The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
1970 | 1974 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2022 | 2026 | Oceania's Record at the World Cup Finals | Qualification History | Charlie's Dream Realised
Charlie's Dream Realised
Dempsey's Dream Realised At Last
by Jeremy Ruane
The long-held dream of Charlie Dempsey has at last been realised.
59 years ago, when he helped to establish the Oceania Football Confederation in 1966, and for the bulk of the next forty years, the foremost champion of football in the South Pacific throughout its formative years dedicated his life to growing the game in the region, always with the ambition of seeing Oceania earn direct entry to the FIFA World Cup Finals.
He never lived to see the fulfilment of his ultimate dream - he died in June 2008 - but his successors at OFC continued to grow the game, with FIFA finally affording their youngest Confederation direct qualification to what is arguably the world's biggest sporting event when they expanded their flagship competition, the FIFA World Cup, to 48 teams.
The first edition of the biggest-ever World Cup Finals will take place in Canada, Mexico and the USA during June and July, 2026. And lining up alongside the host nations and Japan, the first nation to qualify for the big dance, will be New Zealand.
2026 will mark Aotearoa's third FIFA World Cup Finals, after qualifying initially in 1982, a fifteen-game campaign which then NZ Football Association World Cup director succinctly summed up as the nation celebrated what was labelled "The Impossible Dream".
"This (qualifying) is our World Cup", said Dempsey after John Adshead, Kevin Fallon and the All Whites overcame China in a January 1982 play-off in Singapore to qualify for Spain, having played Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia home and away en route, the play-off coming about due to the contenders finishing level on points and goal difference at the conclusion of group play.
When New Zealand next qualified for the World Cup Finals, in 2010, their route was a lot less arduous - an eight-game journey which saw them overcome Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu before prevailing in a home-and-away play-off against Bahrain to reach South Africa, where, amazingly, they went through group play unbeaten, drawing with Slovakia, reigning champions Italy and Paraguay.
In between times, Australia flew the Oceania flag at the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany, reaching the quarter-finals before bowing out to the Italians. It was the "Socceroos"' last hurrah, as they switched to the Asian Football Confederation at the turn of the year, having briefly been part of that Confederation when they qualified for the 1974 World Cup Finals, also in Germany.
So to 2025, with direct qualification for the World Cup Finals now a reality for the eleven nations which make up the Oceania Football Confederation. And at the conclusion of the qualifying process, New Zealand became the first country from the region to earn their ticket to the Finals without needing to venture out of the South Pacific, a result of beating New Caledonia 3-0 at Eden Park in the qualifying series final.
The beaten side can also qualify for the 2026 Finals via an intercontinental play-off, so there's the prospect of two teams representing Oceania in fifteen months' time. Only one of them, the All Whites, have qualified directly however, in doing so realising Charlie Dempsey's long-held dream.
|