But he missed this week's annual summit of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Niue, one of 13 island microstates which, with PapuaNewGuinea(PNG), Australia and New Zealand, make up the PIF.
But England's victory over PapuaNewGuinea in their opening match is almost certain to secure their qualification from their group - unless PNG can pull off a huge shock by defeating Australia on Sunday.