AFC CAF CONMEBOL CONCACAF UEFA OFC

OCEANIA-OFC NEWS

March 11, 2003 Australia, Qantas Matildas, aim for third World Cup Berth The Australia National Team will be aiming for its third consecutive FIFA World Cup berth when they contest the Oceania Qualifiers next month in Canberra. Canberra will host the upcoming OFC 2003 World Cup Qualification Tournament at the Belconnen Soccer Centre, 5-13 April 2003. A record field of seven teams play this year for the single berth to the 4th FIFA World Cup. Australia and New Zealand are the two seeded teams, hosts Australia to be joined in Group A by Samoa, Fiji, and the Cook Islands. Group B is comprised of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu. Australia and old foes New Zealand are expected to advance to the one-off final which decideswho goes to China. Australia competed in the 1995 and 1999 World Cups, but New Zealand went to the inaugural World Cup of 1991. Of the smaller nations, Papua New Guinea is the only team along with Australia and New Zealand to have competed in every senior Oceania Qualifiers to date. Fiji and Samoa return for their second consecutive Qualifiers, whilst Vanuatu and Cook Islands make their debut. This is the first time the Qualifiers have been held in Australia since Sydney hosted the inaugural tournament in 1991, so hopefully 2003 will mark the first occasion that the host nation celebrates the coveted World Cup prize. This is AIS/National Coach Adrian Santrac's first qualifier. Following the group matches, the top two teams from each group advance to the semi-finals, where the first-placed team in each group plays the runner-up from the other group. A playoff for third place will precede the all-important final on Sunday 13 April. The Australian Team for the Qualifiers will be announced later this month during a training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport.