Tahiti prove too strong for Sāmoa in World Cup qualifier

Clinical finish sees Les Bleus edge out Manu Samoa to remain top of Group D

Papeete, Tahiti - Tahiti maintained their 100% record in Group D of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Sāmoa at Stade Pater on Sunday.

Nuihau's goal the difference

The only goal of the game came in the 26th minute through Jean Nuihau, who latched onto a loose ball in the penalty area and fired a clinical finish past Sāmoa goalkeeper, Tommy Semanu.

The win sees Tahiti move three points clear of Solomon Islands at the top of the group, while Sāmoa remain bottom without a point from their three matches.

Tahiti now one step closer to World Cup dream

With two games remaining in the group stage, Tahiti are now within touching distance of securing a place in the OFC semi-finals and taking a step closer to their dream of reaching the World Cup for the first time.

Sāmoa, meanwhile, will need to win their remaining two matches and hope that other results go their way if they are to have any chance of progressing to the next stage.

Reaction from the coaches

Tahiti coach, Ludovic Graugnard, was delighted with his team's performance.

"It was a difficult game," Graugnard said. "Sāmoa are a good team, but we were able to create some good chances and in the end, we deserved to win."

Sāmoa coach, Matt Caltabiano, was disappointed with the result but praised his team for their effort.

"We gave it our all, but Tahiti were just too strong for us today," Caltabiano said. "We still have two games to go and we will be fighting to the end."

Next fixtures

Tahiti will face the Solomon Islands in their next match on March 24, while Sāmoa will take on the Cook Islands on the same day.