The islanders outscored the Americans by eight tries to two. Samoa got on the board early when captain Nigel Vagana and prop Hutch Maiava notched tries in the opening five minutes. Second rower Tony Puleta and replacement Chris Leisam also went in for scores as the Samoans built a 22-0 halftime lead.

Four more tries in the second half put the result beyond doubt. The United States improved in the second frame with both US-born Ryan McGoldrick and David Myles crossing for the Tomahawks to avoid the whitewash.

"It was a good hit-out for our first game," Samoa coach John Ackland told Sky Sports. "The Americans were very brave and all credit to them. They did surprise me."

American National Rugby League president David Niu conceded it was always going to be a tall order for the US to qualify.

“We would really have liked to have done this job with all US-born players but we’ve had to be realistic about the size of the task facing us,” said Niu. “Given that we’ve got a cluster of clubs around Philadelphia and one out on a limb in Jacksonville, FL, we’ve done a fantastic job.”

The US national team is due to return home this weekend, while the Samoans are still on course for the 10th and final berth in next year's World Cup. They will play Lebanon in the repechage final next week with the winner getting that last World Cup spot. Lebanon beat Wales 50-26 in Friday's second qualifier.