Oceania’s finest set to do battle in football World Cup qualifiers starting Thursday – RNZ

With Covid-19 having blighted preparations, many team contesting in the beginning of the men's Oceania World Cup Qualifiers will be ring-rusty.

Photo: OFC

The qualifiers, being held in the Qatar capital Doha, were due to be held last September but the pandemic scuppered that plan.

It means that few of the eight teams have had much game time or been able to hold enough training camps.

To get match ready teams have been playing friendlies on the way to Qatar or in Qatar itself.

That lack of preparation could also mean there's something of a level playing field among the region's top teams, but it's hard to see past New Zealand, which has had games against international sides in the past six months as it looks to qualify for the finals for the third time.

Here we look at the eight teams and survey their chances. In no particular order.

The undoubted underdogs of the competition who are in Qatar because first Samoa, and American Samoa withdrew, then Tonga scratched from the preliminary play-off due to be held last Sunday because of the volcanic eruption and tsunami.

The Cooks' squad includes eight Rarotonga-based footballers, but the bulk of it is made up those playing in New Zealand, Australia and even London.

The locally-based players have been in training three to four times a week since late December. English coach Alan Taylor has been taking those sessions, and admits the inability to bring players together could be an issue.

"Due to players being so spread out and Covid restrictions, we have not been able to train or play as a squad, nor have I been able to visit any of the overseas-based players to watch them play or train as well as assess their physical condition or readiness for the competition in Qatar," Taylor said.

While Taylor, who was also the national coach in 2000-01, appreciates their underdog status, he said they would play with pride and passion and never give up.

Their foreign-based players include eight who play in New Zealand, four in Australia and Tyrrell Barringer-Tahiri of AFC South London.

Auckland City's Brian Kaltak will lead the squad, the third time he has been involved in the qualifying tournaments.

Photo: Vanua Football Association

And like those two previous qualifiers the veteran was based overseas. He is aware that there will be some unfamiliarity in Qatar.

"I haven't trained with the boys and most of the squad now are young guys who I don't know so well. I can't wait to meet with them to be honest," Kaltack said.

The group includes two Australian residents Mitch Cooper and Jared Clarke. Cooper, who qualifies through being born in Port Vila, is a former Australia U-17 and U-20 internationalist who plays for Hume City in the Victoria State League.

In Vanuatu, the squad has been working twice a day under the watch of coach Etienne Mermer.

"I'm excited to see how we have improved and tactically we will respond to what our players' abilities are right now," he said.

The Kapuls were runners-up in the 2016 Oceania Nations Cup held in Port Moresby, only losing the final on penalties to the All Whites.

However, Brazilian coach Marcos Gusmao hasn't had a chance to take his team into action since he was appointed last year.

Nevertheless, Gusmao is confident of a good showing against New Caledonia, Fiji and New Zealand in their group.

"As a coach I will give my best and I am confident and I believe my team will do something positive in Qatar," he said.

The Kapuls have gained some invaluable match practice against a pair of Qatari second-tier sides.

Among their stars are Australian-based Altona Magic striker Tommy Semmy, David Browne, Michael Foster and captain David Muta.

The Solomon Islands are one of the best prepared teams having played three friendlies during their stop-off in Brisbane, registering two wins and a loss against good club sides.

Photo: insidethegames.biz

This included an impressive 4-2 win over Queensland's state league champions Lions FC.

Coach Felipe Vega-Arango says that being ranked second in the region means there will be high expectations but he believes the team has what it takes to win the competition.

Joint domestic league golden boots Tigi Molea and Gagame Feni are included in the 25-strong Solomon Islands squad which includes 14 international newcomers.

The group is bolstered by the international experience of Micah Lea'alafa, Raphael Le'ai and Alvin Hou, who played for the Kurukuru at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania in 2021.

Led by Roy Krishna who plays in India, the Bula Boys are a team that's always capable of springing a surprise.

Photo: Fotmob.com

In Qatar they had their first international game since 2019 with an impressive 3-0 win over Vanuatu with Fijian Premier League star Sairusi Nalaubu netting a hat-trick.

It was the first time head coach, Flemming Serristlev, who joined in 2020, was able to see his troops in action.

"The result doesn't matter but the way we played, it matters and I'm really happy to see in practice what we have been training a lot on for the last two years. It really came true in the match, I'm really satisfied," said Serritslev.

