2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC Third Round
The third round of OFC matches for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification began on 7 November 2016.[1]
Format
A total of six teams which 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 will advance to the OFC Final, played home-and-away over two legs, and the winners of the final will advance 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]
| Seeded teams | Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Group stage
| 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification tiebreakers |
|---|
In league format, the ranking of teams in each group is 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 |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 4 | Advance to OFC Final match | — | 2–0 | 28 Mar '17 | |
| 2 | New Caledonia |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1 | 0–0 | — | 13 Jun '17 | ||
| 3 | Fiji |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 Mar '17 | 5 Jun '17 | — |
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
|
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tahiti |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | Advance to OFC Final match | — | 1–0 | 27 Mar '17 | |
| 2 | Solomon Islands |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1–0 | — | 5 Jun '17 | ||
| 3 | Papua New Guinea |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 Mar '17 | 13 Jun '17 | — |
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Final
Winner advances to inter-confederation play-offs. Dates have been set for the two-legged final as being between 28 August and 5 September 2017.[5]
Note: Order of legs to be decided.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Third round Group A/B winner | Third round Group A/B winner | 28 Aug '17 | 5 Sep '17 |
Goalscorers
There have been 4 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 1 goal per match.
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
Notes
References
- ↑ "2018 WCQ Stage 3 Schedule & Results". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- 1 2 "Stage 3 draw complete". Oceania Football Confederation.
- ↑ "Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia" (PDF). FIFA.com.
- ↑ "2018 WCQ Stage 3 Schedule & Results". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
- ↑ "Next steps to Russia laid out". Football NZ. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
External links
- Official FIFA World Cup website
- Qualifiers – Oceania: Round 3, FIFA.com
- 2018 WCQ Stage 3, oceaniafootball.com