |
1 | Team A2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | TBD | — | TBD | ||
1 | Team A3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | TBD | TBD | — |
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Group B
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | B1 | B2 | B3 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Team B1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to OFC Final match | — | TBD | TBD | |
1 | Team B2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | TBD | — | TBD | ||
1 | Team B3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | TBD | TBD | — |
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Final
Winner advances to inter-confederation play-offs.
Note: Order of legs to be decided.
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
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Third round Group A/B winner | Third round Group A/B winner | 2–10 Oct '17 | 2–10 Oct '17 |
Inter-confederation play-offs
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The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg.[3] The first-placed team from OFC was drawn against the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL, with the OFC team hosting the first leg.[13]
Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
---|---|---|---|---|
OFC 1st place | Play-off 2 | CONMEBOL 5th place | 6 Nov '17 | 14 Nov '17 |
Goalscorers
- As of 1 match played on 1 June 2016
Note: Players in bold are still active in the competition.
- 4 goals
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- 3 goals
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- 2 goals
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- 1 goal
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References
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External links
- Official FIFA World Cup website
- Qualifiers – Oceania, FIFA.com
- Stage 1 Qualifiers, oceaniafootball.com
- OFC Nations Cup, oceaniafootball.com