FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
Oceania has sent representatives to the Men's World Cup four times: Australia in 1974 and 2006, and New Zealand in 1982 and 2010. However, Australia was not a member of the confederation in 1974, having withdrawn in order to apply to join the Asian Football Confederation. It rejoined the OFC in 1978. Neither Australia in 1974 nor New Zealand in 1982 progressed beyond the first round, while Australia in 2006 advanced to the second round. OFC is the only FIFA confederation that does not have a guaranteed spot in the World Cup finals (a major reason for Australia's leaving the confederation in 2006 to join Asia). Between 1966 and 1982, OFC teams joined the Asian zone qualification tournament, while from 1986 onwards, the winners of the Oceanian zone qualification tournament have to enter the Intercontinental Play-offs against teams from other confederations in order to gain a spot in the FIFA World Cup finals.
Read more about this topic: Oceania Football Confederation
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