Qatar confirmed as neutral host for Oceania qualifiers

Bengaluru/Doha, November 30: 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar was confirmed by FIFA as the neutral host for the Oceania qualifiers which has been persistently delayed by travel and quarantine restrictions owing to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The matches to be held from March 14 to 30, 2022, for the Pacific region teams, presents the first and last chance for the preliminary competition to take place, a FIFA statement said.

Oceania has no direct entry to the 32-team World Cup. Its qualifying tournament winner earns a playoff game in Qatar on June 13 or 14 against the fourth-place team from the North American qualifying group.

📝 Full details and group match-ups for the OFC preliminary competition which will be held in March next year. https://t.co/Xm8K5wURYM

— OFC Oceania Football (@OFCfootball) November 29, 2021

The Oceania qualifiers will be played in a mini-tournament format featuring eight teams and consisting of a round-robin group stage, semifinals and the final.

Prior to this, a single qualification match will be played between Tonga and the Cook Islands - the two lowest-ranked Oceania teams in the FIFA world ranking for the right to take part in the preliminary competition mini-tournament.

A clash between the 2016 Oceania Nations Cup finalists, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, awaits in Group B, with the two nations named alongside New Caledonia and Fiji.

New Zealand has played little competitive football in the past four years. After the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia losing to the host, Mexico and Portugal New Zealand missed out on the 2018 World Cup by losing to Peru over two legs in the intercontinental play-offs.

Now ranked 110 by FIFA, New Zealand have played just a few friendlies in the past three years and not at all in 2020.

Some mystery remains in Group A after the draw, with one competing nation yet to be decided ahead of Tonga and the Cook Islands playing off for the right to join Tahiti, Vanuatu and two-time qualifying tournament finalists the Solomon Islands.

The two group winners and the two group runners-up will qualify for the semifinals. The winners of the two semifinals will then meet in the final to determine the Oceania representative that will face the CONCACAF representative in the FIFA intercontinental play-offs in June 2022 for a place in the final competition.

The Qatar 2022 World Cup will be a 28-day day affair and in a break from tradition, will be played in the winter window, with the tournament starting on November 21 and ending on December 18 to coincide with the Qatar National Day.

Qatar 2022: Countdown begins; World Cup stadiums at a glance

Qatar, who are the reigning Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup champions are building eight stadiums for biggest football show on earth.

Six stadiums -- Khalifa International, Al Janoub, Educational City, Al Rayyan, Al Bayt and Al Thumama-- are already.

Work is going on at frenetic pace at the remaining two stadiums - Stadium 974 and Lusail.

Qatar 2022: Salient features of Stadium 974

With the one-year countdown for Qatar 2022 World Cup having started on November 21, the Middle East country unveiled its seventh tournament-ready venue -- Stadium 974.

The venue - formerly known as Ras Abu Aboud - is made primarily from shipping containers and is located close to the Doha Port, directly opposite the spectacular West Bay skyline.

The stadium's new name reflects the number of shipping containers used in the development and is also Qatar's international subscriber dialling code.

The name also reflects the stadium's location as the gateway to Qatar, being close to Hamad International Airport, Doha Airport and Hamad Port.