Fiji tear apart Micronesia 38-0 in the Pacific Games

The match between Fiji and Micronesia was one of the most extraordinary football matches ever played

The Federated States of Micronesia were dealt their second thrashing in as many games, as they continued their dreadful start to the Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. An embarrassing 38-0 scoreline was the result of the second Group A game between Micronesia and Fiji, which has effectively ended the nation’s hopes of going to the next round.

The Fijians were in control of the game from the word go, and opened the scoring in the first minute, before racing to a 21-0 lead at half-time. The ridiculous scoreline led to an unusual substitution that saw a midfielder replace the goalkeeper. But that didn’t help their cause as they shipped in 17 more goals in the second half.

In the process, they helped Fiji break the tournament record for most goals scored in a single game.

Fiji’s top scorers were Antonio Tuivuna(10 goals) and striker Chris Wasawala (9 goals), followed by Verevou, Qasevakatini and Garish Prasad, who managed 5 goals each. Meanwhile, 68th-minute substitute Nawakula chipped in with a hat-trick after coming on, and another substitute Nakalevu managed to get on the score-sheet.

The Pacific Games is a multi-sport event that is held every four years and was selected as Oceania’s qualifying tournament for the 2016 Olympics by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). There are currently 24 countries competing in it, and Australia and New Zealand were also included in the list on a trial basis, with a view to improving the quality of competition.

According to the organisers, Fiji’s huge result has broken the record for the biggest win in international football. The current record for most goals in a game was in 2001 when Australia beat American Samoa 31-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Coffs Harbour in 2001. But the record will not become official since Micronesia is not a FIFA affiliated team.

Micronesia are playing their first Pacific Games tournament in their history and have conceded an embarrassing 68 goals in opening two fixtures, without any reply. They lost 30-0 to Haiti in the opening fixture, which had equalled the tournament record for most number of goals in a game, before Fiji broke it.

They now have to score an insane number of goals against Vanuatu to stand any chance of qualifying to the next round. The event kicked off on 4th July in the capital Port Moresby, and will feature 28 sporting events, before its closing ceremony on 18th July.

Just watched history being made: Fiji 38-0 Micronesia. They replaced this goalkeeper with a midfielder at HT at 21-0. pic.twitter.com/hBXGe0oUmZ

— Kevin Darling (@darlingkevin) July 5, 2015