Grand Hamad Stadium provided the unlikely setting as the last continental qualification path to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™️ got underway as teams from the Oceania Football Confederation started their potential journey to the finals. With international competition in Oceania effectively off the menu since 2019, it is in Qatar – the home of this year’s global finals – that the continent’s hopefuls will fight it out in a centralised preliminary tournament.
FIFA President attends OFC World Cup qualifier in Doha
Although the qualification path to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has been disrupted due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, FIFA President Gianni Infantino was in attendance as Solomon Islands emerged 2-0 winners over Cook Islands in the first scheduled match thanks to first half goals by Atkin Kaua and Alvin Hou.
The winner of the OFC preliminary competition will return to Doha to represent Oceania in the intercontinental play-off matches in June 2022 against the fourth-placed team from the Concacaf zone to battle for a spot at the FIFA World Cup later this year.