Liberia national football team

The Liberia national football team, nicknamed the Lone Stars, represents Liberia in men's international football and is controlled by the Liberia Football Association. Although the nation produced the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, George Weah, its football team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations just twice—in 1996 and 2002. It is a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Liberia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)The Lone Stars
AssociationLiberia Football Association
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachAnsumana Keita
CaptainOscar Dorley
Most capsJoe Nagbe (77)
Top scorerGeorge Weah (18)
Home stadiumSKD Stadium
FIFA codeLBR
First colors
Second colors
FIFA ranking
Current 150 Decrease 2 (21 September 2023)[1]
Highest66 (July 2001)
Lowest164 (October–November 2010)
First international
France Ivory Coast 0–2 Liberia 
(Abidjan, Ivory Coast; unknown date 1954)
Biggest win
 Liberia 5–0 Djibouti 
(Monrovia, Liberia; 29 March 2016)
Biggest defeat
 Ghana 6–0 Liberia 
(Accra, Ghana; 6 April 1975)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances2 (first in 1996)
Best resultGroup stage, 1996 and 2002

History

African Cup of Nations

In 1965 Liberia played in first campagin 1965 qualification qualifying campaign, losting its first match 0–1 against Ivory Coast. They also won 3–2 against DR Congo however lost both returning fixtures and were eliminated in the first round. In 1967 Liberia played in 1968 qualification qualifying campaign, drawing its first match 2–2 against Guinea. They also drew against Senegal however lost both returning fixtures and were eliminated in the first round. Liberia returned to qualifying in 1976 but lost in the preliminary round to Togo, falling to defeat in both fixtures. After another absence, Liberia again joined AFCON qualifying in 1982 in the preliminary rounds but failed to progress after two draws against Gambia, losing on the away goals rule.

Liberia withdrew from qualifying for the 1984 African Cup of Nations, but the following tournament they managed to secure their first win during qualifying, a 3–1 first-leg victory over Mauritania. They failed to capitalize on this advantage, losing 3–0 in the second leg. Liberia then faced Sierra Leone and Mali during the 1988 qualification and 1990 qualification respectively, but again failed to progress. In 1992, Liberia withdrew from qualifying before playing a match (possibly due to the ongoing First Liberian Civil War), and in 1994, Liberia was put into a group with two participants that withdrew during qualifying (Tanzania and Burkina Faso) however they failed to take advantage of this and finished with zero points, having lost to Ghana twice.

In the 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification, Liberia managed to register three wins (against Togo, Tunisia and Mauritania) and four draws, which saw them finish the group in second place and qualify for their first African Cup of Nations tournament. Following the withdrawal of Nigeria, Liberia was placed in a group with Gabon and Zaire. Liberia opened the tournament with a 2–1 victory over Gabon with goals from Kelvin Sebwe and Mass Sarr Jr. but lost 2–0 to Zaire. This meant that Liberia finished bottom of the group on goal difference and failed to progress to the knock-out stages.

Liberia missed out on returning to the African Cup of Nations in 1998 as they finished one point off of qualification. In 2000, they defeated Niger in the preliminary rounds, but again failed to advance to the main tournament, this time finishing behind Algeria on goal difference.

In 2002 African Cup of Nations qualification, Liberia beat Cape Verde in the preliminary rounds, then they finished top of their group to qualify for the main tournament for the second time in their history. In the 2002 African Cup of Nations, Liberia drew their first game 1–1 with Mali (goal scored by George Weah) and drew their second game 2–2 against Algeria (goals from Prince Daye and Kelvin Sebwe), but in their final group game, needing a win against Nigeria, they lost 1–0.

FIFA World Cup

Liberia first entered the qualifying process for the FIFA World Cup in 1966, however, they withdrew in protest against the fact that too few places had been reserved for Africa and Asia, along with all fourteen other African nations that had initially entered qualifying.

Liberia next entered qualifying in 1982 against Guinea after receiving a bye in the first round. They lost 1–0 over the two legs and were eliminated. In 1986, Liberia was again eliminated without having scored a goal, falling 4–0 to Nigeria. In 1990, Liberia won its first FIFA qualifying match defeating Ghana to progress to the second round. Despite finishing second in their group, Liberia failed to advance to the final qualification round, ending two points behind group winners Egypt.

In 1998, Liberia beat Gambia in the first qualification round, but finished twelve points adrift of Tunisia in their group. In 2002, Liberia had their strongest qualifying campaign, however, a loss against Ghana in their penultimate group game gave Nigeria the opportunity to overtake them and secure the only qualification spot.

