2018 OFC U-19 Championship

The 2018 OFC U-19 Championship was the 22nd edition of the OFC U-19/U-20 Championship, the biennial international youth football championship organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) for the men's under-19/under-20 national teams of Oceania. The qualifying stage was held in the Cook Islands between 26 May – 1 June 2018, and the final tournament was held in Tahiti between 5–18 August 2018.[1]

2018 OFC U-19 Championship
Tournament details
Host countriesQualifying stage:
Cook Islands
Final tournament:
Tahiti
DatesQualifying stage:
26 May – 1 June 2018
Final tournament:
5–18 August 2018
TeamsFinal tournament: 8
Total: 11 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)3 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions New Zealand (7th title)
Runners-up Tahiti
Third place New Caledonia
Fourth place Solomon Islands
Tournament statistics
Matches played22
Goals scored82 (3.73 per match)
Attendance12,000 (545 per match)
Top scorer(s) Max Mata (5 goals)
Best player(s) Joe Bell
Best goalkeeper Moana Pito

Before the tournament in 2016, the age limit was reduced by a year to 19 years of age. However, the last tournament remained the name U-20 Championship. For this tournament, the name has changed to U-19 Championship. So, players who wanted to participate in the tournament needed to be born on or after 1 January 1999. At an OFC Executive Committee meeting held at its Auckland headquarters in November 2013 the competition format was modified. The competition was brought forward a year and the age limit was lowered to 19 years of age. The changes were made in order to allow the winner of the competition plenty of time for preparation and player development for upcoming World Cups at Under 20 level.[2]

In March 2015, FIFA decided that the OFC gets two slots at every FIFA U-20 and U-17 World Cup.[3] So, the top two teams of the tournament qualified for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland as the OFC representatives. New Zealand, the defending champions, won the title for the seventh time, and qualified together with runners-up Tahiti.

Format

The tournament structure was as follows:[3]

The draw for the tournament was held on 2 February 2018 at the OFC Headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.[4] In both the qualifying stage and the final tournament, the hosts (Cook Islands and Tahiti) were assigned to position A1 in the draw, while the remaining teams were drawn into the other positions without any seeding.[5]

Teams

All 11 FIFA-affiliated national teams from the OFC entered the tournament.

Note: All appearance statistics include those in the qualifying stage (since 2016).

Team Stage Appearance Previous best performance
 FijiFinal tournament
(Group stage)		21stChampions (2014)
 New Caledonia12thRunners-up (2008)
 New Zealand21stChampions (1980, 1992, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2016)
 Papua New Guinea14thFourth place (1978, 1982)
 Solomon Islands9thRunners-up (2005, 2011)
 Tahiti (hosts)11thChampions (1974, 2008)
 Vanuatu15thRunners-up (2014, 2016)
 American SamoaQualifying stage5thGroup stage (1998, 2011, 2014)
 Cook Islands (hosts)3rdGroup stage (2001, 2016)
 Samoa9thGroup stage (1988, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007)
 Tonga6thGroup stage (1998, 2001, 2002, 2005)

Venues

The hosts of the qualifying stage and final tournament were announced by OFC on 31 October 2017.[1]

After two Group B matches were played at Stade Fautaua on 6 August, it was announced on 8 August that the remaining Group B matches would be moved to Stade Pater due to the floodlights being deemed less than optimal.[6] However, it was announced on 10 August 2018 that after heavy rain caused the pitch of Stade Pater to deteriorate, the last two Group A and Group B matches on 11 and 12 August would be moved to Stade Fautaua with earlier kick-off times (12:00 and 15:00 instead of 15:00 and 18:00).[7]

Squads
Main article: 2018 OFC U-19 Championship squads

Players born on or after 1 January 1999 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team can name a maximum of 20 players.

Qualifying stage

The winner advance to the final tournament (group stage).

