Oceanian nations at the FIFA World Cup

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This article is about the men's teams at the FIFA World Cup. For the women's teams at the FIFA Women's World Cup, see Oceanian nations at the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Association football is one of the popular sports in Oceania, and 2 members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) have competed at the sport's biggest event – the men's FIFA World Cup.

Overview

1930
Uruguay
(13) 		1934
Italy
(16) 		1938
France
(15) 		1950
Brazil
(13) 		1954
Switzerland
(16) 		1958
Sweden
(16) 		1962
Chile
(16) 		1966
England
(16) 		1970
Mexico
(16) 		1974
West Germany
(16) 		1978
Argentina
(16) 		1982
Spain
(24) 		1986
Mexico
(24) 		1990
Italy
(24) 		1994
United States
(24) 		1998
France
(32) 		2002
South Korea
Japan
(32) 		2006
Germany
(32) 		2010
South Africa
(32) 		2014
Brazil
(32) 		2018
Russia
(32) 		2022
Qatar
(32) 		2026
Canada
Mexico
United States
(48) 		2030
Morocco
Portugal
Spain
(48) 		2034
Saudi Arabia
(48) 		Total
Teams 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Australia[a] 0 New Zealand[a] 0 0 0 0 0 Australia[b] New Zealand 0 0 0 4
Top 16 — — — — — — — — — — — 0[c] 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Top 8 — 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Top 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Top 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1st 0
2nd 0
3rd 0
4th 0
Country # Years Best result
 Australia[d]
2
 1974, 2006, (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022) R2
 New Zealand  
2
 1982, 2010 R1
  • Bold indicates year(s) of best finish

Results

Team results by tournament

The team ranking in each tournament is according to FIFA.[1][2][3] The rankings, apart from the top four positions (top two in 1930), are not a result of direct competition between the teams; instead, teams eliminated in the same round are ranked by their full results in the tournament.

For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

FIFA World Cup results of OFC members
Team 1930
Uruguay
(13) 		1934
Italy
(16) 		1938
France
(15) 		1950
Brazil
(13) 		1954
Switzerland
(16) 		1958
Sweden
(16) 		1962
Chile
(16) 		1966
England
(16) 		1970
Mexico
(16) 		1974
West Germany
(16) 		1978
Argentina
(16) 		1982
Spain
(24) 		1986
Mexico
(24) 		1990
Italy
(24) 		1994
United States
(24) 		1998
France
(32) 		2002
South Korea
Japan
(32) 		2006
Germany
(32) 		2010
South Africa
(32) 		2014
Brazil
(32) 		2018
Russia
(32) 		2022
Qatar
(32) 		2026
Canada
Mexico
United States
(48) 		2030
Morocco
Portugal
Spain
(48) 		2034
Saudi Arabia
(48) 		Total Qual.
Comp.
 Australia[d] — • • R1
14th		 • • • • • • • R2
16th		 R1
21st		 R1
30th		 R1
30th		 R2
11th		 TBD TBD TBD 2 11
Member of AFC
 New Zealand — • • • R1
23rd		 • • • • • • R1
22nd		 • • • TBD TBD TBD 2 14
Legend

Tournament standings

Team Champions Finals Semi-finals Quarter-finals 2nd Round
 Australia 0 0 0 0 1
  • Quarter-finals = knockout round of 8: 1934–1938, 1954–1970, and 1986–present; second group stage, top 8: 1974–1978
  • 2nd Round = second group stage, top 12: 1982; knockout round of 16: 1986–present

Overall team records

As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in

penalty shoot-outs
are counted as draws. 3 points per win, 1 point per draw and 0 points per loss. Table only includes appearances of teams when qualified as members of OFC.

As of 2022 FIFA World Cup
Team Part Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Australia 2 7 1 2 4 5 11 −6 5
 New Zealand 2 6 0 3 3 4 14 –10 3

Appearances

Ranking of teams by number of appearances

Only includes appearances of teams when qualified as members of OFC.

