New Zealand players during a training session in Doha, yesterday. Pic: NZ Football
Doha: Eight teams are set to begin their quest for a place in the inter-confederation play-offs as Oceania Football Confederation’s (OFC) FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers kick off in Doha tomorrow.
New Zealand, having made their appearance at two previous World Cup tournaments, are the favourites to secure the elusive slot, but they can expect plenty of competition by their Group B opponents - led by New Caledonia.
New Zealand, who played in the 1982 Spain and the 2010 South Africa tournaments, will also face Fiji and Papua New Guinea in the Group Stage of the ‘mini tournament’ in Doha.
Having prevailed in all three qualifying competitions since Australia left the OFC to join the Asian Football Confederation, New Zealand - currently ranked 111 in the FIFA computer, start as the team to beat.The ‘All Whites’ will begin their campaign at the 2022 World Cup hosts city - looking to maintain their solid form, having ended 2021 with three straight friendly victories.
“Over the past year we have shown people what we are capable of as a team. Now is when we have to put everything we have been talking about into practice as we fight to return to the World Cup,” New Zealand coach Danny Hay told media ahead of the tournament.
Hay has named a squad that includes plenty of familiar names, among them veteran trio Chris Wood, Kosta Barbarouses and Tommy Smith, but which also includes Wellington Phoenix youngsters Ben Old and Ben Waine. However, their most experienced player - Newcastle United striker Wood will only be available from March 19 on wards, New Zealand Football had reported earlier.
Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea coach Marcos Gusmao has said they are ready for the All White attack.
Fiji are another team capable of producing surprises in Group B.
Led by Roy Krishna, 34, the Fijians excelled in a pre-tournament friendly against Vanuatu in Doha with lesser-known attacking star – 25-year-old Sairusi Nalaubu – scoring a hat-trick in their 3-0 win.
Group A is made of Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu and Cook Islands.
The Solomon Islands, the second best ranked team in the continent (142), also have genuine ambitions of winning the qualifying tournament. The South Pacific island nation enjoyed morale-boosting shows during few pre-tournament friendlies in Australia and will be looking to clear the group stage with flying colours.
The matches will be played at Doha’s Grand Hamad Stadium (Al Arabi Stadium) and Suheim bin Hamad Stadium (Qatar SC) in a mini-tournament format consisting of a round-robin group stage, semi-finals and final.
The winner in Doha will meet the fourth-placed team from the Concacaf zone in the Intercontinental Play-off matches in June to determine which of the two will make it to the FIFA World Cup in Doha.
Fixtures
GROUP A (All matches at Grand Hamad Stadium unless otherwise stated)
March 17: (17:00) Cook Islands vs Solomon Islands, (20:00) Tahiti vs Vanuatu
March 20: (17:00) Cook Islands vs Tahiti, (20:00) Solomon Islands vs Vanuatu
March 24
(17:00) Solomon Islands vs Tahiti, (17:00) at Suheim bin Hamad Stadium: Vanuatu vs Cook Islands
GROUP B (All matches at Suheim bin Hamad Stadium unless otherwise stated)
March 18
(17:00) Papua New Guinea vs New Zealand, (20:00) New Caledonia vs Fiji
March 21
(17:00) Papua New Guinea vs New Caledonia, (20:00) New Zealand vs Fiji
March 24
(20:00) At Grand Hamad Stadium: Fiji vs Papua New Guinea, (20:00) New Zealand vs New Caledonia
Semi-finals (At Grand Hamad Stadium)
March 27
(17:00) Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-Up
(20:30) Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-Up
Final on March 30
20:00 at Grand Hamad Stadium