All times are local, CKT (UTC−10).[8]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Tonga 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7 Final tournament (Group stage)
2  Samoa 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7
3  Cook Islands (H) 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3
4  American Samoa 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
Source: OFC
(H) Host.
American Samoa 0−3 Samoa
Report
  • Smith  77', 81', 90+3'
CIFA Academy Field, Rarotonga
Attendance: 100
Referee: Robinson Banga (Vanuatu)
Tonga 3−0 Cook Islands
  • Kau  17'
  • Rajani  24' (pen.), 38' (pen.)
 Report
CIFA Academy Field, Rarotonga
Attendance: 250
Referee: Cory Mills (New Zealand)
Tonga 2–0 American Samoa
  • Namoa  7', 50'
 Report
CIFA Academy Field, Rarotonga
Attendance: 25
Referee: David Yareboinen (Papua New Guinea)
Cook Islands 0–1 Samoa
Report
CIFA Academy Field, Rarotonga
Attendance: 250
Referee: Kader Zitouni (Tahiti)
Samoa 1–1 Tonga
 Report
CIFA Academy Field, Rarotonga
Attendance: 125
Referee: Cory Mills (New Zealand)
Cook Islands 2–1 American Samoa
  • Paio  37'
  • Tiputoa  49' (pen.)
 Report
  • Ledoux  51'
CIFA Academy Field, Rarotonga
Attendance: 250
Referee: Ben Aukwai (Solomon Islands)

Group stage

The top two teams of each group advanced to the semi-finals.

All times are local, TAHT (UTC−10).[9]

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  New Zealand 3 3 0 0 20 1 +19 9 Knockout stage
2  Tahiti (H) 3 2 0 1 9 2 +7 6
3  Papua New Guinea 3 1 0 2 4 10 −6 3
4  Tonga 3 0 0 3 0 20 −20 0
Source: OFC
(H) Host.
Tonga 0–4 Papua New Guinea
Report
  • J. Allen  45+1'
  • Kerobin  66'
  • A. Allen  72', 90+4'
Attendance: 500
Referee: Joel Hopken (Vanuatu)
New Zealand 2–1 Tahiti
 Report
  • Kaspard  64'
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: George Time (Solomon Islands)
New Zealand 14–0 Tonga
  • Tipelu  15'
  • Schnell  36', 68'
  • Joe Bell  38', 41', 42'
  • Whyte  46', 47', 89'
  • Spragg  54', 57', 88'
  • Spain  56'
  • Curry  78'
 Report
Attendance: 300
Referee: Salesh Chand (Fiji)
Tahiti 6–0 Papua New Guinea
  • Bremond  2', 32'
  • Tehau  17', 86'
  • Vivi  45+1'
  • Kaspard  71'
 Report
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: George Time (Solomon Islands)
Papua New Guinea 0–4 New Zealand
Report
Stade Fautaua, Pirae
Attendance: 200
Referee: Joel Hopken (Vanuatu)
Tahiti 2–0 Tonga
  • Nordman  45+4'
  • Morgant  51'
 Report
Stade Fautaua, Pirae
Attendance: 500
Referee: Robinson Banga (Vanuatu)

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Solomon Islands 3 3 0 0 5 2 +3 9 Knockout stage
2  New Caledonia 3 1 1 1 11 5 +6 4
3  Fiji 3 1 1 1 4 3 +1 4
4  Vanuatu 3 0 0 3 2 12 −10 0
Source: OFC
New Caledonia 2–3 Solomon Islands
 Report
Stade Fautaua, Pirae
Attendance: 200
Referee: Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)
Vanuatu 1–3 Fiji
 Report
Stade Fautaua, Pirae
Attendance: 300
Referee: Campbell-Kirk Waugh (New Zealand)
Solomon Islands 1–0 Fiji
  • Maeobia  89'
 Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: David Yareboinen (Papua New Guinea)
New Caledonia 8–1 Vanuatu
  • Gope-Fenepej  13', 53'
  • Bako  23'
  • Rawor  49' (o.g.)
  • Richard  60', 63'
  • Wawia  68'
  • Longue  88'
 Report
  • Peli  84'
Attendance: 300
Referee: Kader Zitouni (Tahiti)
Solomon Islands 1–0 Vanuatu
 Report
Stade Fautaua, Pirae
Attendance: 150
Referee: Kader Zitouni (Tahiti)
Fiji 1–1 New Caledonia
 Report
Stade Fautaua, Pirae
Attendance: 250
Referee: Nick Waldron (New Zealand)

Knockout stage

Bracket
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
15 August – Pirae
 
 
 New Zealand2
 
18 August – Pirae
 
 New Caledonia1
 
 New Zealand1
 
15 August – Pirae
 
 Tahiti0
 
 Solomon Islands1
 
 
 Tahiti3
 
Third place
 
 
17 August – Pirae
 
 
 New Caledonia4
 
 
 Solomon Islands1

Semi-finals

Winners qualify for 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

New Zealand 2–1 New Caledonia
  • Mata  55'
  • Ebbinge  76'
 Report
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Kader Zitouni (Tahiti)
Solomon Islands 1–3 Tahiti
  • Mekawir  80'
 Report
  • Tehau  45+3'
  • Nordman  74'
  • Kaspard  78'
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Campbell-Kirk Waugh (New Zealand)

