OFC Men’s Nations Cup 2024 (Vanuatu)
We only have to play the OFC nations a short number of times in a 4-year cycle, and the Nations Cup is just one tournament window.
I'm sure these games are good preparation for the boys ahead of WCQs against similar teams, and also blooding some promising U23 players in the team ahead of the Olympics and their future AWs careers. Confidence and the experience will be valuable - unless we think the All Whites should only play top 60 and 70 teams which means not much scoring and not much winning.
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Would like Fiji in the final (yes making assumptions on the semi final result)
Also I'm surprised the Rufer doesn't seem to be in the conversation for captaincy or vice captaincy roles within this squad. He looks like a leader amongst these guys to me, even the way he congratulated Elijah Just on his goal felt like a Captain to me
Probably as simple as he might not make a full strength AWs squad with the depth in his position. They might want to develop the leadership qualities of mainstays like Libby
But PNG (GD -3) need Fiji to beat the Tahitians by 5 goals, to finish 2nd (play NZ in semis).
Expect the Tahitians to park the bus this afternoon in Fiji. Good practice for playing the AWs next Thursday. Being super defensive & well organised almost worked for them against the AWs at Qatar OFC tourney in 2022. Took a late Cacace strike for NZ to win 1-0.
https://www.oceaniafootball.com/papua-new-guinea-overcome-samoa-to-give-themselves-a-chance-of-progression/
Link to Fiji verus Tahiti
https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/content/fiji-v-tahiti-group-b-ofc-mens-nations-cup-2024/ad9e2b6e-da5f-432e-912b-e0625732e0cf
To be fair he’s made himself look like Maradonna a few times in the A league the last couple of seasons.
And on Rufes, you don’t have to limit leadership to the captain, as long as it’s not undermining in any way.
I think the captaincy is clearly decided on seniority in appearances & in how likely they are to start. Rufer hasn't made many All Whites appearances, nowhere near the likes of Cacace, Kosta, Smith, Boxall etc
Probably as simple as he might not make a full strength AWs squad with the depth in his position. They might want to develop the leadership qualities of mainstays like Libby
Only watched 10 mins, and the pitch looks a bit bumpy, but it's very dire. Neither team getting more than 3-4 passes together before just hoofing it forward, or a miracle low % pass tried. There has been at least one corner from each team not enter the field of play.
Really I think it's a total myth the Island teams are improving. Unless I'm missing some Tahiti or New Caledonia guys in France, over all the non NZ OFC teams you still have Kaltak and Krishna as the most high profile players. Le'ai who seems to have been promising for years is to play lowly NPL in South Australia.
The OFC WC qualifiers will be played predominantly in NZ later this year (Oct-Nov windows). I can see a full strength AW team in home conditions hitting double figures against some of these teams.
And really I don't see much changing in the future. Apart from PNG all the Island nations have small populations. Football ain't the main code in Fiji, Samoa & Tonga. Probably ain't in PNG (league). And despite no doubt a tonne of FIFA money coming in, they are poor and still lacking top facilities & quality coaching. Though yeah there has been a new Academy opened (with some Japanese money) in Honiara the last 12 months.
Edit - of course the OFC commentator is talking it up, but I remember the same guy calling the Women's Olympics qualifying final earlier this year. Ferns were up 4-0 or 5-0 nil at HT verus Solomons and he was saying something like SI needed to score next to have hope of a comeback blah blah blah. When it was blind Freddy obvious they were out classed and the only thing to discuss was the final Ferns winning margin.
Edit 2 - Fiji win 1-0. AWs to play Tahiti next Thursday in their semi.
Only watched 10 mins, and the pitch looks a bit bumpy, but it's very dire. Neither team getting more than 3-4 passes together before just hoofing it forward, or a miracle low % pass tried. There has been at least one corner from each team not enter the field of play.
Really I think it's a total myth the Island teams are improving. Unless I'm missing some Tahiti or New Caledonia guys in France, over all the non NZ OFC teams you still have Kaltak and Krishna as the most high profile players. Le'ai who seems to have been promising for years is to play lowly NPL in South Australia.
