11 nations, one dream – to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 26™ in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
The journey starts for four OFC member nations in Apia, Samoa, on Friday September 6, with Match Day 1 in the FIFA World Cup 26™ – Oceania Qualifiers.
For the first time in the nearly 100-year history of the FIFA World Cup™, a team from the Oceania region has direct entry to the biggest football tournament on earth, which is being expanded to 48 teams for the tournament in 2026.
While the winner of the Oceania Qualifiers in March next year will qualify for the FIFA World Cup 26™, the runner-up will earn a second chance to qualify via the FIFA Intercontinental Playoff Tournament.
SO, HOW DOES IT WORK?
Round One
OFC’s four lowest ranked teams, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga gather in Apia, Samoa for Round One. The two winners on Match Day 1 meet on Match Day 2, to determine which team advances to the group stage, where they will be drawn into Group B.
The FIFA World Cup 26 ™ official draw held in Zurich in July determined two groups of four, with New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji drawn in Group A and New Zealand, Tahiti, Vanuatu and the winner of Round One drawn into Group B.
Round Two
The FIFA international window in October will see Suva, Fiji host Group A matches and Port Vila, Vanuatu host Group B matches.
Make a note in your diary for Thursday, October 10, for back-to-back matches in Suva with New Caledonia playing Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands meeting Fiji in Group A.
The next day, New Zealand and Tahiti meet in Port Vila and on Saturday, October 12 VFF Freshwater Stadium will be packed to the rafters as Vanuatu play the winner of Round One.
November’s FIFA international window will see the group stage completed, with New Zealand and Papua New Guinea hosting the final round of matches, after which the top two teams will advance to the semi-finals.
Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea will host Match Day 4 in Group A on Thursday, November 14 and Match Day 5 on Sunday November 17.
Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand will host Match Day 4 in Group B on Friday, November 15 and Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland will host Match Day 5 on Monday, November 18.
Semi-finals and Final
The FIFA international window in March 2025 will see the Oceania Qualifiers conclude in New Zealand and determine which side qualifies directly for the FIFA World Cup 26™.
The winner of Group A will face the runner-up of Group B and the winner of Group B will face the runner-up of Group A in the semi-finals, on Friday, March 21, before the two winners meet in what shapes to be one of the biggest matches in OFC history on Monday, March 24, with the winner earning direct entry to the FIFA World Cup 26™.
The runner up will earn a second chance to qualify for the FIFA World Cup™ via the FIFA Intercontinental Playoff – a six-nation tournament to determine the final two qualifying teams.