Team image

Kit supplier

Kit provider[2] Period
Denmark Hummel 1990–1994
Italy Diadora 1994–1995
Germany Adidas 1995–1999
Liberia Weah Sports 1999–2001
Unknown 2001–2003
Germany Adidas 2003–2004
Denmark Hummel 2004–2006
Italy Kappa 2006–2008
Germany Adidas 2008
Singapore Kubba 2009
Germany Adidas 2010–2012
Italy Erreà 2012
Indonesia SPECS 2012–2013
Spain Joma 2013–2014[3]
Germany Adidas 2015–2020
Germany Puma 2020–present

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.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

24 March 2023 AFCON qualification South Africa  2–2  Liberia Johannesburg, South Africa
18:00 UTC+2
  • Foster 11' (pen.), 22'
Report
Stadium: Orlando Stadium
Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)
June 2023 AFCON qualification Liberia  Cancelled  Zimbabwe Liberia
--:-- UTC±0 Report
12 September Friendly Ghana  3–1  Liberia Accra, Ghana
Report
Stadium: Accra Sports Stadium
Referee: Kouassi Attiogbe (Togo)
17 October 2023 AFCON qualification Morocco  3–0  Liberia Agadir, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Adrar Stadium
Referee: Ahmad Imtehaz Heeralall (Mauritius)
Note: Match postponed from 9 September due to 2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake.

Coaching staff

Position Name
Head coach Liberia Ansumana Keita
Assistant coach Liberia Thomas Kojo
Deputy coach Liberia Cooper Sannah
Goalkeeping coach Liberia Nathaniel Sherman
Fitness coach Liberia George Gebro
Team manager Liberia Sebastian Collins
Assistant Team manager Liberia Tommy Johnson

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 AFCON qualification matches against South Africa on 24 and 28 March 2023.[4]

Caps and goals correct as of 28 March 2023, after the match against South Africa.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Tommy Songo (1995-04-20) 20 April 1995 22 0 Liberia LISCR
1GK Derrick Julu (2002-05-13) 13 May 2002 1 0 Liberia Watanga
1GK Emmanuel Deanneh (1995-06-20) 20 June 1995 0 0 Liberia Bea Mountain

2DF Marcus Macauley (1991-10-27) 27 October 1991 24 5 Malaysia PDRM
2DF Sampson Dweh (2001-10-10) 10 October 2001 17 0 Czech Republic FC Viktoria Plzen
2DF Prince Balde (1998-03-23) 23 March 1998 14 0 Iraq Al-Diwaniya
2DF Mark Pabai (2000-09-30) 30 September 2000 7 0 Slovenia Koper
2DF Jamal Arago (1993-08-28) 28 August 1993 6 0 Libya Al-Ahly
2DF Darius Kah (1997-01-25) 25 January 1997 0 0 Liberia LISCR

3MF Oscar Dorley (captain) (1998-07-19) 19 July 1998 31 1 Czech Republic Slavia Prague
3MF Allen Njie (1999-07-26) 26 July 1999 21 0 Switzerland Aarau
3MF Tonia Tisdell (1992-01-02) 2 January 1992 16 1 Egypt Telecom Egypt
3MF Mohammed Sangare (1998-12-28) 28 December 1998 9 2 Scotland Livingston
3MF Justin Salmon (1999-01-25) 25 January 1999 7 0 Sweden Degerfors
3MF Joachim Adukor (1993-05-02) 2 May 1993 5 0 Free agent
3MF Nohan Kenneh (2003-01-10) 10 January 2003 2 0 England Shrewsbury Town
3MF Morris Konneh (2003-11-11) 11 November 2003 0 0 Liberia Heaven Eleven

4FW William Jebor (1991-11-10) 10 November 1991 22 13 Malta Valletta
4FW Peter Wilson (1996-10-09) 9 October 1996 12 2 Norway Jerv
4FW Ketu Jerbo (1998-06-20) 20 June 1998 5 0 Liberia Bea Mountain
4FW Mohammed Kamara (1997-10-31) 31 October 1997 1 0 Israel Hapoel Haifa
4FW Farsedu Logan (1997-11-10) 10 November 1997 1 0 Liberia Watanga

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Melvin King (1985-11-18) 18 November 1985 4 0 Ivory Coast Bouaké v.  Egypt, 27 September 2022
GK Boison Wynney (1996-12-27) 27 December 1996 4 0 Romania Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț v.  Egypt, 27 September 2022

DF Jeremy Saygbe (2001-06-01) 1 June 2001 13 0 Spain CA Marbella v.  Egypt, 27 September 2022
DF Joel Johnson (1992-09-20) 20 September 1992 8 0 United States Charlotte Independence v.  Egypt, 27 September 2022
DF Ben Benaiah (1992-12-06) 6 December 1992 7 0 Liberia LPRC Oilers v.  Egypt, 27 September 2022

MF Seth Hellberg (1995-08-19) 19 August 1995 10 0 Sweden Brage v.  Egypt, 27 September 2022

FW Kpah Sherman (1992-02-03) 3 February 1992 19 3 Malaysia Pahang v.  Egypt, 27 September 2022

Records

As of 28 March 2023[5]
Players in bold are still active with Liberia.

