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FIFA have changed the format of the World Cup qualification tournament for the Oceania region after the Cook Islands and Vanuatu withdrew due to cases of COVID-19 that affected their national teams, world football’s governing body said on Wednesday.
Both the Cook Islands and Vanuatu were in Group A but FIFA said all matches involving the two teams “shall be deemed to have not taken place.”
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That leaves the other two teams in the group, Solomon Islands and Tahiti, to play their group fixture on Thursday, which will be considered a single playoff match to determine the winner and runner-up of Group A.
If the match ends in a draw, they will play extra time and go to penalties if needed.
New Zealand have already advanced from Group B, with Papua New Guinea and Fiji — level on three points each — fighting for the second spot when they face each other.
Oceania, which does not have an automatic spot at the World Cup, is staging a mini-tournament in Doha to decide which team advances to an intercontinental playoff for a place at the finals.
The winners of the March 17-30 competition will face the fourth-placed team from the CONCACAF region, which features sides from North and Central America and the Caribbean.