The Tahiti national football team (
French: ''Équipe de football de Tahiti'') represents
French Polynesia and is controlled by the
Fédération Tahitienne de Football. The team consists of a selection of players from French Polynesia, not just
Tahiti, and has competed in the
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) since 1990.
Tahiti is traditionally one of the stronger footballing nations of the
Pacific Islands, with the second-best record at the
football section of the South Pacific Games, with five victories. They were runners-up in the first three instalments of the Nations Cup (
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
,
1980 and
1996). The nation went through a period of less success, but showed promise when it qualified for the
2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. This success was followed up with the title of
2012 OFC Nations Cup
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, becoming the first team other than
Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
to win the competition.
History
Tahiti played its first full match on 21 September 1952, at home against
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, drawing 2–2. Seven days later, the two teams played again and New Zealand won 5–3. On 30 September, they played each other for a third time, and Tahiti gained its first victory, by 2–0. However, it is unknown whether this was a full international match.
In September 1953, Tahiti played three matches in
New Caledonia against
its national side, losing the first 5–0 and the later two 4–1. They then travelled to the New Hebrides (now
Vanuatu) and beat
its national side 4–2 twice. In 1969, touring World Champions
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
beat Tahiti 4–1 in an exhibition match. In 1989, under the leadership of Napoleon Spitz, the official federation was created.
Tahiti entered its first World Cup qualification with the aim of reaching the
1994 World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
, held in the United States. They were placed in
Group A
Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...
alongside
Australia and the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
, and played their first match away to the Solomon Islands in
Honiara on 11 July 1992. Eric Etaeta equalised for Tahiti to make it 1–1 in the 76th minute. On 11 September, Tahiti hosted Australia in
Papeete and lost 3–0. The next fixture was again against Australia, and resulted in a 2–0 away defeat in
Brisbane on 20 September. On 9 October, in Papeete, Tahiti defeated the Solomon Islands 4–2. Tahiti's first goal was scored as an 8th-minute penalty from Reynald Temarii, a politician and current president of the OFC. However, Tahiti finished second to Australia in the group and did not advance.
2012 OFC Nations Cup
In
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, the new edition of the tournament occurred in the Solomon Islands with the host country, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Tahiti,
Fiji,
Papua New Guinea and
Samoa (winner of the
qualifying tournament) playing the competition. Tahiti defeated New Caledonia in
the final in
Lawson Tama Stadium
Lawson Tama Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Honiara, Solomon Islands. It is currently used mostly for association football, football matches. The stadium is unique as the stand is built into the hillside so there is no official capacity but ...
1–0 with a goal by
Steevy Chong Hue and became the first team other than Australia (no longer part of OFC) and New Zealand to be crowned Oceania champions.
2013 Confederations Cup
By winning the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, Tahiti qualified for the
2013 Confederations Cup
The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourna ...
, held in Brazil, for the first time. Tahiti is the first – and so far only – team which has participated in the Confederations Cup but has never qualified for the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
. On 17 June 2013, Tahiti lost 1–6 to
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
in the 2013 Confederations Cup in
Belo Horizonte, with
Jonathan Tehau scoring the goal for Tahiti in the second half with a header from a corner; Tahiti fans still rejoiced in the prospect of scoring a goal in an international tournament. On 20 June, Tahiti lost 10–0 against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
to equal their largest ever loss against
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
nine years earlier. On 23 June 2013, Tahiti was beaten 8–0 by
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
.
In all, Tahiti conceded 24 goals and scored 1 to end with a goal differential of −23, the worst of any national team in any major competition. However, even with the poor record and heavy defeats, Tahiti's
underdog qualities gathered significant respect from the people of Brazil, who always cheered for them in every match. Spanish coach
Vicente del Bosque
Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque (; born 23 December 1950) is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to ha ...
, and strikers
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...
and
David Villa – who scored four and three goals respectively against Tahiti – complimented the team's fair play.
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
The Oceanian section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, for national teams which are members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). A total of 0.5 slots in the fi ...
After two matches canceled due to COVID-19, the Tahitians have finally returned to the qualifying tournament for the World Cup in Qatar. Unfortunately, the Toa Aito couldn't beat
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
and finished second in Group A.
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
led in the score in the 20th minute, the Tahitians came back into the match thanks to
Alvin Tehau's equalizer in the 26th minute.
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
then made the difference on the return from the half on a lightning counterattack before taking the lead more widely at the end of the match 1–3.
Team image
Kit sponsorship
Fixtures and results
In March 2022, Tahiti will play their first matches since they took part in the
2019 Pacific Games.
2022
Coaching history
*
Freddy Vernaudon (1973)
*
Richard Vansam (1980)
*
François Ferez (1992)
*
Bernard Vahirua (1992)
*
Umberto Mottini (1995–1996)
*
Gerard Kautai (1996)
*
Richard Vansam (1997)
*
Alain Rousseau (1998)
*
Leon Gardikiotis (1999–2000)
*
Patrick Jacquemet (2001–2003)
*
Gerard Kautai (2004–2007)
*
Eddy Etaeta (2010–2015)
*
Ludovic Graugnard (2015–2018)
*
Naea Bennett (2018-2019)
*
Samuel Garcia (2019–present)
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Parallel tourn ...
matches in March 2022.
''Caps and goals updated as of 27 March 2022, after the game against
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.''
Player records
:''Players in bold are still active with Tahiti.''
Most capped players
Top goalscorers
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
FIFA Confederations Cup
OFC Nations Cup
Pacific Games
Polynesia Cup
Coupe de l'Outre-Mer
Head-to-head record
See also
*
Tahiti national rugby union team
Notes
References
External links
Official Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tahiti National Football Team
National football teams of Overseas France
Oceanian national association football teams