2008 OFC Nations Cup
Tournament details
Dates17 October 2007 – 19 November 2008
Teams4 (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 played12
Goals scored39 (3.25 per match)
Attendance44,989 (3,749 per match)
Top scorer(s)New Zealand Shane Smeltz (8 goals)

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.

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

The four qualified teams for the 2008 OFC Nations Cup were:

Squads

See 2008 OFC Nations Cup squads

Final tournament

Ranking

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification New Zealand New Caledonia Fiji Vanuatu
 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 —
Source:

Results

Fiji 0–2 New Zealand
Report Vicelich 37'
Smeltz 86'
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Jair Marrufo (USA)
Vanuatu 1–2 New Zealand
Naprapol 32' Report Smeltz 53'
Mulligan 90+3'
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Job Minan (Papua New Guinea)
Fiji 3–3 New Caledonia
Nawatu 2'
Vakatalesau 27', 86'		 Report Gjamaci 66'
Kaudre 83'
M. Hmaé 87'
Attendance: 1,500
New Zealand 4–1 Vanuatu
Mulligan 17', 81'
Smeltz 29' (pen.), 34'		 Report Sakama 50'
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Averii Jacques (Tahiti)
New Caledonia 4–0 Fiji
Wajoka 29' (pen.)
M. Hmaé 32', 61'
Mapou 64'		 Report
Attendance: 1,000
Vanuatu 1–1 New Caledonia
Mermer 77' Report Djamali 73'
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Rakesh Varman (Fiji)
New Caledonia 3–0 Vanuatu
Wajoka 36'
M. Hmaé 60'
Diaike 87'		 Report
Attendance: 2,700
Fiji 2–0 Vanuatu
Kumar 7'
Dunadamu 87'		 Report
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Job Minan (Papua New Guinea)
New Caledonia 1–3 New Zealand
M. Hmaé 55' Report Sigmund 16'
Smeltz 65', 75'
Attendance: 2,589
Referee: Rakesh Varman (Fiji)
Vanuatu 2–1 Fiji
Sakama 59'
Malas 90+2'		 Report Dunadamu 90+3'
Attendance: 1,200
New Zealand 3–0 New Caledonia
Smeltz 49', 76'
Christie 69'		 Report
Attendance: 8,000
New Zealand 0–2 Fiji
Report Krishna 63', 90'
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Lencie Fred (Vanuatu)

Notes

  1. ↑ 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,[1][2] but subsequently moved again to Fiji.[3]


 2008 OFC Nations Cup winners 

New Zealand
Fourth title

Goalscorers

There were 39 goals scored in 12 games, for an average of 3.25 goals per game. Players in bold advanced to the next round in qualifying.

8 goals
5 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal

References

  1. ↑ Media Statement: New Zealand vs Fiji Match, Oceania Football Confederation. Accessed 2009-09-09. Archived 2009-09-11.
  2. ↑ FIFA cancels New Zealand-Fiji, FIFA.com
  3. ↑ New Zealand to finish World Cup qualifying campaign in Fiji Archived 2008-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, Oceania Football Confederation.
  • RSSSF. Accessed 21 February 2010.
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