American Samoa national football team

In 1983, American Samoa entered a football team in the South Pacific Games for the first time. The territory's official first match took place in Apia, Western Samoa on August 20, 1983, and ended in a 3–1 defeat to Western Samoa. Two days later, the team recorded their first win with a 3–0 defeat of Wallis and Futuna however, they were eliminated from the competition at the group stage following a 3–2 loss to Tonga on August 24.[3][4][5]

The following year, the American Samoa Football Association (ASFA) – now known as Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS) – was founded and took over responsibility for organizing the territory's national team.[6]

After competing in the 1987 South Pacific Games and the 1994 Polynesia Cup, ASFA became full members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) allowing them to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the first time.[6] American Samoa registered their first FIFA-recognized international during the 1998 Polynesia Cup in Rarotonga, Cook Islands when they lost 3–0 to Tonga on September 2.[4][5][7]

During their first qualifying campaign for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in April 2001, American Samoa was involved in a match which set the record for the largest margin of victory in international football when they lost 31–0 to Australia.[8] The outcome of the match led to debates about the format of qualification tournaments, with the Australian manager Frank Farina and striker Archie Thompson – who scored 13 times in the match – feeling that preliminary rounds should be introduced to avoid such unbalanced matches, views shared by the international footballing body FIFA. It eventually led to the introduction of a preliminary round in the Oceanian zone qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[9]

Since joining FIFA, the team has been regarded as one of the world's weakest teams[10] and were, until November 2011, the joint-lowest ranked national team in the FIFA World ranking.[11]

On November 23, 2011, American Samoa recorded their second and first FIFA-recognized win when they defeated Tonga 2–1 in the first round of qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It was also the team's first victory after 38 consecutive defeats.[4][10][12]

The team's efforts to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup were chronicled in a 2014 British documentary, Next Goal Wins, directed by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison.[13][14]

In October 2015, the territory achieved its highest position in the FIFA World Rankings when they reached 164th following back-to-back wins against Tonga and the Cook Islands in qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[4][15]

American Samoa last played their international match at the 2019 Pacific Games against Tahiti on 18 July 2019 losing 8–1.

American Samoa's home ground is the Pago Park Soccer Stadium in Pago Pago with a 2,000 capacity, however, the team has never played a home match in its history.[4] The stadium featured in the highly rated 2014 film Next Goal Wins and was used as the national team's training ground in the build-up to the 2011 Pacific Games and the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[16]

The following players were called up for the 2019 Pacific Games.[17]

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

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Nicky Salapu (captain)	(1980-09-13) September 13, 1980	22	0	PanSa East FC
18	1GK	Hengihengi Ikuvalu	(2002-12-02) December 2, 2002	1	0	Pago Youth
2	2DF	Takai Pouli	(2000-07-18) July 18, 2000	4	0	Vaiala Tongan
3	2DF	Jaiyah Saelua	(1988-07-19) July 19, 1988	15	0	Ilaoa and To'omata
4	2DF	Ryan Samuelu	(1991-02-19) February 19, 1991	9	0	Utulei Youth
5	2DF	Ueli Tualaulelei	(1999-08-02) 2 August 1999	5	0	Pago Youth
13	2DF	Matthew Taga'i	(2002-03-28) March 28, 2002	2	0	Ilaoa and To'omata
19	2DF	Tuaki Latu	(2000-07-15) July 15, 2000	2	0	Vaiala Tongan
20	2DF	Uasila'a Heleta	(1987-02-27) February 27, 1987	17	0	Lion Heart
6	3MF	Kuresa Taga'i	(2000-08-04) August 4, 2000	5	0	Ilaoa and To'omata
7	3MF	Austin Kaleopa	(2001-11-24) November 24, 2001	5	0	Utulei Youth
8	3MF	Roy Ledoux	(2000-06-26) June 26, 2000	5	0	Pago Youth
11	3MF	Milo Tiatia	(2002-02-18) February 18, 2002	5	0	Pago Youth
12	3MF	Mark Taga'i	(2002-03-28) March 28, 2002	2	0	Ilaoa and To'omata
15	3MF	Chris Faamoana	(2001-08-02) August 2, 2001	5	1	Pago Youth
21	3MF	Puni Samuelu	(1996-08-16) August 16, 1996	4	0	Pago Youth
9	4FW	Walter Pati	(2002-03-31) March 31, 2002	5	1	Pago Youth
10	4FW	MJ Faoa-Danielson	(2000-04-13) April 13, 2000	3	0	Vaiala Tongan
14	4FW	Palauni Tapusoa	(1994-02-01) February 1, 1994	0	0	Utulei Youth
16	4FW	Junior Teoni	(2001-02-06) February 6, 2001	1	0
17	4FW	King Moe	(2002-01-21) January 21, 2002	1	0

Youngest player

• Jaiyah Saelua – 15 years 300 days vs. Fiji on 15 May 2004[21]

Oldest player

• Nicky Salapu – 38 years 308 days vs. Tahiti on 18 July 2019[22]

First goal

• Duane Atuelevao – 12 March 2002 vs. Tonga

Most goals in a match

• Demetrius Beauchamp – 2 vs. Samoa on 31 August 2015[23]

