2000 OFC Nations Cup final

2000 OFC Nations Cup Final

Event	2000 OFC Nations Cup
Australia New Zealand 2 0
Date	28 June 2000
Venue	Stade Pater, Papeete
Referee	Harry Attison
← 1998 2002 →

The 2000 OFC Nations Cup Final was an association football match that took place on 28 June 2000 at the Stade Pater, Papeete. It was the final of the 2000 OFC Nations Cup which was the fifth edition of the OFC Nations Cup, an international competition for national teams in the Oceania Football Confederation.

It was contested between Australia and New Zealand in what was a repeat of the 1998 final which New Zealand won. This was also New Zealand's third appearance in a continental final after also appearing in the 1973 final which they won.^[1] For Australia, this was their fourth appearance in the final with Australia also winning the 1980 and 1996.^[1] After both teams won their respective groups, Australia defeated Vanuatu while New Zealand defeated the Solomon Islands.^[2]

In the final, goals from Shaun Murphy and Craig Foster gave Australia a 2–0 win over New Zealand to record their third OFC title. This also meant that as winners of the Nations Cup, they also qualified for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup which was held in South Korea and Japan as representative of the OFC.

Australia		Round	New Zealand
Opponent	Result	Group stage	Opponent	Result
Cook Islands	17–0	Match 1	Tahiti	2–0
Solomon Islands	6–0	Match 2	Vanuatu	3–1
Group A winner Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Australia 2 2 0 0 23 0 +23 6  Solomon Islands 2 1 0 1 5 7 −2 3  Cook Islands 2 0 0 2 1 22 −21 0		Final standings	Group B winner Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  New Zealand 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4 6  Vanuatu 2 1 0 1 4 5 −1 3  Tahiti 2 0 0 2 2 5 −3 0
Opponent	Result	Knockout stage	Opponent	Result
Vanuatu	1–0	Semi-finals	Solomon Islands	2–0

As finalists in the 1998 OFC Nations Cup, and the OFC's top-ranked side, the "Socceroos" were given entry straight into the tournament finals. They progressed comfortably through the group stage, accounting for Cook Islands and Solomon Islands comfortably 17–0 and 6–0 respectively. In the semi-final, they played Vanuatu, winning 1–0 in a match that was closer than expected. Australia's Clayton Zane was the tournament's top scorer going into the final, with 5 goals.

Like Australia, New Zealand were given direct entry into the tournament finals, as 1998 OFC Nations Cup champions and the OFC's second ranked side. They beat both Tahiti and Vanuatu by 2 goals to progress from the group stage. In the semi-finals, they played Solomon Islands and won 2–0 to move through to the final.

Despite New Zealand having won the 1998 OFC Nations Cup final, Australia went into the game as favourites, ranked 15 spots ahead of New Zealand in FIFA World Rankings.

Australia was the better side for much of the match, although New Zealand did create some chances. Australia took the lead 5 minutes from half time, as Shaun Murphy scored off a Stan Lazaridis corner.

Australia's ascendency continued, and when Danny Tiatto's cross was finished by Craig Foster midway through the second half, the result was all but secured for Australia.

28 June 2000

18:00

Australia	2–0	New Zealand
Shaun Murphy 40' Craig Foster 66'	Report

Stade Pater, Papeete

Attendance: 300

Referee: Harry Attison

Australia

New Zealand

AUSTRALIA: GK 1 Zeljko Kalac RB 2 Kevin Muscat CB 3 Shaun Murphy 40' CB 5 Tony Popovic LB 7 Danny Tiatto RM 8 Stan Lazaridis CM 4 Paul Okon CM 6 Craig Foster 66'  80' LM 13 Brett Emerton CF 9 David Zdrillic CF 11 Paul Agostino  80' Substitutes: MF 14 Aurelio Vidmar  80' FW 15 Clayton Zane  80' Manager: Frank Farina

NEW ZEALAND: GK 1 Jason Batty CB 2 Che Bunce CB 3 Sean Douglas CB 5 Jonathan Perry RWB 6 Gavin Wilkinson  27'  70' LWB 18 Scott Smith CM 7 Simon Elliott CM 10 Chris Jackson CM 12 Mark Atkinson  77' CF 8 Chris Killen CF 13 Kris Bouckenooghe Substitutes: MF 16 Raf de Gregorio  70' FW 9 Paul Urlovic  77' Manager: Ken Dugdale

Australia's win qualified them for the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, and was their third OFC Nations Cup win their first since 1996.

• Australia–New Zealand soccer rivalry

• RSSF. Accessed 21 February 2010.
• Fifa