Team Appearances Record streak Active streak Debut Most recent Best result
 Australia 2 1 0 1974 2006 Round of 16 (2006)
 New Zealand 2 1 0 1982 2010 Group stage

Team debuts

Year Debutants Total
1974  Australia 1
1982  New Zealand 1
Total 2

Not qualified

10 of the 11 active FIFA and OFC members have never qualified for the final tournament.[4][5][6]

Country Number of
Qualifying
attempts 		1930
Uruguay 		1934
Italy 		1938
France 		1950
Brazil 		1954
Switzerland 		1958
Sweden 		1962
Chile 		1966
England 		1970
Mexico 		1974
West Germany 		1978
Argentina 		1982
Spain 		1986
Mexico 		1990
Italy 		1994
United States 		1998
France 		2002
South Korea
Japan 		2006
Germany 		2010
South Africa 		2014
Brazil 		2018
Russia 		2022
Qatar 		2026
Canada
Mexico
United States
2030
Morocco
Portugal
Spain
 2034
Saudi Arabia
 Fiji 10 — • • • • • • • • • • TBD TBD TBD
 Solomon Islands 8 — • • • • • • • • TBD TBD TBD
 Tahiti 8 — • • • • • • • • TBD TBD TBD
 Cook Islands 7 — • • • • • • •× TBD TBD TBD
 Vanuatu 7 — • • • • • • • × TBD TBD TBD
 Samoa[e] 6 — × • • • • • • × TBD TBD TBD
 Tonga 6 — • • • • • • × TBD TBD TBD
 American Samoa 5 — • • • • • × TBD TBD TBD
 New Caledonia 5 — • • • • • TBD TBD TBD
 Papua New Guinea 5 — • • × • • • TBD TBD TBD
Legend
TBD To be determined (may still qualify for upcoming tournament)
• Did not qualify
•× Withdrew or disqualified during qualification (after playing matches)
× Withdrew before qualification / Banned / Entry not accepted by FIFA
Did not enter
— Not a FIFA member

Summary of performance

This table shows for each world cup the number of countries at the World Cup, the number of entries (#E) from around the world including any rejections and withdrawals, the number of Oceanian entries (#A), how many of those Oceanian entries withdrew (#A-) before/during qualification or were rejected by FIFA, the Oceanian representatives at the World Cup finals, the number of World Cup Qualifiers each Oceanian representative had to play to get to the World Cup (#WCQ), the furthest stage they reached, their results, and their coaches.

Year Host Size #E #A #A- Oceanian
finalists		 #WCQ Stage Results Coach
1930 Uruguay 13 13 0 0 –
1934 Italy 16 32 0 0 –
1938 France 15 37 0 0 –
1950 Brazil 13 34 0 0 –
1954 Switzerland 16 45 0 0 –
1958 Sweden 16 56 0 0 –
1962 Chile 16 56 0 0 –
1966 England 16 74
1[7]
 0 -
1970 Mexico 16 75 2[8] 0 -
1974 West Germany 16 99 2[8] 0  Australia 11 Group stage lost 0–2  East Germany, lost 0–3  West Germany, drew 0–0  Chile
Ralé Rašić
1978 Argentina 16 107 2[8] 0 -
1982 Spain 24 109 3[8] 0  New Zealand 15 Group stage lost 2–5  Scotland, lost 0–3  Soviet Union, lost 0–4  Brazil England John Adshead
1986 Mexico 24 121 4[9] 0 -
1990 Italy 24 116 5[10] 0 -
1994 USA 24 147 7 1[11] -
1998 France 32 174 10 0 -
2002 South Korea and Japan 32 199 10 2[12] -
2006 Germany 32 197 12 0  Australia 9 Round of 16 won 3–1  Japan, lost 0–2  Brazil, drew 2–2  Croatia
R16: lost 0–1  Italy		 Netherlands Guus Hiddink
2010 South Africa 32 204 11 0  New Zealand 8 Group stage drew 1–1  Slovakia, drew 1–1  Italy, drew 0–0  Paraguay New Zealand Ricki Herbert
2014 Brazil 32 207 11 0 -
2018 Russia 32 210 11 0 -
2022 Qatar 32 210 11 5[13] -

Competitive record

1930–1970: World Cup without Oceania

Until 1966 Oceanian nations did not enter the FIFA World Cup.

