2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)

Association football competition

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)Tournament details

Dates| 6 September 2024 – March 2025
Teams| 11 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played| 3
Goals scored| 9 (3 per match)
Attendance| 1,400 (467 per match)
Top scorer(s)| 9 players
(1 goal each)

<- 2022

2030 ->

All statistics correct as of 9 September 2024.

International football competition

OFC Qualifiers

FIFA World Cup

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* v
* t
* e

The Oceanian section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification process is taking place from September 2024 to March 2025.[1] The 2026 tournament is the 16th edition of Oceanian qualifiers and marks the first time OFC has a direct qualification slot into the FIFA World Cup.[2]

## Format

[edit]

The qualification structure is as follows:[1][3]

* First round: The four lowest-ranked teams in the FIFA Men's World Rankings played a three-match knockout round in September 2024. The winner advanced to the second round.
* Second round: The winning team from the first round will join the seven highest-ranked teams in two four-team groups in October and November 2024. The top two teams from each group will advance to the third round.
* Third round: The four teams advancing from the second round will play a three-match knockout round in March 2025 with the winner qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and the runner-up advancing to the inter-confederation play-offs.

## Entrants

[edit]

All eleven eligible OFC nations have entered qualification.

* American Samoa
* Cook Islands
* Fiji
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tahiti
* Tonga
* Vanuatu

## Schedule

[edit]

The schedule of the competition is as follows.

Round  | Matchday  | Date  | Venue(s)

|
|
|

First round | Matchday 1  | 6 September 2024  |  Samoa
Matchday 2  | 9 September 2024
Second round | Matchday 3  | 10–12 October 2024  |  Fiji and  Vanuatu
Matchday 4  | 14–15 November 2024  |  New Zealand and  Papua New Guinea
Matchday 5  | 17–18 November 2024
Third round | Semi-finals  | March 2025  |  New Zealand
Final  | March 2025

The inter-confederation play-offs will be scheduled to be played in March 2026.

## Draw

[edit]

The draw for the first two rounds was held at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland on 18 July from 9:00 CEST (UTC+2).[1][4] Although announced prior to their official release, the seeding for the draw was based on the FIFA Men's World Rankings of 18 July 2024 (shown in parentheses below).

For the first round, the four lowest-ranked teams competed in a single-elimination play-off to determine which team advanced to the second round. The highest-ranked team faced the lowest-ranked team and the second-ranked team faced the third-ranked team in the semi-finals, and the winners of those matches faced each other in the final.

For the second round, each group contains one team from Pot 1, two from Pot 2 and one from Pot 3 (which also included a placeholder for the first round winner).

From the July 2024 FIFA World Rankings[5] Bye to second round  | Competing in first round

|

Pot 1  | Pot 2  | Pot 3

1. New Zealand (94)
2. Solomon Islands (141)

3. Fiji (153)
4. Tahiti (158)
5. New Caledonia (160)
6. Vanuatu (162)

7. Papua New Guinea (168)
8. First round winner[a]

8. Cook Islands (186)
9. American Samoa (187)
10. Samoa (192)
11. Tonga (200)

1. ^ The first round winner was not known at the time of the draw.

## First round

[edit]

First round matches were played 6–9 September 2024 in Samoa.[6] The four lowest-ranked teams competed in a knockout series, and the winner advanced to join the seven highest-ranked teams in the second round.[1]

### Bracket

[edit]

| Matchday 1| | Matchday 2 (final)

|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |

| 6 September 2024 – Apia | |

|  Cook Islands | 1

| 9 September 2024 – Apia

|  Tonga | 3 |

|  Tonga | 1

| 6 September 2024 – Apia

| |  Samoa (a.e.t.)| 2

|  American Samoa | 0

|  Samoa | 2 |

### Matchday 1

[edit]

6 September 2024 (2024-09-06)

11:00 UTC+13

Cook Islands | 1–3|  Tonga

|
|

Kumsuz 63' | Report[7][8] |

* Tikoipau 27'
* Polovili 39' (pen.)
* Kefu 79'

FFS Football Stadium Field 1, Apia, Samoa

Attendance: 300

Referee: Calvin Berg (New Zealand)

6 September 2024 (2024-09-06)

15:00 UTC+13

American Samoa | 0–2|  Samoa

|
|

| Report[9][10] |

* Tumua 59' (pen.)
* Vaai 90+8'

FFS Football Stadium Field 1, Apia, Samoa

Attendance: 600

Referee: Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)

### Matchday 2

[edit]

The winner advanced to the second round.