"In my opinion we had too many bad passes but after 15 minutes it was okay. I wished they had more early crosses in front of the goal when we had so fast attackers up front."

Krishna is the only non-Premier League player in the 24-man squad with last year's domestic champions Lautoka FC having the largest representation with seven players.

It's been six months since premier domestic league action took place in New Caledonia, but the lack of any game time shouldn't rule them out.

National team stalwarts such as the captain and most capped player, Bertrand Kai, Joel Wakanumune and Emile Bearune head up the local contingent in coach Dominique Wacalie's squad.

Cesar Zeoula and Joris Kenon, who play for UA Cognac FC in France, will compete for places in the midfield, while Jean-Gilles Hnamuko, a current member of Luxembourg's FC Alisontia Steinsel, is one of three goalkeepers selected.

New Caledonia have been among the best sides in Oceania for decades, and reached the final of the Nations Cup in 2008 and again in 2012.

Members of last year's Coupe de Polynesie champions AS Venus account for almost half of Tahiti's final 23-man squad while four Europe-based players are also included.

Three players could make an outstanding contribution in Doha: forward Eddy Kaspard, of French side Trelissac FC, Tutehau Tufariua of another French side Cherbourg FC and the current top scorer in the Tahiti league, Teaonui Tehau, who is one of 10 AS Venus players to make the cut.

Tahiti have been playing French clubs ahead of the tournament in the Middle East.

"We have players who know themselves, and can teach others, what level they must reach in terms of intensity, concentration and discipline, in order to achieve good results internationally," said head coach Sam Garcia.

All the signs suggest the All Whites will end up as top dog at the conclusion of the series.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

They have a professional outfit playing in the A-league, their clubs have dominated the O-League, and the bulk of the squad plays at the top level overseas.

Nevertheless, this is a one-off and surprises have happened in the past, with New Zealand only winning the last Cup on penalties and suffering defeats to Vanuatu and New Caledonia in previous competitions.

The 30-man squad features the likes of Liberato Cacace who is playing with Italy's FC Empoli, former English Premier League star Winston Reid, Kosta Barbarouses of Sydney FC, and Chris Wood of Newcastle United.

The All Whites have previously qualified for the World Cup, in 1982 and 2010 - when they emerged unbeaten - and have lost out in recent qualifying play-offs to Mexico and Peru.

All matches will be played at the Grand Hamad Stadium, one of the venues for this year's World Cup. The first game kicks off at 5pm local time on Thursday (3am NZT Friday) when the Cook Islands take on Solomon Islands, followed by Tahiti against Vanuatu.

The winners of the tournament will then contest an inter-continental play-off against the fourth-placed team from the federation representing North America, Central America and the Caribbean to claim a spot at the finals. That could be one of Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico or the United States.

Group A

Match Day 1

Match 1 17.03.2022. 17:00 Cook Islands : Solomon Islands

Match 2 17.03.2022. 20:00 Tahiti : Vanuatu

Match Day 2

Match 3 20.03.2022. 17:00 Cook Islands : Tahiti

Match 4 20.03.2022. 20: Solomon Islands : Vanuatu

Match Day 3

Match 5 24.03.2022. 17.00 Vanuatu : Cook Islands

Match 6 24.03.2022. 17:0 Solomon Islands : Tahiti

2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers - Group B

Match Day 1

Match 1 18.03.2022. 17:00 Papua New Guinea : New Zealand

Match 2 18.03.2022. 20:00 New Caledonia : Fiji

Match Day 2

Match 3 21.03.2022. 17:00 Papua New Guinea : New Caledonia

Match 4 21.03.2022. 20:00 New Zealand : Fiji

Match Day 3

Match 5 24.03.2022. 20:00 Fiji : Papua New Guinea

Match 6 24.03.2022. 20: New Zealand : New Caledonia

Semi-finals

Match Day 1

Match 1 27.03.2022. 17:00

Grand Hamad Stadium Group. A Winner : Group B Runner-Up

Match 2 27.03.2022. 20:30

Grand Hamad Stadium Group. B Winner : Group A Runner-Up

Final

Match Day 1

Match 1 30.03.2022. 20:00

Grand Hamad Stadium. Winner Semi-Final 1 : Winner Semi-Final 2

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Oceania's finest set to do battle in football World Cup qualifiers starting Thursday - RNZ