2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC third round
Football tournament qualification stage
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The third round of OFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification began on 7 November 2016 and ended on 5 September 2017.[1]
Format
A total of six teams which had advanced from the OFC Nations Cup (second round) were drawn into two groups of three teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group advanced to the OFC Final, played home-and-away over two legs, and the winners of the final advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Qualified teams
| Group (Nations Cup) |
Winners | Runners-up | Third-placed teams |
|---|---|---|---|
| A |  Papua New Guinea |
 New Caledonia |
 Tahiti |
| B |  New Zealand |
 Solomon Islands |
 Fiji |
Seeding
The draw for the third round was held on 8 July 2016, 11:00 NZST (UTC+12), at the OFC headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.[2]
The seeding was based on the results of the 2016 OFC Nations Cup (second round):
- The OFC Nations Cup champions (New Zealand) and runners-up (Papua New Guinea) were seeded as A1 and B1 respectively.
- Pot 1 contained the OFC Nations Cup losing semi-finalists (New Caledonia and Solomon Islands).
- Pot 2 contained the third-placed teams of the OFC Nations Cup group stage (Fiji and Tahiti).
Each group contained a seeded team, a team from Pot 1, and a team from Pot 2. The same group compositions as the OFC Nations Cup were not allowed by the draw (i.e., Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and Tahiti in one group, New Zealand, Solomon Islands and Fiji in the other group). The fixtures of each group were confirmed by the OFC after the draw, taking into account the need for New Zealand to have a bye in June 2017 for playing in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and Papua New Guinea to have a bye in November 2016 for hosting the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[2]
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the inter-confederation play-offs. Italicised teams qualified for the OFC final but lost.
| Seeded teams | Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|---|
|
Group stage
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers |
|---|
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group was based on the following criteria (regulations Articles 20.6 and 20.7):[3]
|
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 10 | Advance to OFC Final | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | New Caledonia |
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 5 | 0–0 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | Fiji |
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | — |
| New Zealand | 2–0 | New Caledonia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (OFC) |
| New Zealand | 2–0 | Fiji |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (OFC) |
| Fiji | 2–2 | New Caledonia |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (OFC) |
|
Group B
- FIFA awarded Tahiti a 3–0 win as a result of the Solomon Islands fielding the ineligible player Henry Fa'arodo, after Tahiti had defeated the Solomon Islands 1–0. Fa'arodo failed to serve a one-game ban after receiving two yellow cards in the 2016 OFC Nations Cup.[4]
| Tahiti | 3–0 Awarded[note 1] | Solomon Islands |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (OFC) |
| Solomon Islands | 1–0 | Tahiti |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (OFC) |
| Tahiti | 1–2 | Papua New Guinea |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (OFC) |
Final
The draw for the final (which decided the order of legs) was held on 15 June 2017, 16:00 NZST (UTC+12), at the OFC headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.[5]
The winners of the final advanced to inter-confederation play-offs. Dates were set for the two-legged final as being on 1 and 5 September 2017.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand |
8–3 | Solomon Islands |
6–1 | 2–2 |
| New Zealand | 6–1 | Solomon Islands |
|---|---|---|
|
Report (FIFA) Report (OFC) |
New Zealand won 8–3 on aggregate and advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Goalscorers
There were 41 goals scored in 14 matches, for an average of 2.93 goals per match.
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
Hadisi Aengari (against New Zealand)
Notes
- FIFA awarded Tahiti a 3–0 win as a result of the Solomon Islands fielding the ineligible player Henry Fa'arodo, after Tahiti had defeated the Solomon Islands 1–0. Henry Fa'arodo failed to serve a one-game ban after receiving two yellow cards in the 2016 OFC Nations Cup.[4]