9 September 2024 (2024-09-09)

15:00 UTC+13

Tonga | 1–2 (a.e.t.)|  Samoa

|
|

* Sonasi 45+1'

| Report[11][12] |

* Salisbury 82'
* Faamatau 105+3'

FFS Football Stadium Field 1, Apia, Samoa

Attendance: 500

Referee: Mederic Lacour (New Caledonia)

## Second round

[edit]

The second round will take place from 10 October to 18 November 2024 with two groups of four teams playing each other once in a league format.[1] Matches will be played in Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu.[13]

### Group A

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification  |  |  |  |  |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Solomon Islands | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | Advance to the third round |  | -- | 10 Oct | 14 Nov | --
2  |  Fiji (H) | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |  | -- | -- | 17 Nov | --
3  |  New Caledonia | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |  |  | -- | -- | -- | 10 Oct
4  |  Papua New Guinea (H) | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |  | 17 Nov | 14 Nov | -- | --

First match(es) will be played: 10 October 2024. Source: [14]
(H) Hosts

10 October 2024 (2024-10-10)

16:00 UTC+12

New Caledonia | v|  Papua New Guinea

|
|

| [15] |

HFC Bank Stadium, Suva, Fiji

10 October 2024 (2024-10-10)

19:00 UTC+12

Solomon Islands | v|  Fiji

|
|

| [16] |

HFC Bank Stadium, Suva, Fiji

* * *

14 November 2024 (2024-11-14)

13:00 UTC+10

Solomon Islands | v|  New Caledonia

|
|

| [17] |

PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

14 November 2024 (2024-11-14)

16:00 UTC+10

Papua New Guinea | v|  Fiji

|
|

| [18] |

PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

* * *

17 November 2024 (2024-11-17)

13:00 UTC+10

Fiji | v|  New Caledonia

|
|

| [19] |

PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

17 November 2024 (2024-11-17)

16:00 UTC+10

Papua New Guinea | v|  Solomon Islands

|
|

| [20] |

PNG Football Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

### Group B

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification  |  |  |  |  |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  New Zealand (H) | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | Advance to the third round |  | -- | 11 Oct | 15 Nov | --
2  |  Tahiti | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |  | -- | -- | 18 Nov | --
3  |  Vanuatu (H) | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |  |  | -- | -- | -- | 12 Oct
4  |  Samoa | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  |  | 18 Nov | 15 Nov | -- | --

First match(es) will be played: 11 October 2024. Source: [14]
(H) Hosts

11 October 2024 (2024-10-11)

13:00 UTC+11

New Zealand | v|  Tahiti

|
|

| [21] |

VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu

12 October 2024 (2024-10-12)

14:00 UTC+11

Vanuatu | v|  Samoa

|
|

| [22] |

VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu

* * *

15 November 2024 (2024-11-15)

15:00 UTC+13

Samoa | v|  Tahiti

|
|

| [23] |

Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand

15 November 2024 (2024-11-15)

18:30 UTC+13

New Zealand | v|  Vanuatu

|
|

| [24] |

Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand

* * *

18 November 2024 (2024-11-18)

15:00 UTC+13

Tahiti | v|  Vanuatu

|
|

| [25] |

Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand

18 November 2024 (2024-11-18)

18:30 UTC+13

Samoa | v|  New Zealand

|
|

| [26] |

Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand

## Third round

[edit]

The third round is scheduled to take place in New Zealand in March 2025.[1] The winner will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the runner-up will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.[13]

### Bracket

[edit]

| Semi-finals| | Final

|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |

| March 2025 | |

| Winner Group A |

| March 2025

| Runner-up Group B | |

| Winner Semi-final 1 |

| March 2025

| | Winner Semi-final 2 |

| Winner Group B |

| Runner-up Group A | |

### Semi-finals

[edit]

March 2025 (2025-03)

Winner Group A| v| Runner-up Group B

|
|

|  |

New Zealand

March 2025 (2025-03)

Winner Group B| v| Runner-up Group A

|
|

|  |

New Zealand

### Final

[edit]

The winner qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The loser advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

March 2025 (2025-03)

Winner Semi-final 1| v| Winner Semi-final 2

|
|

|  |

New Zealand

## Inter-confederation play-offs

[edit]

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)

The runner up team will join one team each from AFC, CAF, and CONMEBOL and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams will be ranked according to the FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners will meet the two highest-ranked teams in another set of single-elimination matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.[27]

## Qualified teams

[edit]

Qualified for the World Cup

Can qualify for the World Cup

Failed to qualify

Not an OFC member

The following teams from OFC qualified for the final tournament.

Team  | Qualified as  | Qualified on  | Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup

|
|
|

TBD | Third round winners | March 2025 |

## Goalscorers

[edit]

There have been 9 goals scored in 3 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match (as of 9 September 2024). Players highlighted in bold are still active in the competition.

