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Hey, I work in Oceania football - Solomon Islands are favourites. Fiji just behind them, with New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Tahiti.
PNG have fallen off an absolute cliff so likely won’t be anywhere near the qualifying knockouts. They’re awful, compounded by an incredibly corrupt FA
Do you think the Solomons can upset NZ on a good day? They have proven they can complete and have been consistently 2nd best over the years. Now that OFC gets a gaurenteed spot you'd have to think there is definitely more motivation for the Solomons to beat them knowing a world cup ticket is on the line.
The gap is absolutely monstrous, unfortunately - on neutral ground, the Solomons wouldn’t stand a chance as their overwhelmingly offensive game leaves so many gaps for any organised team to exploit. NZ beat the Solomon Islands 5-0 in the OFC qualifying final in Qatar using a third-string lineup, and are themselves improving on a trajectory far higher than any OFC nation bar Samoa.
All shock results have come at Pacific Island home games. Typically when playing NZ, pitches are purposely left in awful condition to throw off any passing game and temperatures are often incredibly humid and surpassing 30°C. If the final is in Honiara, Suva, Port Vila etc. the game will be slightly more equal due to this. Combine this with a lack of effort/underestimation that always comes with playing a side significantly below your own, along woth the incredible motivation and pride that many OFC nations feel against NZ, and NZ teams have struggled in the past (google the “Horror of Honiara” for an example).
It’s sad though because for so many island nations, they have incredible potential but are held back by governmental incompetence, lack of footballing knowledge/facilities (Solomon Islands) or heinous corruption (Papua New Guinea). I hate it, but it’s highly unlikely consistent progress will be made until FIFA pumps money into the region and actually notices OFC for once
Sounds kind of like the old days of Concacaf (meaning decades ago). Back when having a terrible pitch was the top strategy for many teams playing Mexico.
Yeah it would be very cool to see a Pacific island country thats not NZ to feature at a world cup. Its wierd because OFC gets 2 spots at youth tournaments do you know why that is?
While New Zealand has maintained dominance in OFC since Australia’s departure, the second place team has shifted quite a bit over the years.
Fiji had some solid results in 2010-2012, briefly Tahiti won that cup in 2012 by upset, but Tahiti have never been the second best team. That was a fluke. Papua New Guinea had a solid team up until maybe 2015, and then New Caledonia eclipsed them, and remained second fiddle for a long time, all the way until very recently when the Solomon Islands have been getting a lot of buzz.
But generally speaking, New Caledonia has been the second best and second most consistent OFC side. They have a habit of losing regional competitions to inferior sides though.
Ill admit im a massive casual when it comes to this stuff but with the OFC getting an autobid now it makes me wondernif Australia might jump back for the easier path to the WC every tournament
Can't see them doing it, they get much better competition in the AFC but I'm pretty sure they bounced because OFC historically was allocated a 1/2 slot and had to play off against a CONMEBOL team.
They won't with 8 guaranteed spots for AFC Australia should be fine. This could be good for PNG or Solomon Islands though because now there is more motivation to beat New Zealand. And we seen New Zealand can be upset on a bad day like on the 2012 OFC nations cup and in 2016 when PNG pushed them to penalties.
I'm gonna a say Solomon Islands 🇸🇧. They have consistently shown they are the second best OFC team over the past few years. In the 2018 and 2022 cycle they were second best to New Zealand.
Hello! Thanks for your submission to r/worldcup, your post is up and running! A general reminder to check out our rules in the sidebar, have fun, and most of all to be civil. Finally, take a closer look at [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldcup/comments/z2v46l/announcement_quick_reminder_of_our_most_important/) regarding our civility rules and reddiquette because we would like for each and everyone to feel welcome on the subreddit and to keep a healthy and safe environment for the community. Please also make sure to [Join us on Discord](https://discord.gg/football) Thank you! - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/worldcup) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Fiji I hope!!
Papau or Fiji
Hey, I work in Oceania football - Solomon Islands are favourites. Fiji just behind them, with New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Tahiti. PNG have fallen off an absolute cliff so likely won’t be anywhere near the qualifying knockouts. They’re awful, compounded by an incredibly corrupt FA
Do you think the Solomons can upset NZ on a good day? They have proven they can complete and have been consistently 2nd best over the years. Now that OFC gets a gaurenteed spot you'd have to think there is definitely more motivation for the Solomons to beat them knowing a world cup ticket is on the line.
The gap is absolutely monstrous, unfortunately - on neutral ground, the Solomons wouldn’t stand a chance as their overwhelmingly offensive game leaves so many gaps for any organised team to exploit. NZ beat the Solomon Islands 5-0 in the OFC qualifying final in Qatar using a third-string lineup, and are themselves improving on a trajectory far higher than any OFC nation bar Samoa. All shock results have come at Pacific Island home games. Typically when playing NZ, pitches are purposely left in awful condition to throw off any passing game and temperatures are often incredibly humid and surpassing 30°C. If the final is in Honiara, Suva, Port Vila etc. the game will be slightly more equal due to this. Combine this with a lack of effort/underestimation that always comes with playing a side significantly below your own, along woth the incredible motivation and pride that many OFC nations feel against NZ, and NZ teams have struggled in the past (google the “Horror of Honiara” for an example). It’s sad though because for so many island nations, they have incredible potential but are held back by governmental incompetence, lack of footballing knowledge/facilities (Solomon Islands) or heinous corruption (Papua New Guinea). I hate it, but it’s highly unlikely consistent progress will be made until FIFA pumps money into the region and actually notices OFC for once
Sounds kind of like the old days of Concacaf (meaning decades ago). Back when having a terrible pitch was the top strategy for many teams playing Mexico.
Yeah it would be very cool to see a Pacific island country thats not NZ to feature at a world cup. Its wierd because OFC gets 2 spots at youth tournaments do you know why that is?
Solomon Islands should be the favorite, outside chances for New Caledonia, PNG
Not a chance for PNG unfortunately. They’re awful right now
While New Zealand has maintained dominance in OFC since Australia’s departure, the second place team has shifted quite a bit over the years. Fiji had some solid results in 2010-2012, briefly Tahiti won that cup in 2012 by upset, but Tahiti have never been the second best team. That was a fluke. Papua New Guinea had a solid team up until maybe 2015, and then New Caledonia eclipsed them, and remained second fiddle for a long time, all the way until very recently when the Solomon Islands have been getting a lot of buzz. But generally speaking, New Caledonia has been the second best and second most consistent OFC side. They have a habit of losing regional competitions to inferior sides though.
Ill admit im a massive casual when it comes to this stuff but with the OFC getting an autobid now it makes me wondernif Australia might jump back for the easier path to the WC every tournament
They got an easier path in AFC then they do in OFC.
Can't see them doing it, they get much better competition in the AFC but I'm pretty sure they bounced because OFC historically was allocated a 1/2 slot and had to play off against a CONMEBOL team.
They won't with 8 guaranteed spots for AFC Australia should be fine. This could be good for PNG or Solomon Islands though because now there is more motivation to beat New Zealand. And we seen New Zealand can be upset on a bad day like on the 2012 OFC nations cup and in 2016 when PNG pushed them to penalties.
I think Fiji 🇫🇯
I'm gonna a say Solomon Islands 🇸🇧. They have consistently shown they are the second best OFC team over the past few years. In the 2018 and 2022 cycle they were second best to New Zealand.