Football at the 2023 Pacific Games – Men's tournament

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]

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

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

Teams

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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

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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

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Group stage

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

Group A

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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

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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

Vanuatu  1–1  Papua New Guinea
Report

Group C

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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

Fiji  0–0  Tahiti
Report
Referee: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand)

Northern Mariana Islands  0–5  Tahiti
Report

Group D

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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

American Samoa  0–11  Solomon Islands
Report
Referee: Calvin Berg (New Zealand)

Knockout stage

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Brackets

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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

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Northern Mariana Islands  4–0  American Samoa
Report
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

5th–8th placement

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Tahiti  2–1  Samoa
Report

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

Semi-finals

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

Bronze final

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Vanuatu  2–4  Fiji
Report

Final

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New Caledonia  2–2 (a.e.t.)  Solomon Islands
Report
Penalties
7–6

Goalscorers

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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

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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

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

See also

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References

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  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.
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