The OFC WC qualifiers will be played predominantly in NZ later this year (Oct-Nov windows). I can see a full strength AW team in home conditions hitting double figures against some of these teams.
And really I don't see much changing in the future. Apart from PNG all the Island nations have small populations. Football ain't the main code in Fiji, Samoa & Tonga. Probably ain't in PNG (league). And despite no doubt a tonne of FIFA money coming in, they are poor and still lacking top facilities & quality coaching. Though yeah there has been a new Academy opened (with some Japanese money) in Honiara the last 12 months.
Edit - of course the OFC commentator is talking it up, but I remember the same guy calling the Women's Olympics qualifying final earlier this year. Ferns were up 4-0 or 5-0 nil at HT verus Solomons and he was saying something like SI needed to score next to have hope of a comeback blah blah blah. When it was blind Freddy obvious they were out classed and the only thing to discuss was the final Ferns winning margin.
Edit 2 - Fiji win 1-0. AWs to play Tahiti next Thursday in their semi.
A 6-1 rout of the Solomons at Albany.
Monty Patterson & Sam Brotherton started that game. Also Themi, WeeMac, Deklan Wynne (LB) & Storm Roux (RB). Fair to say when at full strength we now have much better players. With Roux agruably not.
https://us.soccerway.com/matches/2017/09/01/oceania/wc-qualifying-oceania/new-zealand/solomon-islands/2466133/
First round OFC WC qualifying tourney in September window. Four lowest FIFA ranked OFC teams. Likely Samoa, Cooks, American Samoa & Tonga.
Winner of that tourney, joins 7 highest ranked OFC teams when Second round WC qualifying starts in October window. Most probably NZ, Solomons, PNG, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu & Tahiti with Samoa.
2 pools of 4 teams. So Samoa could be in the AWs pool. They just lost to Fiji 9-1. Even PNG got spanked 5-1 by Fiji.
Up next: Tahiti in the OFC Nations Cup Semi-Final 🇳🇿⚔️🇵🇫
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⚔️ Tahiti 🇵🇫
🏆 OFC Nations Cup Semi-Final
📅 Thursday 27 June
⏰ 11am Local / 12PM NZT KO
📌 VFF Freshwater Stadium pic.twitter.com/rFqw6pGl52
Going to be really interesting to see Bindon & Surman as a CB pair against high quality opposition at the Olympics, as it doesn't seem that likely that Boxall will make it to the next World Cup without losing a step. Though I would be very happy to be proven wrong, he is still quite the athlete & seems to still have a really good burst of pace, and if Pepe can still do it at the Euros at 41 then maybe Mike can do it at the age of 38 in 2026.
Refs and heat level the playing field as usual, although the quality of the pitch is much improved.
I think in general the islands are getting better, just not as quickly as us.
We haven’t yet won this competition. Wait till we play Fiji and if we nail them then sure - pile on then.
Refs and heat level the playing field as usual, although the quality of the pitch is much improved.
I think in general the islands are getting better, just not as quickly as us.
I've only seen the 2 AWs games, and small amounts of Fiji verus Tahiti plus SI verus Vanuatu.
I don't really think they are getting better at all. 2-5 passes, then hoof it forward, or try a low percentage pass which never comes off. No real evidence of some tactical plan to move it around, movements into space etc. Reliant on some piece of individual skill to create something.
Watching the crowd in Port Vila has been the most interesting vision so far.
Hopefully the Island teams will get better (I not optimstic they will) and them getting some more higher level friendlies like PNG & Vanuatu got in March will help. But those games are only planned to be every even numbered year, ie biennial in the March window.
AWs I think have looked good, esp the 2nd game against the hosts. No better than we should expect, and helped by scoring early in both games, to take some wind out of the opponent's sails. But yeah they have done the job in their 2 games to date. Bazeley has coached plenty of under age teams in the Islands, so he likely has some good nous & planning on what's required.
But yeah will be interesting how it goes if AWs don't score early in either semi or final. Might unfold a bit differently, but really it's hard to see them really troubled at all. Thankfully we have the Olympics around the corner to get a bit more excited about.
