2000 OFC Nations Cup Final
# 2000 OFC Nations Cup Final

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. For Australia, this was their fourth appearance in the final with Australia also winning the 1980 and 1996. After both teams won their respective groups, Australia defeated Vanuatu while New Zealand defeated the Solomon Islands.

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.

## Route to the final

| Australia | Australia | Round | New Zealand | 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 2200230+236  Solomon Islands 210157−23  Cook Islands 2002122−210 | Group A winner Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Australia 2200230+236  Solomon Islands 210157−23  Cook Islands 2002122−210 | Final standings | Group B winner Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  New Zealand 220051+46  Vanuatu 210145−13  Tahiti 200225−30 | Group B winner Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  New Zealand 220051+46  Vanuatu 210145−13  Tahiti 200225−30 |
| Opponent | Result | Knockout stage | Opponent | Result |
| Vanuatu | 1–0 | Semi-finals | Solomon Islands | 2–0 |

### Australia

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.

### New Zealand

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.

## Pre-match

### Analysis

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.

## Match

### First half

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.

### Second half

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.

### Match details

| 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 ||||

## Post match

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

