OFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2004

The inaugural OFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament took place in 2004 to decide the OFC representative for the women’s football tournament at the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece. It was hosted by Fiji, with all matches played at Govind Park in Ba, and was contested between three nations in a round-robin format. Hosts Fiji were joined by Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea opened up with a victory over Fiji, but were trounced 10-0 by Australia, who secured qualification for the 2004 Olympics with a 7-0 win over Fiji in the tournament’s final match. Australia’s Kate Gill and April Mann finished as the tournament’s joint top goal-scorers with four.

At the 2004 Olympic women’s football tournament in Greece, Australia punched above their weight in a difficult group. Their opening match saw them take on Brazil, a 36th minute goal from Brazil legend Marta was all that separated the sides, as they loss 1-0. Up against hosts Greece, Australia secured a brilliant 1-0 victory to put them in with a chance of reaching the knockout stages.

Needing a draw to all but confirm a spot in the quarter-finals Australia’s Joanne Peters did just that scoring 82nd minute to secure a 1-1 draw against powerhouse USA. In the final eight they took on Sweden, after going down two-nil in the opening-half, Australia pulled one back early in the second-half but ultimately came undone in a 2-1 defeat.