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Libby Cacace on camera duty snapping a pic of All Whites legend Simon Elliott 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6bbDO427hj
The photographer ⏭️ The photo 📸
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The photographer ⏭️ The photo 📸
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Libby Cacace on camera duty snapping a pic of All Whites legend Simon Elliott 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6bbDO427hj
It's the infrastructure that will either hasten or hinder the progress more than just having a brand spanking new professional league in place.
Unless there is serious investment in facilities, coaching, and all the tangible stuff, then the progress will be slow. Yes, the standard should improve, but it will hardly be an overnight thing. I think they've already alluded as much by saying this is in preparations for the 2030 & 2034 World Cups and beyond.
It's the infrastructure that will either hasten or hinder the progress more than just having a brand spanking new professional league in place.
Unless there is serious investment in facilities, coaching, and all the tangible stuff, then the progress will be slow. Yes, the standard should improve, but it will hardly be an overnight thing. I think they've already alluded as much by saying this is in preparations for the 2030 & 2034 World Cups and beyond.
100% this. You have to have good quality pitches. It's hard to play a more technical possession based style if you don't know if the incoming pass is going to hit your ankle, shin or knee.
Then the coaching. Watching Vanuatu a few times, it seems they get really excited when they get the ball, the sideline crowd starts yelling and screaming, then some player just loses all composure and tries that low % miracle pass. There is next to no pattern of slow possession buildup. No calm general in midfield trying to run the show.
Without improvements in these 2 above factors especially, I see next to no real noticeable improvement, even with a pro league setup.
I think some here have forgotten how bad OFC teams used to be (see Fiji vs AWs in the 80s etc).
I think some here have forgotten how bad OFC teams used to be (see Fiji vs AWs in the 80s etc).
But there have also been times since then when OFC teams have beaten the AWs. Vanuatu 2004 (neutral Adelaide) plus 'Horror in Honiara' 2012.
This severely weakened AWs team hasn't been troubled at all to date. Don't see that changing.
... normally you'd have the group that requires travel finishing first, so that on the day the other group finishes their matches, that first group is travelling. Doing this negates the advantage of an extra days rest.
The way they have it structured, and they were probably constrained by the late shift of pool B from Vanuatu to Fiji, is that not only do qualifiers from Pool A (NZ, Vanuatu) have an extra days rest, they also don't have to spend a day travelling, so in effect have a two day preparation advantage.
... normally you'd have the group that requires travel finishing first, so that on the day the other group finishes their matches, that first group is travelling. Doing this negates the advantage of an extra days rest.
The way they have it structured, and they were probably constrained by the late shift of pool B from Vanuatu to Fiji, is that not only do qualifiers from Pool A (NZ, Vanuatu) have an extra days rest, they also don't have to spend a day travelling, so in effect have a two day preparation advantage.
As well as the bye in the first round, as it turned out (obviously not something that could have been planned for, but skews the prep even more).
It's the infrastructure that will either hasten or hinder the progress more than just having a brand spanking new professional league in place.
Unless there is serious investment in facilities, coaching, and all the tangible stuff, then the progress will be slow. Yes, the standard should improve, but it will hardly be an overnight thing. I think they've already alluded as much by saying this is in preparations for the 2030 & 2034 World Cups and beyond.
100% this. You have to have good quality pitches. It's hard to play a more technical possession based style if you don't know if the incoming pass is going to hit your ankle, shin or knee.
Then the coaching. Watching Vanuatu a few times, it seems they get really excited when they get the ball, the sideline crowd starts yelling and screaming, then some player just loses all composure and tries that low % miracle pass. There is next to no pattern of slow possession buildup. No calm general in midfield trying to run the show.
Without improvements in these 2 above factors especially, I see next to no real noticeable improvement, even with a pro league setup.
I think there are larger challenges providing a pitch in a tropical climate too, than are faced in some of NZ.
How is the role out of artificial surfaces in NZ viewed? A successful trial/initiative?
