(Suva, Fiji) – All group matches of the 2023 OFC U17 Championships will all be played today when Fiji takes on Tonga in their last Group A match at 7pm this evening at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva, Fiji.
Since only nine OFC member countries are competing in this year’s championships, one team have to be eliminated after the group stages, while the remaining eight teams will advance into the knock-out stages.
It is most likely that American Samoa would be the team to exit, following their 11-0 and 7-0 defeat by New Zealand and New Caledonia respectively in their Group B matches, played at the Fiji FA Academy ground in Ba City.
According to the standings for Group B, New Zealand finished at the top spot on 6 Points for winning two out of two matches; New Caledonia are second with 3 Points for one win and one loss, and American Samoa are out for conceiting 18 goals and scoring none.
In Group C, Tahiti is at the top with 6 Points for winning two out of two matches; Vanuatu takes the second spot with 3 Points, for coming back from their 1-2 loss to Tahiti and beating Cook Islands 2-1 in their last group match last night.
In Group A, Samoa are enjoying the top spot, at least for the time being. They are on 3 Points in the ranking with Fiji, who are also on 3 Points. But Fiji have a last match to play tonight. Samoa are at the top because they had conceded 3 goals to Fiji, but have beaten Tonga 6-0 in their last group match.
Tonga are yet to score a goal in the group stage, and are expected to come out tonight firing, as the Cook Islands did against Vanuatu last night (and managed one goal from their effort).
Organizers have confirmed that the draw for the Quarter Finals will be made at 9.15pm (8.15pm) after the Fiji and Tonga match.
And it is made clear that teams from the same group and from the same ranking will not play each other. In any one case, there will be a re-draw.
