Papua New Guinea will face Tonga in the day’s first match at 12:00pm before American Samoa square off against Fiji at 2:30pm and Solomon Islands meet Vanuatu at 5:00pm. The final round of group stage matches are set to be played on 20 March with the semi-finals taking place on 22 March and the 3rd/4th play-off and final on 24 March.
Tickets for matches 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.
Papua New Guinea vs. Tonga – 12:00pm, Sunday 18 March
The nature of the three-team Group B means this match is a must-win for Papua New Guinea as victory should secure them a semi-final spot. Frank Farina’s side performed well in their loss to New Zealand on the opening day, frustrating the favourites with their well-drilled defensive shape and even causing the Oly Whites a couple of scares at the other end in the tight 1-0 loss. A relaxed Farina was not unduly concerned by the defeat as the display was pleasing and the result not fatal to their chances but will want to find the net with as much regularity as possible tomorrow to get some confidence in front of goal ahead of the semi-finals. Striker Jamal Seeto passed up Papua New Guinea’s best opportunity to score against New Zealand but troubled the Oly Whites defence at times with his pace and is likely to be Farina’s main attacking weapon against Tonga. Pint-sized playmaker Emmanuel Simon pulls the strings for Papua New Guinea in midfield and Tonga will have to close down his space to stand a chance of taking something from the game. Tonga had the bye first up so are yet to take the field but coach Timote Moleni is aware his players have a massive task on their hands in Taupo. He will look to the experience of his squad’s seven senior internationals to make the team hard to break down but a positive result against Papua New Guinea would be a major achievement. Either way, history will be made tomorrow as the countries have never faced each other in Olympic qualifying.
In their own words
“The game has to be played and we’ve got to win it, it’s as simple as that. If we win we’ll be in the semi-finals, baring anything happening to New Zealand against Tonga. So it’s an important game for us and we always knew that from the beginning. I think we can take a lot of positives out of yesterday’s match and hopefully we play a bit better than we did – we certainly can.” – Frank Farina, Papua New Guinea coach
“Our preparations have gone well and there is a good feeling in the team. It’s going to be very hard for us because both teams in the group are very good but we came here to play and do well, not to lose. We have a lot of national team players which is very helpful for us. We don’t know much about Papua New Guinea but we know football is very popular there whereas we are a rugby country and that makes a difference.” – Timote Moleni, Tonga coach
American Samoa vs. Fiji – 2:30pm, Sunday 18 March
Fiji are likely to have too much class for American Samoa but a mere victory may not be enough as goal differential could prove crucial in Group A. Imdad Ali’s side will therefore be out to score as many times as possible to make sure they eventually progress through to the semi-finals and will fancy their chances of a goal-fest after watching Vanuatu tear apart the American Samoa defence on the opening day. Fiji also begun with a win, a vital 2-0 victory over fellow title contenders Solomon Islands, but a similar scoreline would come as a disappointment tomorrow. None of Fiji’s attacking players got on the scoresheet against the Solomons – the goals being provided by midfielder Esava Naqeleca and defender Archie Watkins – and Ali will be keen for his strikers to find the net to get their eye in ahead of the key meeting with Vanuatu on Tuesday. American Samoa endured a long afternoon against Vanuatu and coach Rupeni Luvu will not want to see a repeat. But he can take heart from the fact that Vanuatu are regarded as one of the best sides at the tournament and his men were able to keep them scoreless for nearly an hour-long period during that defeat. A sluggish start cost American Samoa – they were four goals behind by the 23rd minute – and they cannot afford to be so slow out of the blocks again. American Samoa have taken part in just one previous Olympic qualifying campaign, in 2004, and did not face Fiji in that tournament.
In their own words
“Fiji play a physical game like we do so hopefully we can match up with them. We’ll need to be organised on defence and our young goalkeeper will need a good game but overall we’re looking forward to the challenge.” – Rupeni Luvu, American Samoa coach
“We have gone back to the drawing board and looked at some of the mistakes we made, hopefully we’ll be able to improve on those tomorrow. I don’t know much about American Samoa but all the teams have come well prepared and we will have to see how the game goes.”- Imdad Ali, Fiji coach
Solomon Islands vs. Vanuatu – 5:00pm, Sunday 18 March
This encounter is undoubtedly the highlight of the day as it brings two of Oceania’s most football-mad nations together and has little chance of being lopsided. The teams have plenty in common as they play in a similar style and possess plenty of skill and pace but are coming off contrasting results. The Vanuatu ‘Dream Team’ got their campaign off to an ideal start with an 8-0 dismantling of American Samoa while the ‘Solympics’ side put in an underwhelming showing in its 2-0 loss to Fiji. The Solomons started brightly enough in that match to create several opportunities in the opening quarter but failed to take any of them and posed little attacking threat after falling behind in the 18th minute. It is the offensive part of the game that coach Luke Eroi is eager to see an improvement in but it will not be easy to find a way through a Vanuatu defence well marshaled by unflappable centre back Brian Kaltack, who enjoyed a three-month spell training with the Wellington Phoenix this season. Of further concern to Eroi is the good form of Vanuatu pair Robert Tasso and Sailas Namatak, who both scored hat-tricks against American Samoa. The attacking riches available to coach Richard Iwai are such that he was even able to leave striker Jean Kaltack, one of the most promising prospects in the Pacific, out of the starting line-up on day one and used him only as a second-half substitute. Kaltack was Vanuatu’s top scorer at both the U-17 and U-20 OFC championships last year and, provided he takes the field, will be desperate to get off the mark.
In their own words
“We know all about Vanuatu and it is a game we have to get a result in to put us back into the tournament. They play a similar style to us but we will have to work very hard to beat them. We will need to improve our finishing because that was a problem against Fiji.” – Luke Eroi, Solomon Islands coach
“Solomon Islands have come here to go all the way, just the same as us, but we will see at the final whistle who wants it more. They play good football and will be fired up after their loss to Fiji so we’ll have to be at our best.” – Richard Iwai, Vanuatu coach