Rhodesia and advanced to the Final Round. New Zealand in the Second Round group 2 lost by Israel
and withdrew. In the Final Round Australia lost on aggregate 1–2 by Israel.

1974: First Oceanian team at the World Cup

New Zealand, and Indonesia. New Zealand lost all three matches. The Socceroos, having won this tournament, then played and won a two-legged fixture against one of the Socceroos' biggest rivals Iran, managing to hold on to a slim overall lead in front of 120,000 Iranian fans in the Azadi Stadium, Tehran, during the second leg.[14] South Korea, having itself knocked out Israel at the equivalent stage, was then drawn as Australia's final hurdle. Over the course of another two-legged playoff the scores remained even, and so a deciding match was played in Hong Kong. Australia won this match, through a Jimmy Mackay
goal, scored off a free kick. Australia were drawn into Group A consisting of hosts and favourites West Germany, East Germany and Chile. Australia held the East German's 0–0 at half-time before defender Colin Curran deflected the ball into his own net early in the second half. East German striker Joachim Streich then secured the points with a goal halfway through the second half, with the game finishing 2–0. Australia lost their following match to West Germany 3–0 with goals to Wolfgang Overath, Bernhard Cullmann and star-striker Gerd Müller. Having lost both their opening games, Australia could not proceed further in the tournament and the Australians managed to hold Chile to a scoreless draw, seeing Australia earn its first ever World Cup finals point. It was to be the last appearance for the Australian team until the World Cup tournament returned to Germany more than three decades later.

1978: The successful qualification

A total of 21 AFC and OFC teams and Israel

New Zealand
competed in Group 5. New Zealand remained 2 place, Australia 1. Australia advanced to the Final Round and remained 4th place of 5 nations.

1982: New Zealand qualifying to the World Cup

A total of 21 AFC and OFC teams entered the competition. However,

China PR and New Zealand finished level on points and goal difference, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would qualify. Match between New Zealand – China was played in Singapore
. New Zealand won 2–1 and participated in the World Cup for the first time. New Zealand lost 2–5
Brazil
and were eliminated. At the ranking finished 23 of 24.

1986–2002: Five World Cups in a row without Oceania

In the 1986 World Cup qualification the Oceanian zone was allocated 0.5 places (out of 24) in the final tournament. Two OFC teams entered the competition. Moreover,

Australia
lost 0–2 on aggregate and did not qualifying to the World Cup.

In the 1990 World Cup qualification entered five OFC teams. There were two rounds of play. In the first round Israel received a bye and advanced to the final round directly. The remaining four teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. Australia and New Zealand easily won and go to the second round. Israel won Second Round, eliminated Australia and New Zealand.

In order to qualify for USA 94, Oceanian nations had to endure 3 playoff stages. A total of 7 teams entered the competition. However, Samoa withdrew. The first stage was the Oceania playoff. Australia and New Zealand finished on top of Group 1 and Group 2.

New Zealand in the Oceania playoff. The first leg was played in New Zealand on 30 May 1993, with Australia winning the game 1–0. Australia won the return leg 3–0 to win the playoff stage with a 4–0 aggregate score. Having won the Oceania playoff, Australia now had to win a 2-leg playoff against Canada, the CONCACAF runner up. The first leg was played in Canada on 31 July 1993, with the Canadians winning the 1st leg 2–1. In the second leg, which was played on 15 August 1993 in Sydney, Australia managed a 2–1 win which saw the game go into extra time after a 3–3 aggregate scoreline. The game went into a penalty shootout which was won by Australia 4–1. Australia then qualified for the 2-leg playoff against the South American group 1 runner up, Argentina. The first leg was played in Sydney on 31 October 1993. The 1st leg ended with a 1–1 draw. On 17 November 1993, the second leg was played in Argentina, with Argentina winning 1–0 and denying Australia a place at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. After the game Argentine legend Diego Maradona was so impressed with the Socceroos performance that he said to then captain Paul Wade "Your tears of pain, will one day be tears of joy". [citation needed] Just to qualify for the 1994 World Cup Australia would have had to beat Argentina, the runners-up from the 1990 World Cup, and ranked 9th
in the world at that time.

