OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2004

Australia Team at Olympic Football Tournament Athens 2004 – Mens Event – Quarter Final – Australia v Iraq – Pankritio Stadium – 21/8/04 (Photo Credit: Action Images / John Sibley)

The fifth edition of the OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament took place in 2004 to decide the OFC representative for the men’s football tournament at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The tournament was held in venues across Australia and New Zealand, before the final was played over two legs in a home-and-away format between the two finalists.

Both Australia and New Zealand won all of their group matches to advance to the final, where Australia took the advantage after a 2-0 win at home in Sydney in the first leg with goals from Jonathan McKain and Ahmad Elrich. New Zealand fought hard for a 1-1 draw in the second leg in Auckland, but Australia won 3-1 on aggregate to claim their third OFC Men’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament title and qualify for the Olympic Games in Athens.

A big 5-1 victory over Serbia and Montenegro, alongside a 1-1 draw with Tunisia was enough for Australia to qualify for the quarter-finals for the third time at the men’s football tournament at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. However, they failed to get past Iraq though, suffering a 1-0 defeat and exiting at the final eight.

Eugene Galekovic from Australia punches clear under pressure from Younis Mahmoud at Olympic Football Tournament Athens 2004 – Quarter Final – Pankritio Stadium (Photo Credit: Action Images / John Sibley)