OFC qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in France took place in 2018 and was hosted in New Caledonia for the first time. It also doubled as the 2018 OFC Women’s Nations Cup as well as OFC qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympic women’s football tournament in Japan, and was contested between eight teams.
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga and Cook Islands all qualified automatically as the seven highest-ranked OFC members, whilst Fiji joined them after progressing through the qualifying tournament.
The tournament format saw two groups of four teams, with the top two in each group progressing through to the semi-finals. Hosts New Caledonia were drawn alongside Papua New Guinea, Tahiti and Samoa in Group A, whilst three-time defending champions New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Cook Islands comprised Group B.
Hosts New Caledonia opened the tournament with a memorable 4-2 victory over Tahiti in Group A. They proved no match for three-time runners-up Papua New Guinea in their second match though, succumbing to five goals from Marie Kaipu in a 2-6 defeat. Comfortable 5-0 and 3-1 wins over Samoa and Tahiti wrapped up top spot for Papua New Guinea, whilst New Caledonia eventually joined them in the semi-finals after securing a 2-0 victory over Samoa in their final group game.
Two hat-tricks from Sarah Gregorious against Tonga and Fiji carried New Zealand as they dominated Group B. The three-time defending champions beat Tonga 11-0 and Fiji 10-0, whilst also defeating the Cook Islands 6-0 to claim top spot with maximum points. Fiji stood above the rest in the race for second, turning on the style with hat-tricks from Luisa Tamanitoakula, Cema Nasau, and Sofi Diyalowai in a 12-0 victory over Tonga. A 3-0 win over the Cook Islands made sure of their place in the semi-finals.
Fiji put themselves within a game of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ following a stunning 5-1 upset victory over Papua New Guinea in the first semi-final. Goals in each half from Trina Davis set them on their way, ensuring Papua New Guinea missed out on a top two finish for the first time since 2003. The second semi-final saw New Zealand register an impressive 8-0 win over hosts New Caledonia. Emma Rolston caught the eye with a hat-trick, whilst Rosie White offered support with two goals of her own.
New Zealand booked their place at a fifth FIFA Women’s World Cup™, as they overcame Fiji 8-0 in the final at the Stade Numa-Daly Magenta in Noumea. Rosie White, Sarah Gregorius, and Betsy Hassett all scored two goals, ensuring New Zealand also won another OFC Women’s Nations Cup title and qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Papua New Guinea’s Meagan Gunemba finished as the tournament’s joint top goal-scorer with eight, alongside New Zealand’s Sarah Gregorius. Rosie White won the Golden Ball award, whilst Fiji goalkeeper Adi Tuwai won the Golden Glove, and New Zealand received the Fair Play award.
Two injury-time goals stunted New Zealand’s progress at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in France, losing all of their group stage games in another early exit. A 92nd minute strike from Jill Roord saw them fall to a 0-1 defeat to the Netherlands in their campaign opener, before they conceded a 95th minute goal in a dramatic 1-2 defeat to Cameroon. Sandwiched in-between those fixtures was a disappointing 0-2 defeat to Canada, as New Zealand finished without a point.
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