Third place match
New Caledonia 4–1 Solomon Islands
  • Wenisso  30'
  • Katrawa  71'
  • Longue  75'
  • Bako  89'
 Report
  • Wawane  81'
Attendance: 100
Referee: Nick Waldron (New Zealand)

Final
New Zealand 1–0 Tahiti
  • Zwetsloot  50'
 Report
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: David Yareboinen (Papua New Guinea)

Winners
 2018 OFC U-19 Championship 

New Zealand
Seventh title

Goalscorers

In the qualifying stage there were 14 goals scored in 6 matches, for an average of 2.33 goals per match. In the final tournament there were 68 goals scored in 16 matches, for an average of 4.25 goals per match. In total, there were 82 goals scored in 22 matches, for an average of 3.73 goals per match.

5 goals

4 goals

  • Charles Spragg

3 goals

2 goals

  • Ratu Dau
  • Paul Gope-Fenepej
  • Pierre Bako
  • Vita Longue
  • Titouan Richard
  • Dane Schnell
  • Abraham Allen
  • Samuelu Malo (in qualifying)
  • Patrick Taroga
  • Terai Bremond
  • Rainui Nordman
  • Atunaisa Namoa (in qualifying)
  • Mohammad Rajani (in qualifying)

1 goal

  • Roy Ledoux (in qualifying)
  • Teokotai Paio (in qualifying)
  • Conroy Tiputoa (in qualifying)
  • Kishan Sami
  • Tito Vodowaqa
  • Jean-Jacques Katrawa
  • Pierre Wawia
  • Raoul Wenisso
  • Boyd Curry
  • Matthew Conroy
  • Willem Ebbinge
  • Jordan Spain
  • Robert Tipelu
  • Trevor Zwetsloot
  • Jonathan Allen
  • Barthy Kerobin
  • Lino Houairia
  • Tuita Maeobia
  • Ali Mekawir
  • Absolom Wawane
  • Kavai'ei Morgant
  • Yann Vivi
  • Tuia Falepapalangi (in qualifying)
  • Tevita Kau (in qualifying)
  • Anthony Peli
  • Jordy Tasip

1 own goal

  • Lucas Bitaud (playing against Solomon Islands)
  • Max Mata (playing against New Caledonia)
  • Nelsin Rawor (playing against New Caledonia)

Awards

The Golden Ball Award was awarded to the most outstanding player of the tournament. The Golden Glove Award was awarded to the best goalkeeper of the tournament. The Golden Boot Award was awarded to the top scorer of the tournament. The Fair Play Award was awarded to the team with the best disciplinary record at the tournament.

Award Recipient
Golden Ball Joe Bell[11]
Golden Glove Moana Pito[11]
Golden Boot Max Mata[11]
Fair Play Award

Qualified teams for FIFA U-20 World Cup

The following two teams from OFC qualified for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Team Qualified on Previous appearances in FIFA U-20 World Cup1
 New Zealand15 August 2018[12]5 (2007, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
 Tahiti15 August 2018[12]1 (2009)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Notes
  1. The third place match was originally scheduled to be played on 18 August, 15:00, but was rescheduled to 17 August, 18:00, in order to accommodate travel arrangements.[10]

References
  1. "OFC Competition calendar set for 2018". Oceania Football Confederation. 31 October 2017.
  2. "OFC Executive meeting outcomes announced". Oceania Football Confederation. 23 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  3. "Competition calendar outlined". Oceania Football Confederation. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  4. "Paths laid for OFC youth tournaments". Oceania Football Confederation. 2 February 2018.
  5. "OFC U-19 & U-16 CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 OFFICIAL DRAW". YouTube. 2 February 2018.
  6. "Group B matches move to Stade Pater". Oceania Football Confederation. 8 August 2018.
  7. "Further change of match venue for U-19". Oceania Football Confederation. 10 August 2018.
  8. "OFC U-19 CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER 2018 COOK ISLANDS" (PDF). Oceania Football Confederation.
  9. "OFC U-19 CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 TAHITI" (PDF). Oceania Football Confederation.
  10. "Third place to be played Friday". Oceania Football Confederation. 17 August 2018.
  11. "Sport: NZ defend OFC U19 title". 20 August 2018.
  12. "Tahiti, New Zealand set for Poland 2019". FIFA.com. 16 August 2018.
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