1 goal

* Taci Kumsuz
* Jefferson Faamatau
* Luke Salisbury
* Dilo Tumua
* Jarvis Vaai
* Christopher Kefu
* Hemaloto Polovili
* Ulafala Sonasi
* Viliami Tikoipau

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f "FIFA Headquarters to host OFC preliminary draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026". Oceania Football Confederation. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
2. ^ "Road to the FIFA World Cup 26 set to begin". FIFA. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
3. ^ "Journey to historic FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off in South America". FIFA. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
4. ^ "FIFA to stage OFC preliminary draw for the FIFA World Cup". FIFA. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
5. ^ "FIFA Men's Ranking – July 2024". FIFA. 18 July 2024.
6. ^ "OFC Competition Calendars Confirmed for 2024". Oceania Football Confederation. December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
7. ^ "Cook Islands vs Tonga". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
8. ^ "Cook Islands vs Tonga". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
9. ^ "American Samoa vs Samoa". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
10. ^ "American Samoa vs Samoa". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
11. ^ "Tonga vs Samoa". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
12. ^ "Tonga vs Samoa". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
13. ^ a b "Hosts and venues confirmed for FIFA World Cup 26™ Qualifiers of the Oceanian Zone". Oceania Football Confederation. 1 August 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
14. ^ a b "FIFA World Cup 2026 - OFC Qualifiers Round Two". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
15. ^ "New Caledonia vs Papua New Guinea". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
16. ^ "Solomon Islands vs Fiji". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
17. ^ "Solomon Islands vs New Caledonia". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
18. ^ "Papua New Guinea vs Fiji". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
19. ^ "Fiji vs New Caledonia". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
20. ^ "Papua New Guinea vs Solomon Islands". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
21. ^ "New Zealand vs Tahiti". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
22. ^ "Vanuatu vs TBD". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
23. ^ "TBD vs Tahiti". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
24. ^ "New Zealand vs Vanuatu". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
25. ^ "Tahiti vs Vanuatu". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
26. ^ "TBD vs New Zealand". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
27. ^ "Bureau of the Council recommends slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup". FIFA. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.

* v
* t
* e

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

AFC|

* First round
* Second round
* Third round
* Fourth round
* Fifth round (play-off)

CAF|

* First round
* Group A
* Group B
* Group C
* Group D
* Group E
* Group F
* Group G
* Group H
* Group I
* Second round (play-offs)

CONCACAF|

* First round
* Second round
* Third round

CONMEBOL|

* Round robin

OFC|

* First round
* Second round
* Third round

UEFA|

* First round
* Group A
* Group B
* Group C
* Group D
* Group E
* Group F
* Group G
* Group H
* Group I
* Group J
* Group K
* Group L
* Second round (play-offs)
* related: Nations League

Play-offs|

* Inter-confederation play-offs

* v
* t
* e

2024 in Oceanian Football (OFC)

« 2023

2025 »

Domestic Leagues|

* American Samoa
* Cook Islands
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand
* Men's
* Women's
* Niue
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* 23–24
* 24–25
* Tahiti
* 23–24
* 24–25
* Tonga
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu
* Champions League
* Port Vila
* 23–24
* 24–25
* Luganville
* 23–24
* 24–25

Domestic Cups|

* Fiji
* FACT
* Battle of the Giants
* Inter-District Championship
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand
* men
* women
* Solomon Islands
* Tahiti
* 23–24
* 24–25
* Vanuatu
* Independence Cup
* PVFA Cup

Super Cups|

* Fiji
* New Zealand

OFC club competitions|

* OFC Champions League
* Qualifying stage
* Group stage
* Knockout stage
* Final
* OFC Futsal Men's Champions League
* OFC Women's Champions League
* Knockout stage
* Final

National team competitions|

* OFC Beach Soccer Nations Cup
* FIFA World Cup qualification
* OFC Men's Nations Cup
* Qualifying
* Group stage
* Group A
* Group B
* Knockout stage
* Final
* OFC U-16 Men's Championship
* Qualifying
* OFC U-19 Men's Championship
* Qualifying
* OFC U-16 Women's Championship
* Qualifying
* OFC Futsal Women's Nations Cup
* OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament

* v
* t
* e

2025 in Oceanian Football (OFC)

« 2024

2026 »

Domestic Leagues|

* American Samoa
* Cook Islands
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand
* Men's
* Women's
* Niue
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* 24–25
* 25–26
* Tahiti
* 24–25
* 25–26
* Tonga
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu
* Champions League
* Port Vila
* 24–25
* 25–26
* Luganville
* 24–25
* 25–26

Domestic Cups|

* Fiji
* FACT
* Battle of the Giants
* Inter-District Championship
* New Caledonia
* New Zealand
* men
* women
* Solomon Islands
* Tahiti
* 24–25
* 25–26
* Vanuatu
* Independence Cup
* PVFA Cup

Super Cups|

* Fiji
* New Zealand

OFC club competitions|

* OFC Champions League
* Qualifying Stage
* Group Stage
* Knockout stage
* Final
* OFC Futsal Men's Champions League
* OFC Women's Champions League
* Knockout stage
* Final

National team competitions|

* OFC Women's Nations Cup
* Qualifying
* OFC U-16 Men's Championship
* Qualifying
* OFC U-16 Women's Championship
* Qualifying
* OFC U-19 Women's Championship
* Qualifying
* 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points