1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Tournament details
Dates16 September 1996 – 29 November 1997
Teams10 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played22
Goals scored85 (3.86 per match)
Attendance99,533 (4,524 per match)
Top scorer(s)Solomon Islands Noel Berry
(7 goals)
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2002 →
OFC Qualifiers
FIFA World Cup

Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Oceanian zone (OFC). For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification.

A total of 10 teams entered the competition. The Oceanian zone was allocated 0.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament.

Format

There would be three rounds of play:

First round

Melanesian group

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Papua New Guinea 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4 Second round — 1–1 2–1
2  Solomon Islands 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2 Play-off — — 1–1
3  Vanuatu 2 0 1 1 2 3 −1 1 — — —
Source: [1]
Papua New Guinea 1–1 Solomon Islands
Daniel 15' Report Rukumana 71'
Lae, Papua New Guinea
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Eugene Brazzale (Australia)
Solomon Islands 1–1 Vanuatu
Berry 16' Report Naukoot 37'
Lae, Papua New Guinea
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Massimo Raveino (Tahiti)
Papua New Guinea 2–1 Vanuatu
Furigi 88'
Karang 89'		 Report Garo 27'
Lae, Papua New Guinea
Attendance: 7,500
Referee: Eugene Brazzale (Australia)

Polynesian group

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Tonga 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6 Play-off — 1–0 2–0
2  Western Samoa 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3 — — 2–1
3  Cook Islands 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 0 — — —
Source: [1]
Tonga 2–0 Cook Islands
Moleni 20', 67' Report
Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Attendance: 500
Referee: Shameem Khan (Fiji)
Western Samoa 2–1 Cook Islands
Tapunuu 10'
Palusami 20'		 Report Stenter 68'
Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Attendance: 400
Referee: Neil Fox (New Zealand)
Tonga 1–0 Western Samoa
Vane 29' Report
Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Derek Rugg (New Zealand)

Play-off

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Tonga  0–13  Solomon Islands 0–4 0–9
Tonga 0–4 Solomon Islands
Report Kiriau 34'
Seni 73'
Berry 85'
Peli 87'
Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Derek Rugg (New Zealand)
Solomon Islands 9–0 Tonga
Berry 3', 41', 57'
Rukumana 12'
Wabo 37'
Seni 61', 63', 74'
Kiriau 66'		 Report
Honiara, Solomon Islands
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Massimo Raveino (Tahiti)

Solomon Islands won 13–0 on aggregate and advanced to the second round.

Second round

Group 1

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Australia 4 4 0 0 26 2 +24 12 Final round — 13–0 5–0
2  Solomon Islands 4 1 1 2 7 21 −14 4 2–6 — 4–1
3  Tahiti 4 0 1 3 2 12 −10 1 0–2 1–1 —
Source: [1]
Australia 13–0 Solomon Islands
Mori 2', 15', 36', 65', 80'
Aloisi 33', 53', 81', 86', 87'
Foster 68'
Tapai 78'
Bosnich 88' (pen.)		 Report
Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 3,127
Referee: Bruce Edward Grimshaw (New Zealand)
Australia 5–0 Tahiti
Vidmar 14'
Trimboli 37', 42'
Arnold 47'
Bingley 66'		 Report
Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 2,869
Referee: Brian Geoffery Precious (New Zealand)
Solomon Islands 4–1 Tahiti
Seni 37'
Berry 39', 80'
Toata 89'		 Report Ludivion 82'
Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 253
Referee: Neil Fox (New Zealand)
Solomon Islands 2–6 Australia
Peli 59'
Suri 65'		 Report Slater 15'
Arnold 17'
Kaierea 38' (o.g.)
Tapai 47', 51'
Vidmar 75' (pen.)
Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 2,122
Referee: Brian Geoffery Precious (New Zealand)
Tahiti 0–2 Australia
Report Zelic 8'
Trimboli 86'
Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 2,918
Referee: Bruce Edward Grimshaw (New Zealand)
Tahiti 1–1 Solomon Islands
Rousseau 38' Report Kwaomae 43'
Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 266
Referee: Bruce Edward Grimshaw (New Zealand)

Group 2

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  New Zealand 4 3 0 1 13 1 +12 9 Final round — 5–0 7–0
2  Fiji 4 2 0 2 4 7 −3 6 0–1 — 3–1
3  Papua New Guinea 4 1 0 3 2 11 −9 3 1–0 0–1 —
Source: [1]
Papua New Guinea 1–0 New Zealand
Niakuam 80' Report
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Nik Ahmad Haji Yaakub (Malaysia)
Fiji 0–1 New Zealand
Report Jackson 80' (pen.)
Ba, Fiji
Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Eugene Brazzale (Australia)
New Zealand 7–0 Papua New Guinea
Coveny 10', 13', 67'
Rufer 22', 31'
Elliott 40'
Stevens 80'		 Report
Auckland, New Zealand
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Eddie Lennie (Australia)
Fiji 3–1 Papua New Guinea
Pita 22'
Masinisau 26'
Duguga 89'		 (report) Waiwai 68'
Suva, Fiji
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Eddie Lennie (Australia)
New Zealand 5–0 Fiji
Rufer 17', 77'
Coveny 63'
Viljoen 80'
van Steeden 85'		 Report
Auckland, New Zealand
Attendance: 12,033
Referee: Massimo Raveino (Tahiti)
Papua New Guinea 0–1 Fiji
(report) Driu 1'
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Pirom Anprasert (Thailand)

Final round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
New Zealand  0–5  Australia 0–3 0–2
New Zealand 0–3 Australia
Report Aloisi 18'
Vidmar 42'
Foster 67'
Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
Attendance: 23,000
Referee: Masayoshi Okada (Japan)
New Zealand
Australia
Australia 2–0 New Zealand
Zelić 6'
Arnold 54'		 Report
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia
Attendance: 14,045
Referee: Jamal Al Sharif (Syria)
Australia
New Zealand

Australia won 5–0 on aggregate and advanced to the AFC–OFC inter-confederation play-off.

Inter-confederation play-off

Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–OFC play-off)
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Iran  3–3 (a)  Australia 1–1 2–2

Goalscorers

There were 85 goals scored in 22 matches, for an average of 3.86 goals per match.

7 goals

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

References

  1. ^ a b c d "FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC) 1998, football - table and standings". soccer365.me. Retrieved 10 May 2024.

External links

1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
Categories