Football at the 2023 Pacific Games – Men's tournament

Main article: Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
2023 Pacific Games
men's football tournament
Tournament details
Host countrySolomon Islands
CityHoniara
Dates17 November–2 December
Teams12 (from 2 confederations)
Venue(s)3 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions New Caledonia (8th title)
Runners-up Solomon Islands
Third place Fiji
Fourth place Vanuatu
Tournament statistics
Matches played21
Goals scored102 (4.86 per match)
Top scorer(s)Solomon Islands John Orobulu
(8 goals)
← 2019
2027 →

The men’s football tournament at the 2023 Pacific Games will be the 16th edition[1] of the men’s football tournament at the Pacific Games, and is set to be held from 17 November to 2 December, in Honiara, Solomon Islands.[2][3][4]

New Zealand’s Under-23s are the defending champions after beating New Caledonia in the final in 2019.[5]

Teams

Twelve teams entered the tournament. Originally, Kiribati was drawn into Group B with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu but withdrew on 3 November 2023. It would have been the nation's first appearance in the competition since 2011.[6]

Venues

There are three confirmed football venues for the tournament, all in Honiara:[17]

Stadium Capacity
National Stadium 10,000
Lawson Tama Stadium 20,000
SIFF Academy Field 500

Source: [17]

Squads

Main article: Football at the 2023 Pacific Games – Men's team squads

Group stage

The team list and draw were confirmed on 21 October 2023.[18][19]

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  New Caledonia 2 2 0 0 15 0 +15 6 Semi-finals
2  Cook Islands 2 1 0 1 2 9 −7 3 5th-8th placement
3  Tonga 2 0 0 2 1 9 −8 0 9th-12th placement
Source: SOL23
New Caledonia 7–0 Tonga
 Report
Tonga 1–2 Cook Islands
Kendler 71' Report Tiputoa 67'
Rimene-Albrett 90+8'
Referee: David Yareboinen (Papua New Guinea)
Cook Islands 0–8 New Caledonia
Report
Referee: Kavitesh Behari (Fiji)

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Vanuatu 2 1 1 0 7 1 +6 4 Semi-finals
2  Papua New Guinea 2 1 1 0 4 1 +3 4 5th-8th placement
3  Tuvalu 2 0 0 2 0 9 −9 0 9th-12th placement
Source: SOL23
Papua New Guinea 3–0 (w/o) Tuvalu
Report
Tuvalu 0–6 Vanuatu
Report
  • T. Kalotang 6', 53'
  • Tenene 11', 70'
  • Alefaio 35' (o.g.)
  • Moses 71'
Referee: Shama Maemae (Solomon Islands)
Vanuatu 1–1 Papua New Guinea
 Report

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Fiji 2 1 1 0 10 0 +10 4 Semi-finals
2  Tahiti 2 1 1 0 5 0 +5 4 5th-8th placement
3  Northern Mariana Islands 2 0 0 2 0 15 −15 0 9th-12th placement
Source: SOL23
Fiji 10–0 Northern Mariana Islands
 Report
Referee: Timothy Niu (Solomon Islands)
Fiji 0–0 Tahiti
Report
Referee: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand)
Northern Mariana Islands 0–5 Tahiti
Report
Referee: Timothy Niu (Solomon Islands)

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Solomon Islands (H) 2 2 0 0 12 0 +12 6 Semi-finals
2  Samoa 2 1 0 1 10 1 +9 3 5th-8th placement
3  American Samoa 2 0 0 2 0 21 −21 0 9th-12th placement
Source: SOL23
(H) Hosts
Solomon Islands 1–0 Samoa
 Report
Referee: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand)
Samoa 10–0 American Samoa
 Report
Referee: Ben Aukwai (Solomon Islands)
American Samoa 0–11 Solomon Islands
Report
  • Orobulu 6', 45+3', 72', 80', 90+3'
  • Leslie 16'
  • Feni 25', 41', 66'
  • Molea 28', 34'
Referee: Calvin Berg (New Zealand)

Knockout stage

Brackets

 
9th–12th placement9th place play-off
 
      
 
27 November – SIFF Academy Field
 
 
 Northern Mariana Islands4
 
30 November – SIFF Academy Field
 
 American Samoa0
 
 Northern Mariana Islands1
 
27 November – SIFF Academy Field
 
 Tuvalu4
 
 Tonga0
 
 
 Tuvalu4
 
11th place play-off
 
 
30 November – SIFF Academy Field
 
 
 American Samoa2
 
 
 Tonga6
 
5th–8th placement5th place play-off
 
      
 
27 November – SIFF Academy Field
 
 
 Tahiti2
 
30 November – SIFF Academy Field
 
 Samoa1
 
 Tahiti2
 
27 November – SIFF Academy Field
 
 Papua New Guinea0
 
 Cook Islands0
 
 
 Papua New Guinea (w/o)3
 
7th place play-off
 
 
30 November – SIFF Academy Field
 
 
 Samoa (w/o)3
 
 
 Cook Islands0
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
28 November – Honiara
 
 
 New Caledonia1
 
2 December – Honiara
 
 Vanuatu0
 
 New Caledonia (p)2 (7)
 
28 November – Honiara
 
 Solomon Islands2 (6)
 