Most appearances

Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1 Joe Nagbe[lower-alpha 1] 77 0 1986–2011
2 George Weah[lower-alpha 2] 75 18 1986–2018
3 Kelvin Sebwe 62 10 1988–2008
4 James Debbah[lower-alpha 3] 58 13 1986–2018
5 George Gebro 48 1 1997–2012
6 Anthony Laffor 46 5 2004–2018
7 Teah Dennis Jr. 44 1 2011–2019
8 Varmah Kpoto 40 1 1997–2008
9 Fallah Johnson 37 0 1995–2004
Zizi Roberts 37 9 1995–2003

Top goalscorers

George Weah is Liberia's top scorer with 18 goals.
Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 George Weah[lower-alpha 2] 18 75 0.24 1986–2018
2 William Jebor 13 22 0.59 2011–present
James Debbah[lower-alpha 3] 13 58 0.22 1986–2018
4 Kelvin Sebwe 10 62 0.16 1988–2008
5 Zizi Roberts 9 37 0.24 1995–2003
6 Oliver Makor 8 32 0.25 1995–2008
7 Prince Daye 7 25 0.28 1996–2004
Jonathan Sogbie 7 27 0.26 1988–1998
9 Zah Rahan 6 35 0.17 2006–2017
10 Francis Doe 5 22 0.23 2004–2016
Isaac Tondo 5 22 0.23 2000–2005
Marcus Macauley 5 24 0.21 2011–present
Dioh Williams 5 24 0.21 2004–2016
Anthony Laffor 5 46 0.11 2004–2018

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Declined participation
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 0 1
Mexico 1986 2 0 0 2 0 4
Italy 1990 8 3 3 2 4 3
United States 1994 Withdrew during qualifying 2 0 1 1 2 4
France 1998 Did not qualify 8 2 1 5 7 12
South Korea Japan 2002 10 6 1 3 11 2
Germany 2006 12 2 1 9 6 29
South Africa 2010 6 0 3 3 4 12
Brazil 2014 6 1 1 4 3 9
Russia 2018 4 1 1 2 4 6
Qatar 2022 8305810
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total 0/22 68 18 13 37 49 92

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record
Appearances: 2
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Sudan 1957Not affiliated to CAF
United Arab Republic 1959
Ethiopia 1962
Ghana 1963 Did not enter
Tunisia 1965 Did not qualify
Ethiopia 1968
Sudan 1970 Did not enter
Cameroon 1972
Egypt 1974
Ethiopia 1976 Did not qualify
Ghana 1978 Did not enter
Nigeria 1980
Libya 1982 Did not qualify
Ivory Coast 1984 Withdrew
Egypt 1986 Did not qualify
Morocco 1988
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992 Withdrew
Tunisia 1994 Did not qualify
South Africa 1996 Group stage 13th 2 1 0 1 2 3
Burkina Faso 1998 Did not qualify
Ghana Nigeria 2000
Mali 2002 Group stage 9th 3 0 2 1 3 4
Tunisia 2004 Did not qualify
Egypt 2006
Ghana 2008
Angola 2010
Equatorial Guinea Gabon 2012
South Africa 2013
Equatorial Guinea 2015
Gabon 2017
Egypt 2019
Cameroon 2021
Ivory Coast 2023
Morocco 2025 To be determined
Total Group stage 2/34 5 1 2 2 5 7

Honours

West African Nations Cup :

Notes

  1. Nagbe retired from international duty in 2001 but later played two farewell matches in 2011.
  2. Weah retired from international duty in 2002 but later played a farewell match in 2018.
  3. Debbah retired from international duty in 2004 but later played a farewell match in 2018.

References

  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. September 21, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  2. "Liberia Kit History". Football Kit Archive. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  3. Molaposc (July 21, 2014). "Molapo Sports Centre: A good win for Lesotho, but there is still work to do". Molapo Sports Centre. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  4. "Final Squad". Facebook. Liberia Football Association. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  5. Mamrud, Roberto. "Liberia - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.