Following FIFA affiliation in 1998,[6] American Samoa first entered the qualifying competition for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. They have entered the qualifiers for each subsequent edition but have never made it beyond the first stage. The closest they came to reaching the second phase was in qualifying for the 2018 edition when they won two of their three matches and narrowly missed out on progressing on goal difference.[15]

FIFA World Cup										Qualification
Year	Host	Round	Pld	W	D	L	F	A		Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Source
1930 to 1998		did not enter	did not enter
2002	Japan  South Korea	did not qualify								Group – 5th	4	0	0	4	0	57	[25]
2006	Germany	First round group – 5th[A]	4	0	0	4	1	34		[26]
2010	South Africa	First round group – 5th[B]	4	0	0	4	1	38		[27]
2014	Brazil	First round group – 3rd[C]	3	1	1	1	3	3		[28]
2018	Russia	First round group – 2nd[D]	3	2	0	1	6	4		[15]
2022	Qatar	Withdrew								Withdrew
2026	Canada  Mexico  United States	to be determined								to be determined
Total			0	0	0	0	0	0			18	3	1	14	11	136	—

Notes

Before becoming full members of OFC in 1998,[6] American Samoa entered the 1994 Polynesia Cup which acted as the qualifying round for Polynesian national teams for the 1996 OFC Nations Cup. This was the territory's first time competing for a place in OFC's flagship competition for senior men's national teams.[7]

The OFC Nations Cup has often acted as part of the FIFA World Cup qualification process for Oceanian national teams and, as a result, American Samoa have competed in the qualifiers for both competitions in every edition since 1998. They have yet to qualify for either competition.

Oceania Cup / OFC Nations Cup										Qualification
Year	Host	Round	Pld	W	D	L	F	A		Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Source
1973 to 1980		Did not enter	Did not enter
1996	—[E]	Did not qualify								Group – 4th[F]	3	0	0	3	3	7	[29]
1998	Australia	Group – 5th[G]	4	0	0	4	3	23		[7]
2000	Tahiti	Group – 5th[H]	4	0	0	4	2	29		[30]
2002	New Zealand	Group – 5th	4	0	0	4	2	29		[31]
2004	Australia	Group – 5th[I]	4	0	0	4	1	34		[26]
2008	—[E]	Group – 5th[J]	4	0	0	4	1	38		[27]
2012	Solomon Islands	Group – 3rd[K]	3	1	1	1	3	3		[28]
2016	Papua New Guinea	Group – 2nd[L]	3	2	0	1	6	4		[15]
2024	To be determined	To be determined
Total			0	0	0	0	0	0			29	3	1	25	21	167	—

Notes

American Samoa first entered the South Pacific Games in 1983. This was the first time a team representing the territory had competed in association football and they recorded one win from their three games in the group stage by beating Wallis and Futuna 3–0 – the only time American Samoa have recorded a win in the competition – but that wasn't enough to progress to the next round.[3] American Samoa would go onto enter the 1987 edition where they were again eliminated in the group stage, losing all four of their matches.[32]

It would be another 20 years before they again entered the competition. The 2007 edition was the last known as the South Pacific Games before becoming the Pacific Games four years later and it was also part of the qualification process for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In their third appearance in the competition, American Samoa were again eliminated at the group stage, losing all four matches.[27] The same fate befell American Samoa in the 2011 Pacific Games as they lost all five games to finish bottom of their group.[33]

In 2015, the Pacific Games was an age-restricted tournament that doubled as the OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament and no team representing American Samoa took part. Four years later, they were again eliminated at the group stage however, a 1–1 draw with Tuvalu ended a 32-year losing streak in the competition.[34]

Pacific Games
Year	Host	Round	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Source
1963 to 1979		did not enter
1983	Western Samoa	Group stage	3	1	0	2	6	6	[3]
1987	New Caledonia		4	0	0	4	1	42	[32]
1991 to 2003		did not enter
2007[M]	Samoa	Group stage	4	0	0	4	1	38	[27]
2011	New Caledonia		5	0	0	5	0	26	[33]
2015	Papua New Guinea	did not enter[N]
2019	Samoa	Group stage	5	0	1	4	2	36	[34]
Total			21	1	1	19	10	148

Notes

The following table shows the American Samoa national football team's all-time international record. The statistics are composed of FIFA World Cup, OFC Nations Cup, Polynesia Cup and Pacific Games matches, as well as international friendlies. Up to matches played on 18 July 2019.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	WPCT
Australia	1	0	0	1	0	31	−31	0.00
Cook Islands	4	1	1	2	6	8	−2	25.00
Fiji	4	0	0	4	0	39	−39	0.00
Guam	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	0.00
New Caledonia	4	0	0	4	0	33	−33	0.00
Papua New Guinea	3	0	0	3	0	37	−37	0.00
Samoa[lower-alpha 1]	10	0	0	10	5	44	−39	0.00
Solomon Islands	3	0	0	3	1	29	−28	0.00
Tahiti	4	0	0	4	2	40	−38	0.00
Tonga	9	2	0	7	10	28	−18	22.22
Tuvalu	2	0	1	1	1	5	−4	0.00
Vanuatu	4	0	0	4	1	39	−38	0.00
Wallis and Futuna	2	1	0	1	4	5	−1	50.00
Total	51	4	2	45	30	340	−310	7.84

Up to matches played on 18 July 2019.

Notes

Up to matches played on 18 July 2019.