OFC Beach Soccer Championship 2009
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The third edition of the OFC Beach Soccer Championship took place in 2009 with the winner also qualifying for the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™ in the United Arab Emirates. The tournament was held at Temae Beach in Moorea, Tahiti, and was contested between four nations. All teams played each other in a round-robin format, before the top two qualified for the final. Hosts Tahiti were joined by two-time defending champions, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji.
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Vanuatu opened the tournament with a 4-2 victory over the Solomon Islands in a repeat of the two previous finals and finished atop the standings for the third time running, with a 5-4 win over Fiji, and a 5-3 victory over hosts Tahiti. The Solomon Islands joined them in the final once more, picking up a crucial 4-2 victory over Tahiti, before securing their spot with a big 11-2 win over Fiji.
For the third consecutive edition, Vanuatu was defeated in the final despite finishing the group stage unbeaten, losing 1-0 to the Solomon Islands in a hard-fought tussle. Gibson Purasi scored the decisive goal at Temae Beach to secure Solomon Islands a third consecutive OFC Beach Soccer Championship, booking their place at the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™. Hosts Tahiti finished third with a 6-3 victory over Fiji in the third-place play-off.
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The Solomon Islands went on to secure a stunning 7-6 upset win over 2006 runners-up Uruguay in their opening match of the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup™ in the United Arab Emirates, arguably their best-ever result. Despite the victory though, they weren’t able to progress to the knockout stage for the first time, suffering defeats to the hosts and Portugal in a group stage exit.