Full focus on the OFC Nations Cup Semi-Final 🇳🇿⚔️🇵🇫 pic.twitter.com/MYfZBDo65B
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MATCHDAY MINUS ONE 🇳🇿⚔️🇵🇫
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The All Whites face Tahiti in the Semi-Final of the OFC Nations Cup tomorrow 🏆
⚔️ Tahiti 🇵🇫
⏰ 12PM NZT / 11AM Local
📅 Thursday 27 June
📌 VFF Freshwater Stadium
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I think some here have forgotten how bad OFC teams used to be (see Fiji vs AWs in the 80s etc).
But there have also been times since then when OFC teams have beaten the AWs. Vanuatu 2004 (neutral Adelaide) plus 'Horror in Honiara' 2012.
This severely weakened AWs team hasn't been troubled at all to date. Don't see that changing.
We take them lightly at our peril, especially when playing in the Islands.
That 13-0 NZ thrashing of Fiji in 1981 was really an anomaly and not typical.
(That Fijian side was ill disciplined, had been out drinking before the game etc.)
Fiji recovered from that 1981 low point to beat both NZ and Australia a few years later. They beat us in 1983 and in two friendlies in 1988 as well.
Australia lost to Fiji in a World Cup qualifier in 1988.
(They had in previous years even lost their first ever meeting with Fiji in 1977)
The year before that 13-0 thrashing, NZ only won one game at the 1980 OFC Nations Cup under John Adshead with many of the same players as in 1981 and failed to progress from our group.
We were thrashed 4-0 by Fiji and 3-1 by Tahiti and our sole win was over the Solomons who were weak in those days.
Tahiti has some good players who could cause us problems.
Especially Mateo Degrumelle who plays for Le Havre in Ligue 1 in France.
Signed for Le Havre last season from Amiens in Ligue 2.
Born in France with a French Polynesian mother and has entirely come up through the French system.
20 year-old right wing-back / midfielder who likes to get forward and score.
Two goals in the tournament so far.
His French pro career stats:
![](https://tmssl.akamaized.net/images/wappen/profil/16671.png?lm=1688037499)
![](https://tmssl.akamaized.net/images/wappen/profil/12767.png?lm=1688037499)
![](https://tmssl.akamaized.net/images/wappen/profil/15439.png?lm=1590839896)
![](https://tmssl.akamaized.net/images/wappen/profil/1416.png?lm=1688037499)
(Ligue 2)
Other useful Tahiti players:
Eddy Kaspard, 23 year-old striker who has played in France since 2020
(Trialed with Saint Etienne and Auxerre in recent years)
3 goals in 4 games for Tahiti last year.
Teaonui Tehau - 31 year-old striker, 27 goals in 38 internationals.
Terai Bremond - 23 year-old midfielder formerly at Toulouse in Ligue 1.
AWs have scored early goals against both Solomons & Vanuatu and coasted from there. If it's more like 2022, and scoreless for a long time, that will frustrate a young AWs side and give the Tahitians a sniff.
On the other hand the AWs agains score early, and being a knock out semi Tahiti will have to be more attacking.
AWs have scored early goals against both Solomons & Vanuatu and coasted from there. If it's more like 2022, and scoreless for a long time, that will frustrate a young AWs side and give the Tahitians a sniff.
On the other hand the AWs agains score early, and being a knock out semi Tahiti will have to be more attacking.
I think we can cruise if we score early - same thing helped ACFC in the Champions League final.
AWs have scored early goals against both Solomons & Vanuatu and coasted from there. If it's more like 2022, and scoreless for a long time, that will frustrate a young AWs side and give the Tahitians a sniff.
On the other hand the AWs agains score early, and being a knock out semi Tahiti will have to be more attacking.
To be fair, that game was an absolute travesty. Tahiti would have had to abandon that game due to lack of players if any competent referee team was appointed; hard to believe anyone else would allow such blatant endangerment of our players. We played very afraid in that one, well below our standards.
Obviously we can't expect any special treatment in the semifinal tomorrow, but no reason to think it'll go as badly as the last game