American Samoa national football team


The American Samoa national football team 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 the Pago Park Soccer Stadium in Pago Pago and their head coach is Tunoa Lui.

Overview

Regarded as one of the world's weakest teams, until November 2011 they were the joint lowest FIFA ranking of all countries registered for full internationals. The team holds the world record for the largest defeat in an international match, set after their 31–0 loss to Australia.
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, when neither team was a member of FIFA.
On 23 November 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.
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.
In 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. 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

AgainstPlayedWonDrawnLostGFGAGD% Won

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Wallis and Futuna
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Total
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;Notes

World Cup record

World Cup qualification record

OFC Nations Cup 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, 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 2004.

2011

At the football tournament of the 2011 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 were: Played 5, Lost 5, Scored 0, Conceded 26.

2019

American Samoa did not enter the football tournament of the 2015 Pacific Games, which was age-restricted and open to men's under-23 national teams only. However, they made their 5th appearance at the Pacific Games Football Tournament in 2019, with the team being managed by former coach Tunoa Lui. Lui had previously managed the team at the time of their world-record 31-0 defeat to Australia in 2001. The squad also saw the return of Nicky Salapu, famous for being the goalkeeper during their 31-0 defeat to Australia in 2001, and Jaiyah Saelua, who was the world's first openly transgender player to play in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. The team were unable to call upon the services of star striker Ramin Ott however, since he was occupied with military responsibilities. The team was drawn in Group B, alongside Tuvalu, New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Tahiti. The team performed better than expected in their opening game, only losing 5-0 to one of the pre-tournament favourites New Caledonia, when they were expected to lose by a much greater margin. They then lost 9-0 to Fiji, before earning a 1-1 draw with Tuvalu after a Walter Pati goal. This was the first game American Samoa had not lost at the tournament in 36 years. Saelua was praised for her strong defensive performance. The team then lost 13-0 to the Solomon Islands, and finished their campaign with a 8-1 loss to Tahiti, with Chris Faamoana scoring an impressive solo goal. The team managed to avoid finishing bottom of their group on goal difference. They achieved their highest goal tally since their first tournament in 1983.

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Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Recent results

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2019 Pacific Games from 7–20 July in Apia, Samoa

Caps and goals updated as of 18 July 2019 after the game against Tahiti.

Managers