At 1998 World Cup qualification Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tahiti, the four best ranked teams according to FIFA, received byes and advanced to the Second Round directly.

Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Cook Islands first time participated at the FIFA World Cup qualification. Australia and New Zealand easily won in the Second Round and go to the Final round. Australia won 5–0 on aggregate. After winning the qualifying tournament, Australia had to play Iran over two legs in one week, with the winner progressing to the World Cup finals to be held in France. Australia, under coach Terry Venables
, tied the away leg 1–1 and looked like they were going to proceed to the finals in France, initially leading 2–0 in the home game in Melbourne, until Iran managed to score two late goals to tie the game and progress to the finals on the away goals rule. This match has been named one of the most memorable matches by many of the retired Australian and Iranian football players. At the time the crowd that packed the MCG was the highest ever for an association football match in Australia.

A total of 10 teams entered the 2002 World Cup competition. The Oceanian zone was allocated 0.5 places (out of 32) in the final tournament.

New Zealand
, their only real threat in the Oceania confederation. Australia then once again had to win a two leg playoff in November, in order to advance to the World Cup finals to be held in South Korea and Japan. On this occasion the opposition was the 5th placed South American team, Uruguay. In the preceding four months Uruguay's preparation had been six World Cup qualifying matches, as follows: beat #2 ranked Brazil 1:0; drew 1:1 with #8 ranked Colombia; drew 1:1 with #2 ranked Argentina. In contrast, Australia's preparation had included no qualifying games since two matches in 4 days in June, against #81 ranked New Zealand, although had played two friendly matches – a loss to Japan in August and a 1:1 draw with France in November. In the first leg in Melbourne, Australia won 1–0 after
penalty kick; however, Australia's qualification campaign ended unsuccessfully as they lost 3–0 in the away leg in Montevideo
just five days later with the South Americans proving too strong.

2006: Australia reaches the Round of 16

A total of 10 teams entered the 2006 World Cup competition. The competition was composed of three rounds. Australia and New Zealand entered the competition directly in the Second Round. The other 10 teams were divided in two groups of five teams each, and played against each other once. In the Second Round buckled surprise.

won the penalty shootout 4–2, making Australia the first ever team to qualify for a World Cup via a penalty shootout. Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made two saves and John Aloisi
scored the winning penalty. The resulting win led to scenes of celebration across the country, as the Socceroos qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, their first qualification in 32 years.

On 12 June 2006 at FIFA World Cup, the Socceroos defeated Japan 3–1 in their opening game in

Niko Kovac gave Croatia a 2–1 lead after halftime before Australia equalised again through Harry Kewell
(79'). As Brazil beat Japan 4–1, Australia proceeded to the next round to face Italy. On 26 June, Australia met
Russia. Australian assistant coach Graham Arnold branded the penalty a "joke", to the agreement of several Australian players, including Tim Cahill
, who believed Grosso should have been cautioned for diving.

2010: New Zealand's outstanding performance

This was the first OFC World Cup qualifying campaign since

aggregate score in order to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since the 1982 tournament
.

The New Zealand group consisted of reigning World Cup holders

Winston Reid's header from a Shane Smeltz cross in stoppage time brought New Zealand, 78th in the Fifa rankings, their first ever point at the finals of the tournament against Slovakia (1–1). In the second game New Zealand tied 1–1 with the defending World Cup champions, Italy. Shane Smeltz gave the All Whites the lead in the seventh minute; he had run into an offside position on a free kick, but the referee ruled that he had been played on by an Italian's touch as the ball soared into the penalty area. Italy tied the score with Vincenzo Iaquinta’s penalty kick in the 29th minute. Daniele De Rossi had drawn the penalty when he went down after New Zealand defender Tommy Smith grabbed his shirt, and the goal seem to infuse the Italians with a little life. New Zealand, playing five men across the back in front of goalkeeper Mark Paston, held firm and posted its second straight 1–1 draw. At the start of the third match, against Paraguay, New Zealand had the chance of reaching the last 16 but failed to trouble Paraguay goalkeeper Justo Villar
even once in the match, which ended 0–0. New Zealand ended the tournament as the only undefeated team after drawing their three group matches, but they finished behind Paraguay and Slovakia and were eliminated. The team finished 22nd out of the 32 teams.

