American Samoa will meet Solomon Islands at 12:00pm before Tonga and New Zealand square off at 2:30pm to decide who will advance from Group B along with Papua New Guinea.
The action at Owen Delany Park concludes with the Group A top-of-the-table clash at 5:00pm between Fiji and Vanuatu, who have both secured their place in the final four.
The semi-finals are set to take place on Thursday 22 March with the 3rd/4th play-off and final to follow on Saturday 24 March.
The winner will go on to represent Oceania in the Men’s Football Tournament at the Olympic Games, to be held in the United Kingdom from July 25 to August 11.
Tickets for match day three can be purchased from the gate and are priced at $10 for adults and $5 for teenagers/over-65s, while ages 12 and under can enter for free.
Here’s a look at the action that’s in store.
American Samoa vs. Solomon Islands – 12:00pm Tuesday 20 March
The Solomon Islands, a nation with a proud footballing history, will be bitterly disappointed to be out of contention at this stage. Incredibly, the ‘Solympics’ side are yet to score a goal at the tournament after suffering 2-0 and 1-0 defeats at the hands of Fiji and Vanuatu respectively. The match against American Samoa presents an opportunity for Luke Eroi’s squad to find their feet and reignite the attacking spark that has led some to call them the ‘Brazilians of the Pacific.’ Micah Lea’alafa created plenty of opportunities against Vanuatu and will look to his fellow futsal internationals Coleman Makau and Jeffery Bule to help break through the opposition defence, hopefully with better reward for their efforts. But underdogs American Samoa also have a point to prove as they look to finish the tournament on a high. The athletic Shalom Luani, 17, provides pace at the back but can also be a striking option for Rupeni Luvu. AJ Tualaulelei has been strong in midfield and will look to add to his goal tally after finding the back of the net against Fiji. The two sides have never met in Olympic qualifying.
In their own words
“Every team in our pool is very good, which has not made it easy for us. There is nothing riding on our game with Solomon Islands now but we’ll try to play to our best. I think we have improved from the first game to the second game so we will try to continue that progress. We need to hold onto the ball better but we also need to be more solid defensively as we have been conceding too many goals.” – American Samoa coach Rupeni Luvu
“The race is over for us now so all that’s left is to complete the tournament. The outcome doesn’t really matter but we have to play the game. It would be good to finish with a win and score some goals though so that is what we will be trying to do.” – Solomon Islands coach Luke Eroi
Tonga vs. New Zealand – 2:30pm Tuesday 20 March
The last time these two sides met at an OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifier was in 2004 when New Zealand won 2-0. Tonga will need a reverse score line this time around, with a two-goal advantage being the minimum requirement to get through to the semi-finals on Thursday. But that will be a huge ask for Timote Moleni’s side against their more fancied opposition. Tonga’s mission is made somewhat easier with Marco Rojas ruled out, Dakota Lucas missing through suspension and Ian Hogg under an injury cloud, but the Kiwis still have plenty of fire power. Waitakere United’s Sean Lovemore did well off the bench against Papua New Guinea with Greg Draper also an imposing figure up front for the Oly Whites. It remains to be seen whether the bye has helped New Zealand after what coach Neil Emblen described as a patchy performance on day one. The pride and patriotism of the Tongans meanwhile is likely to be stronger than ever after the news that King Tupou V has passed away. A minute’s silence will be observed before all three matches on Tuesday out of respect for the late King.
In their own words
“We know it’s going to be very hard because we are aware of how good New Zealand are. But we will do our best to challenge them. Sean Lovemore, the striker that came off the bench to score against Papua New Guinea, is very good so we will have to watch out for him and they are also very solid defensively. We need to get better at attacking so have been emphasising this.” – Tonga coach Timote Moleni
“We just want to get a bit more confidence from what we saw against Papua New Guinea in the first game and crank it up even more. I was a bit happier after I watched that game for the second time and it wasn’t as tense because we knew the result. We’re just looking to build on that and get the momentum up before the semi-finals.” – New Zealand coach Neil Emblen
Fiji vs. Vanuatu – 5:00pm Tuesday 20 March
Both Fiji and Vanuatu are assured a spot in the final four but there is still plenty riding on this group fixture as the winner could potentially avoid favourites New Zealand in the semis. The forecast is for rain, which could advantage the physical Fijians, but they will have their work cut out for them to find a way through Seiloni Iaruel who has been in outstanding form and is the only goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in Group A. At just 16, Iaruel is quickly making a name for himself and will likely be a permanent fixture in the senior side before long. Vanuatu are also well served on defence by Brian Kaltack, who will need to thwart Fiji’s aerial threats, as well as left fullback Kevin Shem who is handy from dead ball situations. Bernard Daniel, Robert Tasso, Roddy Lenga and super sub Jean Kaltack provide Richard Iwai with plenty of attacking options. Fiji meanwhile are well led by their captain Esava Naqeleca who is in the running for golden boot with three goals to his name. They also have history on their side with a 2-0 victory over Vanuatu in the previous edition four years ago while the spoils were shared during the round-robin qualifier in 1996.
In their own words
“Vanuatu is a very good side and it should be a good game because we will prepare well. I am expecting the boys to do well. They have a few very good midfielders and a good striker so we will have to work hard to contain them by marking tightly and closing their space down.” – Fiji coach Imdad Ali
“We are here to try to win all the games and are taking every match as a final. So we will approach the Fiji match just like we would the final. I have watched them play and they are very physical but technically a bit slow. If we play our own game and keep to our system then I have no doubt we can win the match.” Vanuatu coach Richard Iwai
For the full schedule and results click here