# Football at the 2023 Pacific Games – Men's tournament

The men's football tournament at the 2023 Pacific Games was the 16th edition of the men's football tournament at the Pacific Games, held from 17 November to 2 December, in Honiara, Solomon Islands.
New Zealand's Under-23s were the defending champions after beating New Caledonia in the final in 2019.

## Teams

Twelve teams entered the tournament. Originally, Kiribati was drawn into Group B with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu but withdrew on 3 November 2023. It would have been the nation's first appearance in the competition since 2011.
* American Samoa
* Cook Islands
* Fiji
* Kiribati
* New Caledonia
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands (hosts)
* Tahiti
* Tonga
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu

## Venues

There are three confirmed football venues for the tournament, all in Honiara:
| Stadium | Capacity |
| National Stadium | 10,000 |
| Lawson Tama Stadium | 20,000 |
| SIFF Academy Field | 500 |
| Honiara ||
Source:

## Group stage

The team list and draw were confirmed on 21 October 2023.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | New Caledonia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | +15 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Cook Islands | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 3 | 5th-8th placement |
| 3 | Tonga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 | 9th-12th placement |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Vanuatu | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Papua New Guinea | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 | 5th-8th placement |
| 3 | Tuvalu | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 | 9th-12th placement |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Fiji | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 4 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Tahiti | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 4 | 5th-8th placement |
| 3 | Northern Mariana Islands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | −15 | 0 | 9th-12th placement |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Solomon Islands (H) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | +12 | 6 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Samoa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 3 | 5th-8th placement |
| 3 | American Samoa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | −21 | 0 | 9th-12th placement |

## Knockout stage
### Brackets

| 9th–12th placement | 9th–12th placement | 9th place play-off | 9th place play-off |
| 27 November – SIFF Academy Field | 27 November – SIFF Academy Field |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 4 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 4 | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field |
| American Samoa | 0 | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field |
| American Samoa | 0 | Northern Mariana Islands | 1 |
| 27 November – SIFF Academy Field | 27 November – SIFF Academy Field | | Northern Mariana Islands | 1 |
| 27 November – SIFF Academy Field | 27 November – SIFF Academy Field | Tuvalu | 4 |
| Tonga | 0 | Tuvalu | 4 |
| Tuvalu | 4 | | |
| Tuvalu | 4 | 11th place play-off | 11th place play-off |
| | | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field |
| | | American Samoa | 2 |
| | | Tonga | 6 |
| 5th–8th placement | 5th–8th placement | 5th place play-off | 5th place play-off |
| 27 November – SIFF Academy Field | 27 November – SIFF Academy Field |
| Tahiti | 2 |
| Tahiti | 2 | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field |
| Samoa | 1 | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field |
| Samoa | 1 | Tahiti | 2 |
| 27 November – SIFF Academy Field | 27 November – SIFF Academy Field | | Tahiti | 2 |
| 27 November – SIFF Academy Field | 27 November – SIFF Academy Field | Papua New Guinea | 0 |
| Cook Islands | 0 | Papua New Guinea | 0 |
| Papua New Guinea (w/o) | 3 | | |
| Papua New Guinea (w/o) | 3 | 7th place play-off | 7th place play-off |
| | | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field | 30 November – SIFF Academy Field |
| | | Samoa (w/o) | 3 |
| | | Cook Islands | 0 |
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 28 November – Honiara | 28 November – Honiara |
| New Caledonia | 1 |
| New Caledonia | 1 | 2 December – Honiara | 2 December – Honiara |
| Vanuatu | 0 | 2 December – Honiara | 2 December – Honiara |
| Vanuatu | 0 | New Caledonia (p) | 2 (7) |
| 28 November – Honiara | 28 November – Honiara | | New Caledonia (p) | 2 (7) |
| 28 November – Honiara | 28 November – Honiara | Solomon Islands | 2 (6) |
| Fiji | 0 | Solomon Islands | 2 (6) |
| Solomon Islands | 2 | | |
| Solomon Islands | 2 | Bronze Playoff | Bronze Playoff |
| | | 1 December – Honiara | 1 December – Honiara |
| | | Vanuatu | 2 |
| | | Fiji | 4 |

### Final
## Goalscorers

There have been 102 goals scored in 21 matches, for an average of 4.86 goals per match (as of 2 December 2023).
8 goals
* John Orobulu
7 goals
* Lues Waya
5 goals
* Michael Tumua Leo
3 goals
* Thomas Dunn
* Roy Krishna
* Jean-Jacques Katrawa
* César Zeoula
* Gagame Feni
* Teaonui Tehau
* Roonui Tinirauarii
* Azariah Soromon
2 goals
* Nabil Begg
* Sairusi Nalaubu
* Ruben Guerrero
* Shene Wélépane
* Makalu Xowi
* Alman Kwan
* Dilo Tumua
* Tigi Molea
* Amoni Fifita
* Hemaloto Polovili
* Matti Ualesi
* Paolo Vailine
* Keni Vine
* Tonly Kalotang
* Godine Tenene
1 goal
* Tia Silao
* Billjay Vaitoelau
* Tremaine Rimene-Albrett
* Dwayne Tiputoa
* Etonia Dogalau
* Gabrielle Matanisiga
* Merril Nand
* Vincent Vakié
* Nolan Ngewakl
* Markus Toves
* Jireh Yobech
* Ati Kepo
* Va'a Taualai
* Pharrell Trainor
* Micah Lea'alafa
* Raphael Lea'i
* Bobby Leslie
* Matéo Degrumelle
* Eddy Kaspard
* Teva Lossec
* Elias Kendler
* Mohammed Rajani
* Sione Tu'ifangaloka
* Andrew Pelekata
* Yvan Sapele
* Joe Moses
1 own goal
* Daniell Pablo (against Fiji)
* Maalosi Alefaio (against Vanuatu)

## Final rankings

| Rank | Team |
| | New Caledonia |
| | Solomon Islands |
| | Fiji |
| 4 | Vanuatu |
| 5 | Tahiti |
| 6 | Papua New Guinea |
| 7 | Samoa |
| 8 | Cook Islands |
| 9 | Tuvalu |
| 10 | Northern Mariana Islands |
| 11 | Tonga |
| 12 | American Samoa |

## Broadcasting

All matches will be broadcast live on SBS in Australia.