OFC qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in Australia and New Zealand was hosted in Suva, Fiji, with all matches played at HFC Bank Stadium. New Zealand were already guaranteed qualification for the World Cup as co-hosts, meaning the tournament winner progressed to the inter-confederation play-offs for a chance to join the Kiwis as OFC’s second representative.
It doubled as the 2022 OFC Women’s Nations Cup, and was contested by nine nations for the first time. The tournament also underwent another format change, with three groups of three – the top two in each group progressing to the quarter-finals, as well as the two best third-placed teams.
Samoa, Cook Islands and Tonga were put together in Group A, whilst Papua New Guinea were joined by Tahiti and Vanuatu in Group B, and hosts Fiji were drawn alongsideSolomon Islands and New Caledonia in Group C.
Samoa took charge of Group A on the tournament’s opening day, with goals from Monique Fischer and Jayda Stewart securing a 2-0 victory over Tonga. They then wrapped up top spot with a tight 1-0 win over the Cook Islands, again requiring a Jayda Stewart goal. A draw between the Cook Islands and Tonga in the other group game meant the former qualified in second by virtue of a superior goal difference, whilst Tonga ended up progressing as one of the best third-placed sides.
Papua New Guinea also claimed maximum points to top Group B, defeating Vanuatu 3-1 in their opening match, before edging Tahiti 2-1. The other group match between Vanuatu and Tahiti finished scoreless, allowing Tahiti to qualify for the quarter-finals thanks to a superior goal difference. Vanuatu missed out on one of the best third-place spots and were the only nation to exit at the group stage.
Group C was the most competitive of the three, with hosts Fiji held to a 1-1 draw by Solomon Islands in the opening game. They came back to pick up a 3-1 win over New Caledonia in their second match though, taking top spot as Solomon Islands and New Caledonia played out a 2-2 draw in the final group fixture. Solomon Islands progressed in second, whilst New Caledonia joined them in the quarter-finals as one of the best third-placed sides.
A hat-trick from Monique Fischer propelled Samoa into the final four after a 4-2 victory over New Caledonia in the first quarter-final. Elsewhere Papua New Guinea were given a huge scare by Tonga, requiring a penalty shoot-out after a dramatic 3-3 draw to progress. Hosts Fiji were too good for Cook Islands with a 2-0 win in the third quarter-final, whilst the Solomon Islands were the final nation to qualify for the semi-finals with a tight 1-0 victory over Tahiti.
Papua New Guinea upped their game in the semi-finals, overcoming Samoa 3-0 with two second-half strikes from Meagan Gunemba. That put them through to the final, where hosts Fiji would await after coming from behind to beat Solomon Islands 3-1 in the second semi-final, courtesy of two goals from Cema Nasau.
Having finished runners-up three times previously, Papua New Guinea finally claimed their first OFC Women’s Nations Cup title with a tough 2-1 victory over Fiji at HFC Bank Stadium, progressing to the 2023 FIFA Women’s Cup™ inter-confederation play-offs. They jumped into a two-goal lead inside the first half hour with strikes from Meagen Gunemba and Ramona Padio, before holding on in the face of a strong Fijian crowd to become just the fourth side to lift the trophy.
Three players finished top of the goal-scoring standings, with Papua New Guinea’s Meagen Gunemba and Ramona Padio finishing on five goals alongside Samoa’s Jayda Stewart. Fiji’s Cema Nasau picked up the Golden Ball, whilst Tahiti’s Camila Andre received the Golden Glove. Samoa were awarded the Fair Play award.
The inter-confederation play-off proved a step too far for Papua New Guinea, who fought hard, but fell to a 0-2 defeat to Panama courtesy of goals in either half from Marta Cox and Riley Tanner at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium, missing out on qualification for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup™.
All eyes were on Eden Park as New Zealand became the first OFC member to win a game at the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ when they opened the tournament with a famous 1-0 win over former champions Norway. Hannah Wilkinson scored the game’s only goal, and her third at a FIFA Women’s World Cup™, to get New Zealand over the line. They failed to build on that success though, slipping up in Wellington with a 0-1 defeat to the Philippines, before drawing 0-0 with Switzerland in the final group game in Dunedin to consign themselves to another group stage exit.
Nevertheless New Zealand finished with four points, the highest points tally of any OFC member in the tournament’s history.
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