American Samoa national association football team
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| Nickname(s) | Jaiyah's | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS) | ||
| Confederation | OFC (Oceania) | ||
| Head coach | Uinifareti Aliva | ||
| Captain | Nicky Salapu | ||
| Most caps | Nicky Salapu (17) | ||
| Top scorer |
Ramin Ott Shalom Luani (2) | ||
| Home stadium | Veterans Memorial Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | ASA | ||
| FIFA ranking |
203  3 (9 April 2015) | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 173 (5 September 2012) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 205 (17 May 2006) | ||
| Elo ranking |
232  | ||
| Highest Elo ranking | 191 (August 22, 1983) | ||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 233 (September 5, 2011) | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
unofficial Western Samoa 3–1 Am. Samoa  (Apia, Western Samoa; August 20, 1983) FIFA recognised  Tonga 3–0 Am. Samoa (Rarotonga, Cook Islands; September 2, 1998) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
unofficial Am. Samoa 3–0 Wallis and Futuna  (Apia, Western Samoa; August 22, 1983) FIFA recognized Am. Samoa 2–1 Tonga (Apia, Samoa; November 22, 2011) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Australia 31–0 American Samoa (Coffs Harbour, Australia; April 11, 2001) (international record) | |||
The American Samoa national association football team (Samoan: Amerika Sāmoa soka au) represents American Samoa in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa, the governing body the sport in the territory. American Samoa's home ground is Veterans Memorial Stadium in Pago Pago and their head coach is Uinifareti Aliva.[1]
Overview
Regarded as one of the world's weakest teams,[1] until November 2011 they were the joint lowest FIFA ranking of all countries registered for full internationals.[2][3] The team holds the world record for the largest defeat in an international match, set after their 31–0 loss to Australia.[4]
American Samoa achieved its first victory in a 3–0 win against Wallis and Futuna in the group stage of the 1983 South Pacific Games,[5] when neither team was a member of FIFA.
On November 23, 2011, the team defeated Tonga 2–1 in the first round of OFC World Cup Qualification, with a long-range goal by Ramin Ott, and a chip over the keeper by Shalom Luani, helping them record their first official international victory after 30 consecutive defeats.[1]
They followed this up with a 1–1 draw against Cook Islands, but failed to progress in their qualifying group, after losing to Samoa 1–0, the only goal being scored in the 89th minute.
On December 2011 the team achieved its greatest position in the FIFA World Rankings.
The team's efforts to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup was chronicled in 2014 British documentary, Next Goal Wins, directed by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison.[6][7]
American Samoa all-time record against all nations
- As of November 27, 2011 (UTC)
| Against | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | −31 | 0% |
 Cook Islands | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 0% |
 Fiji | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | −24 | 0% |
 Guam | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0% |
 New Caledonia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 28 | −28 | 0% |
 Papua New Guinea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 | −37 | 0% |
| Samoa | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 41 | −38 | 0% |
 Solomon Islands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 16 | −15 | 0% |
 Tahiti | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 32 | −31 | 0% |
| Tonga | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 25 | −17 | 12.5% |
 Tuvalu | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0% |
 Vanuatu | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 39 | −38 | 0% |
 Wallis and Futuna | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 50% |
| Total | 42 | 2 | 1 | 39 | 22 | 294 | −272 | 4.76% |
World Cup record
1930–1998: Did not enter
2002–2014: Did not qualify
World Cup qualification record
| FIFA World Cup qualification history | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | H/A/N | Score | Result |
| 2002 | Group 1 | N | American Samoa 0 – 13 Fiji | Loss |
| Group 1 | N | American Samoa 0 – 8 Samoa | Loss | |
| Group 1 | N | American Samoa 0 – 31 Australia | Loss | |
| Group 1 | N | American Samoa 0 – 5 Tonga | Loss | |
| 2006 | Group 1 | A | American Samoa 0 – 4 Samoa | Loss |
| Group 1 | N | American Samoa 1 – 9 Vanuatu | Loss | |
| Group 1 | N | American Samoa 0 – 11 Fiji | Loss | |
| Group 1 | N | American Samoa 0 – 10 Papua New Guinea | Loss | |
| 2010 | Group B | N | American Samoa 1 – 12 Solomon Islands | Loss |
| Group B | A | American Samoa 0 – 7 Samoa | Loss | |
| Group B | N | American Samoa 0 – 15 Vanuatu | Loss | |
| Group B | N | American Samoa 0 – 4 Tonga | Loss | |
| 2014 | First round | N | American Samoa 2 – 1 Tonga | Win |
| First round | N | American Samoa 1 – 1 Cook Islands | Draw | |
| First round | A | American Samoa 0 – 1 Samoa | Loss | |
OFC Nations Cup record
South Pacific Games record
- 1963 to 1979 — Did not enter
- 1983 — Group Stage
- 1987 — Sixth place
- 1991 to 2003 — Did not enter
- 2007 — Group Stage
- 2011 — Group Stage
1983
The football tournament at the 1983 South Pacific Games in Western Samoa was the first time American Samoa had entered, having missed the six tournaments from 1963 to 1979. American Samoa were drawn in Group A along with Samoa, Tonga, and the Wallis and Futuna Islands. Two points would be awarded for a win, one for a draw, with the top two in each group advancing to the quarter-finals. Their first two games ended in defeat, losing 3–1 to Samoa and 3–2 to Tonga. In their final game against the Wallis and Futuna Islands, however, they achieved their first victory, winning by three goals to nil. The two points gained from this win, though, were not enough to finish in the top two, so American Samoa went out at the group stage.
