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Main article: Football at the 2023 Pacific Games

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

New Zealand’s Under-23s were 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

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
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
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
 Report
Referee: Torika Delai (Fiji)
Tonga 0–4 Tuvalu
Report
11th place play-off
American Samoa 2–6 Tonga
 Report
9th place play-off
Northern Mariana Islands 1–4 Tuvalu
 Report
Referee: Torika Delai (Fiji)

5th–8th placement

Tahiti 2–1 Samoa
 Report
Cook Islands 0–3 (w/o) Papua New Guinea
Samoa 3–0 (w/o) Cook Islands
Tahiti 2–0 Papua New Guinea
 Report

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
Referee: Ben Aukwai (Solomon Islands)

Final

New Caledonia 2–2 (a.e.t.) Solomon Islands
 Report
Penalties
 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

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

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_at_the_2023_Pacific_Games_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_tournament