2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying
2008 Rugby League World Cup qualifying matches took place from April 2006 to November 2007. Of the ten teams to compete in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, five of them qualified based on their performance in these matches. The other five teams had qualified automatically.
Qualified teams
6 Asian-Pacific teams qualified for the World Cup; 3 qualified automatically, with the top 2 in the Pacific qualifying group also reaching the finals. Samoa finished third in the Pacific qualifying group and earned a qualification spot by winning the repechage. 4 European teams qualified for the World Cup. 2 qualified automatically, with a further 2 finals berths for the winner of each European qualifying group. No teams from the Atlantic qualifying group reached the finals, with the USA losing at the repechage semi-final stage.| Team | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Consecutive finals appearances | Previous best performance |
| Host | 2000 | Winners | ||||
| Automatic qualifier | 2000 | Runners-up | ||||
| Automatic qualifier | 2000 | Quarter-finals | ||||
| Automatic qualifier | 2000 | Runners-up | ||||
| Automatic qualifier | 2000 | Runners-up | ||||
| Europe Pool A winners | 2000 | Group stage | ||||
| Europe Pool B winners | 2000 | Quarter-finals | ||||
| Pacific qualifying group winners | 2000 | Group stage | ||||
| Pacific qualifying group runners-up | 2000 | Group stage | ||||
| Repechage winner | 2000 | Quarter-finals (2000 |
Continental qualifying
Europe
First Round| Team | Qualification | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 20 | +88 | 6 | Second Round | |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 102 | 50 | +52 | 4 | Failed to qualify for World Cup | |
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 68 | 123 | –55 | 2 | Failed to qualify for World Cup | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 42 | 127 | –85 | 0 | Failed to qualify for World Cup | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Failed to qualify for World Cup |
Second Round
Group A
| Team | Qualification | ||||||||
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 2 | Qualified for World Cup | |
| 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 37 | –5 | 2 | Intercontinental playoff |
Group B
In early 2011 Ireland and Lebanon's two draws, which involved Ryan Tandy and Jai Ayoub, became subject to police investigation as the two had been connected to match-fixing.
| Team | Qualification | ||||||||
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 142 | 64 | 78 | 6 | Qualified for World Cup | |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 104 | 42 | 62 | 6 | Interncontinental playoff | |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 178 | −140 | 0 | Failed to qualify for World Cup |
Pacific
| Team | Qualification | ||||||||
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 102 | 54 | 48 | 4 | Qualified for World Cup | |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 98 | 62 | 36 | 4 | Qualified for World Cup | |
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 86 | 52 | 34 | 4 | Advances to the repechage round | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 142 | −118 | 0 | Failed to qualify for World Cup |
Atlantic
Originally the USA, Japan, South Africa and West Indies were going to compete in a fourway tournament at Bernie Robbins Stadium, Atlantic City from 21–28 October. However the West Indies and South Africa withdrew and so a one-off match was played between Japan and the USA.| Team | Qualification | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 18 | +36 | 2 | Advances to the repechage round | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 54 | –36 | 0 | Failed to qualify for World Cup |
Repechage
Semi-finals
Final
- Therefore, Samoa qualified for the final position at the World Cup to be held in Australia in 2008.