March 23 to April 5, 2020 Global Futbol Matches (Oceanian Cup Qualifiers)

The following article provides an oversight for matches and tournaments taking place in 2020.

March 23 to April 5, 2020 (Oceanian Cup Qualifiers)

 

Oceanian Cup Qualifiers

Oceanian Cup Qualifiers continued this fortnight, with ten matches played.

 

In Group A, New Caledonia returned home after drawing against Samoa last month and playing against Fiji in the World Cup Qualifiers, looking to win in the reverse leg against the Samoans. Four missed shots in the first half told the tale, until New Caledonia managed a shot right before the break. At the death, when it seemed the hosts would snag a goal, steely blocking and the woodwork kept them at bay, and the match again ended 0-0. Vanuatu’s striker Nicholls scored in the middle of both halves to help his side win against American Samoa, after having lost to them last month.

 

Eight days later, Vanuatu hosted New Caledonia, hoping for another victory. Bills Nicholls was again involved in the goals, twice, as Vanuatu scored three goals in the first 28 minutes. However, New Caledonia had a better second half, and produced a goal via Roine on the hour mark. Nevertheless, Vanuatu gained the vital three points. American Samoa also scored around the hour mark against Samoa to give themselves every opportunity to qualify for the Oceanian Cup.

 

In their final game, New Caledonia must defeat American Samoa, and Samoa must defeat Vanuatu to both qualify. A draw for American Samoa will be enough to qualify, while Vanuatu can qualify with a draw, but a win would be ideal.

 

	Oceanian Cup Q Group A	Pl	W	D	L	Pts	GD
1	American Samoa	5	3	0	2	9	0
2	Vanuatu	5	2	1	2	7	+1
3	Samoa	5	1	3	1	6	+1
4	New Caledonia	5	1	2	2	5	-2

 

In Group B, Tahiti was saved when they flew to Papua New Guinea by the woodwork, where the hosts managed to bang the ball against the post three times. That included twice in the same passage of play as they ran rings around the Tahitian defence, only to not score at all. In the match between Tonga and the Solomon Islands, it seemed the Tongans were playing into the hands of the visitors. However, that soon turned around, and the Tongans fought for a goal right on the hour mark. An own goal doubled the lead, and the Solomon Islands could only score a late consolation goal for the result to end 2-1.

 

Eight days later, Tonga hosted Tahiti in a crucial match, where once again it was played at a frenetic pace. As they had done against the Solomon Islands, Tonga settled and scored right on the hour mark, with a second substitute also scoring deep in additional time to win by a solid two goals. The Papuans, meanwhile, flew to the Solomon Islands, keeping an eye on Fa’arodo as he looked dangerous. While the hosts peppered the goals, the score remained all square until the 74th minute, when Fa’arodo caught a cross, and the shot deflected slightly off a Papuan defender to ensure the win for the Solomon Islanders.

 

Tonga sit on top of the group with a game left and is guaranteed a place in the Oceanian Cup, regardless of the result, where they face Papua New Guinea away, who cannot qualify. All eyes will be on the Tahiti and Solomon Islands match, where the winner will advance, and the loser bow out. A draw will see the Solomon Islands progress.

 

	Oceanian Cup Q Group B	Pl	W	D	L	Pts	GD
1	Tonga	5	3	2	0	9	-1
2	Solomon Islands	5	2	2	0	8	+3
3	Tahiti	5	1	3	1	6	+1
4	Papua New Guinea	5	0	3	2	3	-3

 

In Group C, New Zealand looked lacklustre until late in the match, where they scored two goals in the final eleven minutes to overcome a defiant Fiji. Fiji then flew to the Cook Islands, and though they had the better chances, were unable to score in an otherwise-dull match.

 

The Cook Islands cannot qualify and will fly to New Zealand for the final match to ensure the Kiwis do not gain a perfect record.

 

	Oceanian Cup Q Group C	Pl	W	D	L	Pts	GD
1	New Zealand	3	3	0	0	9	+7
2	Fiji	4	1	1	2	4	+1
3	Cook Islands	3	0	1	2	1	-8

 

Friendlies

Friendly matches took place this fortnight as well. Spain came from a goal down to take control of their away match again Côte d’Ivoire. Liberia scored in the 85th minute when they visited Guinea-Bissau to level the match, and nearly had a winner. Costa Rica should have scored first against Kenya, only for Johanna Omolo to header the ball twice; the first hitting the crossbar, then the second looping into the goal.

 

Ethiopia hosted Azerbaijan where the left striker scored twice, his second being the best as the team worked around the Azerbaijani defence to leave him one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Gambia’s right striker scored twice in the first half to ease past host the Comorans. Chad’s dominance paid off with two second-half goals against Barbados. A seesawing match ensued between Denmark and Togo, where Denmark scored early, only for Togo to immediately equalise. Denmark sealed the 2-1 win with a header off the post and in the goal.

 

A goal just before the break saw Burundi overcome Djibouti. In the match between the Central African Republic and Algeria, the hosts attacked for the first thirty minutes, hitting the post with their best chance. A penalty then shifted the momentum in the favour of Algeria, before at the death, the Central African Republic found a way to goal and drew level as two substitute strikers combined. An attacking match was the order of the Tunisia and Japan encounter, with Tunisia having the 3-2 edge over their opponents.

 

Ghana’s Jordan Ayew’s goal was the different between his side and Kuwait in their match. Botswana’s goalkeeper was red carded taking out one of the Sudanese players, and a midfielder needed to take his place. In spite of this calamity, Botswana managed to hold Sudan at bay for 19 minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw. Italy scored three first-half goals to set up their win against Gabon. A hard-fought goal in the 85th minute by a Malian substitute helped gain a draw against Austria. Qatar hosted Tajikistan after their friendly draw with Jordan. The Tajiks stunned early with a goal in the 20th minute. However, Qatar responded two minutes later, before taking control of the match. A working down the right wing led to their second goal deep in the second half, allowing them to gain a solid victory and confidence for the remainder of the year’s matches.

 

 

March 27 Oceanian Cup Qualifiers Top Two Qualify Group A · New Caledonia 0 Samoa 0 · Vanuatu 2 American Samoa 0 Group B · Papua New Guinea 0 Tahiti 0 · Tonga 2 Solomon Islands 1 Group C · New Zealand 2 Fiji 0   Men’s Friendlies · Côte d’Ivoire 1 Spain 2 · Guinea-Bissau 1 Liberia 1 · Kenya 1 Costa Rica 0 · Ethiopia 3 Azerbaijan 1 · Comoros 0 Gambia 2 · Chad 2 Barbados 0 · Togo 1 Denmark 2 · Burundi 1 Djibouti 0 · Central African Republic 1 Algeria 1 · Tunisia 3 Japan 2 · Ghana 1 Kuwait 0 · Sudan 2 Botswana 2 · Gabon 1 Italy 4 · Mali 1 Austria 1 · Qatar 2 Tajikistan 1

April 4 Oceanian Cup Qualifiers MD4 Top Two Qualify Group A · Vanuatu 3 New Caledonia 1 · American Samoa 1 Samoa 0 Group B · Tonga 2 Tahiti 0 · Solomon Islands 1 Papua New Guinea 0 Group C · Cook Islands 0 Fiji 0