OFC Men’s Nations Cup 2024
The OFC Men’s Nations Cup returned following an eight-year, COVID-19-enforced hiatus, as the best men’s national teams in Oceania met for the first time since 2016.
Vanuatu had originally been chosen as the host, but due to logistical challenges, the tournament was co-hosted, with Vanuatu sharing the honour with Fiji.
Group A, featuring Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Zealand would be held in Port Vila, with Group B – comprised of Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa and Papua New Guinea – based in Suva.
Due to civil unrest in their homeland, New Caledonia had withdrawn from the tournament, leaving Group A with three teams. New Zealand were the dominant force, winning both matches comfortably, 3-0 over Solomon Islands before a 4-0 victory against Vanuatu.
Vanuatu secured a narrow 1-0 win over Solomon Islands in their fixture to ensure they would join the Kiwis in the semi-finals.
Group B was a competitive affair, with co-hosts Fiji the outstanding side in Suva. The Roy Krishna-inspired Bula Boys won all three matches, beating Tahiti 1-0 in their final group game to confirm their place at the top of the section.
The defeat proved a minor setback for Tahiti, who – thanks to results elsewhere – joined Fiji in the semi-finals, having registered a win and a draw in their previous matches before defeat to the co-hosts.
The tournament then shifted to Vanuatu, where New Zealand continued their dominant form in the semi-finals, seeing off Tahiti 5-0, with Kostas Barbarouses and Ben Waine each grabbing a brace to seal a place in the final.
The second semi-final was a much tighter contest, with Vanuatu holding off Fiji 2-1 to secure their place alongside New Zealand in the final. Jason Thomas scored the winner with a little over half an hour left to send the home fans wild.
Tahiti recovered from their semi-final disappointment to overcome Fiji in the Playoff for 3rd place. Two goals from the excellent Teaonui Tehau gave Tahiti third place, having initially gone a goal down thanks to Roy Krishna’s strike.
In the final, Vanuatu suffered an early setback when Cam Howieson opened the scoring for New Zealand after just two minutes. Vanuatu recovered well though and were resolute in their defence for much of the remainder of the final.
A red card shown to Timothy Boulet, fifteen minutes from time, put paid to any real hopes of a comeback and New Zealand duly capitalised, scoring twice late on through Jesse Randall and Max Mata respectively to clinch the title for New Zealand.
New Zealand’s Max Crocombe was awarded the Golden Glove as the tournament’s best goalkeeper, whilst the Kiwis also took home the Fair Play Award. Their captain, Liberato Cacace won Golden Ball and Fiji’s Roy Krishna the Golden Boot.