The Samoa national association football team ( sm, Sāmoa soka au) represents Samoa in men's international football and it is controlled by the

Football Federation Samoa Football Federation Samoa is a member of the Oceania Football Confederation and is the national governing body for association football in Samoa. It was founded in 1968 and became a FIFA member in 1986. The Samoa national football team is a regu ...

, the governing body for football in Samoa. Samoa's home ground is Toleafoa J. S. Blatter Soccer Stadium in

Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. T ...

. It was known as the Western Samoa national football team until 1997.

History

Beginnings (1979–1993)

Although they had not taken part in the first five editions of the

South Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games wer ...

, their geographical proximity to Fiji, host of

1979 South Pacific Games The 1979 South Pacific Games, held at Suva in Fiji from 28 August to 8 September 1979, was the sixth edition of the South Pacific Games. Participating countries Nineteen Pacific nations or territories attended: Sports There were 18 sports con ...

, allowed them to participate for the first time. They lost both group stage matches to Wallis and Futuna 3–1 and Solomon Islands 12–0. Four years later, as hosts of the 1983 edition, they beat

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

3–1, drew 3–3 with Tonga and fell again to Wallis and Futuna, but the results allowed them to advance to the next round. In the quarterfinals, Tahiti eliminated them by beating them 2–0. Samoa entered qualification for the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

however they were defeated by New Zealand over two legs, losing 7–0 at home before being defeated 12–0 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

. In the playoffs for the next round Samoa lost to Taiwan 5–0 and were eliminated.

Regional Frustrations (1994–2010)

In 1994 they hosted the first edition of the Polynesia Cup, where they beat

, tied with Tonga and lost to Tahiti to finish in third position. In 1998 they were third again, coming within a point of the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ...

in second. Samoa returned to finish third again in the 2000 edition by beating Tonga and

, but losing to the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ...

and Tahiti. After four tournaments absent, they returned in the

2007 South Pacific Games The 2007 South Pacific Games were held in Apia, Samoa, from 25 August to 8 September 2007. The Games were the thirteenth to be held since the inception of the South Pacific Games in 1963, and included traditional multi-sport event disciplines, s ...

as hosts. They managed six points by beating Tonga and

again, but were eliminated after being losing to the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

OFC Nations Cup (2011–present)

In 2011 it hosted the

OFC Nations Cup The OFC Nations Cup is an international association football tournament held among the OFC member nations. It was held every two years from 1996 to 2004; before 1996 there were two other tournaments held at irregular intervals, under the nam ...

qualifying tournament. There, they beat the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ...

3–2, drew 1–1 with Tonga and defeated

1–0 to qualify for the first time in their history. At the championship proper, they were beaten 10–1 by Tahiti, 5–0 by Vanuatu and 9–0 by New Caledonia. In the 2016 qualifiers, they beat

3–2 and lost 1–0 to the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , langu ...

. In their final game, the Samoan team defeated Tonga 3–0 and qualified on goal difference, because of American Samoa's 2–0 win over the Cookian team. At the tournament, which took place in Papua New Guinea, the Samoan team lost 4–0 to Tahiti, 7–0 to New Caledonia and 8–0 to the local team. Therefore, they finished in last place in their group without a single point.

Kit sponsorship

Results and fixtures

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Oceania The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Oceania on 25 January 2020 with the first confirmed case reported in Melbourne, Australia. The virus has spread to all sovereign states and territories in the region. Australia and New Ze ...

, Samoa have not played any matches since they took part in the

2019 Pacific Games The 2019 Pacific Games was the sixteenth edition of the Pacific Games. The Games were held in Apia, Samoa, returning there for the first time since 2007. It was the third time overall that the Pacific Games were held in Samoa. The event was initi ...

Coaching staff

Coaching history

* Terry Epa (1996–2001) * Vic Fernandez (2001–2002) * Malo Vaga (2002) *

David Brand Sir David Brand KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1975, and also the 19th and longest-serving Pre ...

(2002/2005) * Rudi Gutendorf (2003) * Falevi Umutaua (2007) * Tunoa Lui (2011) * Malo Vaga (2012–2014) *

Phineas Young Phineas Howe Young (also found as Phinehas) (February 16, 1799 – October 10, 1879) was a prominent early convert in the Latter Day Saint movement and was later a Mormon pioneer and a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ...

(2014–2016) * Scott Easthope (2016–2020) * Matt Calcott (2021–present)

Players

The following players were called up for the

. ''Caps and goals correct as of 18 July 2019, after the game against Vanuatu.''

Player records

:''Players in bold are still active with Samoa.''

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Oceania Nations Cup

Pacific Games

Head-to-head record

''As of 18 July 2019'' Includes results as Western Samoa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samoa National Football Team Football in Samoa Oceanian national association football teams