at the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification in Group B with Vanuatu and New Zealand. After losing to New Zealand in the opening game of qualifying at Christchurch, they headed off to Vanuatu to compete at the 1992 Melanesia Cup. They took the cup for the third time with the difference being one goal over New Caledonia. After a 3–0 win over Vanuatu in Suva, they tied with New Zealand at the same ground. In the final game of the group, they defeated Vanuatu in Port Vila by the same scoreline. That game was a dead rubber as they finished behind New Zealand and were eliminated from contention. After not qualifying for the 1996 OFC Nations Cup having finished second at the 1994 Melanesia Cup, at the 1995 South Pacific Games in Tahiti Fiji won the bronze medal by defeating Vanuatu in the bronze medal playoff. Attempting to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Fiji got a bye into the second round of qualifying where they were paired with New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. The top team qualified for the third round. The nation finished in second place with losses to New Zealand both at home (1–0) and away (5–0) being the critical factors in their elimination. Fiji's next tournament was the 1998 OFC Nations Cup after they qualified by taking out the 1998 Melanesia Cup held in Vanuatu. The only blemish being a one–all draw against the Solomon Islands. After losing to the hosts (Australia) 3–0 in their first game, they defeated the Cook Islands 3–1 to secure a semi-final spot where they fell to New Zealand by a single goal. This put them into the third-place playoff where they defeated Tahiti for their best result to date at the OFC Nations Cup with a third-place. Esala Masi was the top goalscorer for the tournament with three goals. Fiji qualified for the following edition of the Nations Cup after winning the title at the 2000 Melanesia Cup in Fiji. But later that year, Fiji withdrew because of political unrest in the country, which led to the 2000 Fijian coup d'état. Fiji's qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup started at Coffs Harbour when they were grouped with American Samoa, Australia, Samoa and Tonga in Group one. In the opening game of the group, they defeated American Samoa 13–0 to record their biggest win in a FIFA match.