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Oceania Football Confederation Draws for FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminaries at FIFA Headquarters

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The Oceania Football Confederation’s (OFC) 11 members are eagerly set to determine their path towards potential participation in the FIFA World Cup 2026 ™ as they convene for the preliminary qualifying draw at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich.

This year marks a significant change in the qualifiers, with an assurance of direct qualification for one Oceania team into the FIFA Men’s World Cup, while the runner-up will advance to the FIFA Intercontinental Play-off Tournament for a chance to secure a spot at the grand event taking place in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 2026.

Renowned FIFA Legend Christian Karembeu, hailing from New Caledonia and a FIFA World Cup 1998 ™ winner with France, will be standing alongside Dame Sarai Bareman, FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer, to assist in conducting the draw from the prestigious Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland.

According to the latest men’s FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, the four lowest-ranked teams – Samoa, Cook Islands, American Samoa, and Tonga – will engage in a knockout match format in Samoa from 7th to 10th September to determine the final entrant from this group who will join the seven higher-ranked teams for the second round.

The draw will see a division of these eight countries into three pots, eventually resulting in two groups of four teams each. The draw will commence from Pot 3 and progress through to Pot 1, assigning each team’s opponents for matches scheduled in October and November 2024.

The top two teams from each group after the initial matches will advance to round three in the qualifying rounds, with semi-final clashes set for March 2025 where the final four teams will compete for the landmark achievement of securing the first-ever guaranteed FIFA World Cup spot for an OFC nation.

Pot 1 encompasses New Zealand and Solomon Islands, while Pot 2 includes Fiji, Tahiti, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. Pot 3 consists of Papua New Guinea and the winner from the round one matches.

Rachel Adams

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