2014–22: Yet another absence from the World Cup

While Australia qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, OFC itself was unable to qualify a team.

For the 2014 tournament, the 2012 OFC Nations Cup served as the second phase of qualifying, and involved the four teams that would compete for the intercontinental play-off with CONCACAF. For the first time a team other than Australia and New Zealand won the continental cup, as the All Whites were upset by New Caledonia, which in turn lost to Tahiti in the final. The French Polynesian squad competed in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, but New Zealand still managed to win the double round-robin group for the World Cup spot.[18] In the playoff, the All-Whites were doubly defeated by Mexico, who finished with an aggregate score of 9–3 to get the World Cup spot.[19]

For 2018, the 2016 edition of the OFC Nations Cup again doubled as the second round of the OFC qualifying competition for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Papua New Guinea on penalties after a goalless stalemate in the final). The top three teams in each of the groups qualified for the third round, from which group winners New Zealand and the Solomon Islands qualified for the final. New Zealand won the two-legged final 8–3 on aggregate after a heavy win at home and a 2–2 draw in Honiara. From here, New Zealand faced a home-and-away knockout match with fifth-placed CONMEBOL team, Peru, who had a FIFA ranking more than 100 places higher than New Zealand (10th vs 122nd). Despite this, New Zealand managed a creditable 0–0 draw at home in Wellington in November 2017, before finally succumbing to a 2–0 loss in Lima
several days later.

In 2022, the qualifying format changed, in response to the

Papua New Guinea advanced as winners and runners-up respectively. The final round was a series of single-legged knock-out matches. Solomon Islands defeated Papua New Guinea 3–2 whilst New Zealand defeated Tahiti 1–0 in their respective semi-final bouts. In the final, New Zealand thrashed Solomon Islands 5–0 and advanced to the inter-confederation play-off. In the single-legged play-off match, contested at neutral Al Rayyan, New Zealand lost 1–0 to Costa Rica
.

Notes

  1. ^
    New Zealand
    ) both qualified after playing in a continental zone consisting of Asian and Oceanian teams.
  2. ^ Australia's qualification in 2006 was through the Oceanian zone as they were an OFC member during qualifying. However, on 1 January 2006, they left the OFC and joined the AFC.
  3. ^ In 1982, the second round has 12 teams of which 4 progressed to the semi-finals.
  4. ^
    Football Federation Australia officially left the OFC and joined the AFC
    on 1 January 2006. They qualified in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 as a member of AFC.
  5. Western Samoa
    , but withdrew before playing matches in 1994.

References

  1. ^ "FACT Sheet - FIFA World Cup: All-time ranking 1930-2014" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Technical Report - 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia 2018" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Overview of the Participating Member Associations" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA.
  4. ^ "Overview of the Participating Member Associations" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA.
  5. ^ "Technical Report - 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia 2018" (PDF). FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  6. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qualifier". FIFA.com. FIFA. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  7. ^ Entered in Africa and Asia.
  8. ^ a b c d Entered in Asia.
  9. ^ Israel and Chinese Taipei were also assigned to the Oceanian zone despite not being OFC members.
  10. ^ Chinese Taipei and Israel were also assigned to the Oceanian zone despite not being OFC members.
  11. ^ Western Samoa withdrew.
  12. ^ Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia did not enter
  13. 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai eruption and tsunami whilst the Cook Islands and Vanuatu withdrew due to COVID-19
    cases in both of their camps
  14. ^ "The Socceroos World Cup Qualification".
  15. ^ Israel left the AFC in 1974
  16. ^ "Australia 3–1 Japan". BBC Sport. 12 June 2006.
  17. ^ "Kewell was out with gout". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). 27 June 2006.[dead link]
  18. ^ "Oceania Football Confederation". Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  19. ^ "All Whites downed in Mexico". Archived from the original on 2013-11-17. Retrieved 2014-08-15.

External links


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