1987
The 1987 football tournament saw American Samoa compete for the 2nd time in their history. In a format change from the previous tournament in 1983, the entered teams were placed in one large group, with the group winner taking the gold medal. In their opening match, American Samoa were on the receiving end of a 10–0 thrashing from the hosts, New Caledonia. Their next two matches also ended in defeat, albeit less severe: 7–0 against Vanuatu and 5–1 against the Wallis and Futuna Islands. Papua New Guinea, however, were less merciful, and scored twenty without reply in what turned out to be the American Samoans' last game of the tournament, their final match against Tahiti being cancelled. American Samoa would not enter again until 2007, missing the 1991, 1995, and 2003 tournaments.
2007
American Samoa made their 3rd appearance at the South Pacific Games football tournament in 2007. The competition also doubled as the first stage of the OFC qualification tournament for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with the three medal winners progressing to the final qualifying group. American Samoa were drawn in Group B along with the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa, and Vanuatu. In their opening match, they were defeated 12–1 by the Solomon Islands, with Ramin Ott scoring only their second goal in their FIFA World Cup qualification history. Following two more heavy defeats (7–0 against Samoa and 15–0 against Vanuatu), American Samoa went into their final game versus Tonga unable to qualify from their group. Their 4–0 defeat in this game, however, was their best result since 2006.
2011
At the football tournament of the 2011 South Pacific Games, held in Nouméa, New Caledonia, American Samoa were drawn in Group A alongside the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Guam, Tuvalu, and the hosts New Caledonia. In their opening two games, they were defeated 4-0 first by Tuvalu and then by the Solomon Islands. Their best result came in game three, a 2-0 loss to Guam, before back-to-back 8-0 defeats to New Caledonia and Vanuatu ensured that once again American Samoa exited at the group stage. Their group stage stats: Played 5, Lost 5, Scored 0, Conceded 26.
Managers
- Tiwo Kummings (2000)
- Anthony Langkilde (2001)
- Tunoa Lui (2001–02)
-
Ian Crook (2004) - Nathan Mease (2007)
- David Brand (2007–10)
- Iofi Lalogafuafua (2011)
-
Thomas Rongen (2011) - Uinifareti Aliva (2012-)
Squad
The following squad was selected for 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification against Tonga, Samoa and Cook Islands. The caps is of the players is only in FIFA matches.
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "American Samoa wins first ever football match after 30 straight defeats in 17 years". The Daily Telegraph. November 23, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
- ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA.com. November 23, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
- ↑ American Samoa's victory on November 23 came too late for this ranking period, and will be incorporated into the December rankings
- ↑ Rookwood, Dan (April 11, 2001). "Aussie Rules as Socceroos smash world record again". The Guardian. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
- ↑ Lee, Ben (November 24, 2011). "American Samoa football team celebrate first win in 18 years". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
- ↑ Mitchell, Wendy (3 February 2014) Making Next Goal Wins screendaily.com
- ↑ Kev Geoghegan (6 May 2014). "Next Goal Wins for 'world's worst football team'". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
External links
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