American Samoa national football team

American Samoa
Nickname(s) The Boys from the Territory
Association Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS)
Confederation OFC (Oceania)
Head coach Larry Mana'o
Captain Ramin Ott
Most caps Nicky Salapu (16)
Top scorer Ramin Ott (3)
Home stadium Veterans Memorial Stadium
FIFA code ASA
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 191 Decrease 2 (24 November 2016)
Highest 164 (October 2015)
Lowest 205 (May 2006)
Elo ranking
Current 227 (14 February 2016)
Highest 191 (22 August 1983)
Lowest 233 (5 September 2011)
First international
unofficial
 Western Samoa 3–1 American Samoa American Samoa
(Apia, Western Samoa; August 20, 1983)
FIFA recognised
 Tonga 3–0 American Samoa American Samoa
(Rarotonga, Cook Islands; September 2, 1998)
Biggest win
unofficial
American Samoa American Samoa 3–0 Wallis and Futuna 
(Apia, Western Samoa; August 22, 1983)
FIFA recognized
American Samoa American Samoa 2–0 Cook Islands 
(Nuku'alofa, Tonga; September 4, 2015)
Biggest defeat
 Australia 31–0 American Samoa American Samoa
(Coffs Harbour, Australia; April 11, 2001)
(international record)

The American Samoa national football team (Samoan: Au soka Amerika Sāmoa) represents American Samoa in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa, the governing body of the sport in the territory. American Samoa's home ground is Veterans Memorial Stadium in Pago Pago and their head coach is Larry Mana'o.[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 then 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] They followed this campaign with their most successful qualifying attempt in their history during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in summer 2015, winning twice and narrowly missing out on progressing to the next stage on goal difference. This rise in fortunes can be attributed to the increased number of US college based players, who experience a more professional training regime compared to the amateur players that used to dominate previous squads. These victories would take them to a new high FIFA ranking of 164th in October 2015.

American Samoa all-time record against all nations

As of September 5, 2015 (UTC)
Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD % Won
 Australia 1 0 0 1 0 31 −31 0%
 Cook Islands 4 1 1 2 6 8 −2 25%
 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 10 0 0 10 5 44 −39 0%
 Solomon Islands 2 0 0 2 1 16 −15 0%
 Tahiti 3 0 0 3 1 32 −31 0%
 Tonga 9 2 0 7 10 26 −16 22.2%
 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 4 1 39 28 326 −298 4.76%

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup
qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pos Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1998 Did not enter – – – – – –
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 5th 4 0 0 4 0 57
Germany 2006 5th 4 0 0 4 1 34
South Africa 2010 5th 4 0 0 4 1 38
Brazil 2014 3rd 3 1 1 1 3 3
Russia 2018 2nd 3 2 0 1 6 4
Total 18 3 1 14 11 136

World Cup qualification record

FIFA World Cup qualification history
YearRoundH/A/NScoreResult
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
2018 First round N  American Samoa 2 – 3  Samoa Loss
First round N  American Samoa 2 – 1  Tonga Win
First round N  American Samoa 2 – 0  Cook Islands Win

OFC Nations Cup record

South Pacific Games record

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.

Results and fixtures

2015

Current squad

Players selected to compete in the First Round of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands.
Caps and goals updated as of 4 September 2015.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Pita Falevalu (1985-09-18) 18 September 1985 4 0 United States Seattle Ba
23 1GK Nicky Salapu (1980-09-13) 13 September 1980 16 0 Unattached
2 2DF Ne'emia Kaleopa (1996-05-09) 9 May 1996 4 0 American Samoa Utulei Youth
4 2DF Casper Kuresa (1991-01-07) 7 January 1991 5 0 American Samoa ASCC
12 2DF Paul Collins (1997-05-31) 31 May 1997 1 0 American Samoa Utulei Youth
13 2DF Rawlston Masaniai (1983-05-13) 13 May 1983 6 0 United States PSA Elite
17 2DF Uasila'a Heleta (1987-02-27) 27 February 1987 15 0 American Samoa Pago Youth
19 2DF Ryan Samuelu (1991-02-19) 19 February 1991 4 0 American Samoa Utulei Youth
3 3MF Jordan Grantz (1992-12-05) 5 December 1992 4 0 United States North Carolina Wesleyan College
5 3MF Jason Si'i (1983-12-27) 27 December 1983 3 0 United States Puebla Soccer Team
6 3MF Kaleopa Siligi (1996-03-26) 26 March 1996 2 0 American Samoa Utulei Youth
7 3MF Dylan Hardie-Jordan (1992-10-02) 2 October 1992 4 0 United States Hawaii Pacific University
9 3MF Ramin Ott (c) (1986-06-22) 22 June 1986 15 3 American Samoa Pago Youth
10 3MF Panweichi Kaleopa (1994-06-15) 15 June 1994 3 0 American Samoa Leone Lions
14 3MF Justin Manao (1993-03-25) 25 March 1993 7 2 United States Pacific Lutheran University
15 3MF Tor-Lawrence Manao (1999-05-27) 27 May 1999 3 0 United States Crossfire Premier
21 3MF Sam Kome (1996-05-06) 6 May 1996 2 0 American Samoa Lion Hearts
8 4FW Ryan Aloali'i Mitchell (1994-08-12) 12 August 1994 3 1 United States Ware County High Varsity Soccer
11 4FW Demetrius Beauchamp (1991-11-11) 11 November 1991 4 2 United States San Jose State University
20 4FW Raphael Rocha (1996-12-19) 19 December 1996 1 0 American Samoa Pago Youth

Managers

References

  1. 1 2 3 "American Samoa wins first ever football match after 30 straight defeats in 17 years". The Daily Telegraph. November 23, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
  2. ↑ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA.com. November 23, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  3. ↑ American Samoa's victory on November 23 came too late for this ranking period, and will be incorporated into the December rankings
  4. ↑ Rookwood, Dan (April 11, 2001). "Aussie Rules as Socceroos smash world record again". The Guardian. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  5. ↑ Lee, Ben (November 24, 2011). "American Samoa football team celebrate first win in 18 years". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  6. ↑ Mitchell, Wendy (3 February 2014) Making Next Goal Wins screendaily.com
  7. ↑ 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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