Vanuatu World Cup qualifer put off for positive COVID tests

By The Associated Press

The match between Tahiti and Vanuatu on the opening day of delayed Oceania World Cup qualifying was postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests conducted at Vanuatu’s team hotel in Doha, Qatar. The Oceania Football Confederation said Vanuatu would not have had enough players to field a team. Oceania was the last region to start qualifying, beginning just two weeks before the draw on April 1. New Zealand is a heavy favorite to win the Oceania tournament and advance to a one-game playoff in June against the fourth-place nation from North and Central America and the Caribbean.