 Fiji0
 
 
 Solomon Islands2
 
Bronze Playoff
 
 
1 December – Honiara
 
 
 Vanuatu2
 
 
 Fiji4

9th–12th placement

Northern Mariana Islands 4–0 American Samoa
  • Yobech 32'
  • R. Guerrero 46', 70'
  • Ngewakl 90+4'
 Report
Referee: Torika Delai (Fiji)
Tonga 0–4 Tuvalu
Report
  • Sapele 5'
  • Pelekata 42'
  • Vine 81', 84'
Referee: Shama Maemae (Solomon Islands)
11th place play-off
American Samoa 2–6 Tonga
  • Vaitoelau 37'
  • Silao 55'
 Report
  • Polovili 43', 88'
  • Fifita 47', 81'
  • Tu’ifangaloka 61'
  • Rajani 76' (pen.)
Referee: David Yaraboinen (Papua New Guinea)
9th place play-off
Northern Mariana Islands 1–4 Tuvalu
  • Toves 50'
 Report
  • Vailine 8', 22'
  • Ualesi 42', 45+3'
Referee: Torika Delai (Fiji)

5th–8th placement

Tahiti 2–1 Samoa
  • Tinirauarii 49'
  • Lossec 88'
 Report
  • Tumua 2'
Referee: David Yaraboinen (Papua New Guinea)
Cook Islands 0–3 (w/o) Papua New Guinea
Samoa 3–0 (w/o) Cook Islands
Tahiti 2–0 Papua New Guinea
 Report
Referee: Kavitesh Behari (Fiji)

Semi-finals

New Caledonia 1–0 Vanuatu
 Report
Referee: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand)
Fiji 0–2 Solomon Islands
Report

Bronze final

Vanuatu 2–4 Fiji
 Report
  • Dunn 22', 55'
  • Begg 73'
  • Nand 90+2'
Referee: Ben Aukwai (Solomon Islands)

Final

New Caledonia 2–2 (a.e.t.) Solomon Islands
 Report
Penalties
  • Ranchain soccer ball with red X
  • Bako soccer ball with check mark
  • Richard soccer ball with check mark
  • Waya soccer ball with check mark
  • Zeoula soccer ball with check mark
  • Iwa soccer ball with check mark
  • Waia soccer ball with check mark
  • Vakié soccer ball with check mark
 7–6

Goalscorers

There have been 102 goals scored in 21 matches, for an average of 4.86 goals per match (as of 2 December 2023).

8 goals

7 goals

5 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

  • Northern Mariana Islands Daniell Pablo (against Fiji)
  • Tuvalu Maalosi Alefaio (against Vanuatu)

Final rankings

Rank Team
 New Caledonia
 Solomon Islands
 Fiji
4  Vanuatu
5  Tahiti
6  Papua New Guinea
7  Samoa
8  Cook Islands
9  Tuvalu
10  Northern Mariana Islands
11  Tonga
12  American Samoa

Broadcasting

All matches will be broadcast live on SBS in Australia.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sports". 2023 Pacific Games Solomon Islands. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  2. ^ "SCHEDULE". 2023 Pacific Games Solomon Islands. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  3. ^ "SOL2023 PACIFIC GAMES MASTER PLAN" (PDF 747 KB). National Hosting Authority - Sol2023. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Pacific Games Council" (PDF 705 KB). 14 July 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  5. ^ "New Zealand men's footballers produce epic comeback to win Pacific Games gold". Stuff. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Kiribati Withdraws From Football". 2023 Pacific Games Solomon Islands. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Am Samoa to send 189 to Pacific Games". Talanei. 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  8. ^ a b Nash, Matthew (19 August 2023). "Cook Islands looking abroad to inspire a football revolution". RNZ. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  9. ^ Palmer, Dan (21 September 2023). "Fiji announces squad of 592 for Pacific Games in Solomon Islands". Inside the Games. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  10. ^ "En aucun cas la liste est définitive "-INTERVIEW avec le Sélectionneur NC - JOHANN SIDANER-Liste JEUX DU PACIFIQUE" (in French). New Caledonia Football Federation. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  11. ^ Team, FIJI TV (2023-10-20). "Over 100 CNMI athletes for Honiara Games". Fiji One News. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  12. ^ "PMs MSG CUP: PNG Mens National Soccer Team (MNT) will use the upcoming PMs MSG as part of its presentation for 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon in Nov/ Dec later this year". Papua New Guinea Football Association. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  13. ^ Faasau, Gutu. "Team Samoa to comprise 23 sports in Honiara". The Samoa Observer. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  14. ^ Mackay, Duncan (23 February 2023). "Friendlies offer Solomon Islands footballers chance to stake Pacific Games claim". Inside the Games. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  15. ^ "FIFA President Gianni Infantino Visits Tonga to Witness Progress and Discuss Football Development". The Tonga Independent. August 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  16. ^ Natoga, Anasilini (5 July 2023). "Senior women's friendly with Solomon Islands cancelled". Vanuatu Post. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Venues". 2023 Pacific Games Solomon Islands. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  18. ^ "ALTERNAFOOT on X". Twitter. ALTERNAFOOT. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Schedule". 2023 Pacific Games Solomon Islands. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  20. ^ "How to watch 2023 Pacific Games LIVE on SBS". SBS. Retrieved 26 September 2023.

External links