Wikipedia

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
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 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

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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

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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

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

Group stage

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Group A

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

Final

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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

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Tuvalu

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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

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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

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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

  •   Iamel Kabeu

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

See also

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References

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  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
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