Guam national football team

Guam

Association	Guam Football Association
Sub-confederation	EAFF (East Asia)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Gary White
Top scorer	Zachary Pangelinan (11)
Home stadium	Guam National Football Stadium
FIFA code	GUM
FIFA ranking	192
Highest FIFA ranking	182 (August 1996)
Lowest FIFA ranking	205 (November 2004-February 2005)
Elo ranking	222
Home colours Away colours
First international
Fiji 11–0 Guam (Guam; August 24, 1975)
Biggest win
Guam 16–1 Pohnpei (Koror, Palau; July, 1998; Not full FIFA international ) Guam 2–0 American Samoa (Nouméa, New Caledonia; 1 September 2011)
Biggest defeat
North Korea 21–0 Guam (Taipei, Republic of China; March 11, 2005)

The Guam national football team is the national team of Guam, an overseas territory of the United States in the Pacific Ocean, and is controlled by the Guam Football Association. They are affiliated to the Asian Football Confederation's East Asian Football Federation region.

The team was founded in 1975 and joined FIFA in 1996. It is among the weakest national teams in the world, its highest FIFA ranking was 182nd in August 1996 by joining the federation . Since 2011 they have been managed by Kazuo Uchida of Japan.

Guam has competed in World Cup qualification on one occasion. It was eliminated in the first round of Asian qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup after losing against Iran and Tajikistan, conceding 35 goals in two games and scoring none.

Victories over FIFA opposition

Guam registered its first victory over a member of FIFA on 11 March 2009, 35 years after making its debut. They beat Mongolia, by 1-0 in the 2010 East Asian Cup Preliminary Competition, at home in Yona. Christopher Mendiolla scored the only goal after 9 minutes.

The second victory was a 2-0 against American Samoa on 1 September 2011, in Group A at the 2011 Pacific Games in Noumea, New Caledonia. Dylan Naputi and Elias Merfalen scored in the second half.

Guam has beaten its nearest neighbour, the Northern Mariana Islands on four occasions from 2007 to 2009. Although a member of the East Asia Football Federation since 2006, the islands are not FIFA members.

History

1975 South Pacific Games

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Fiji	3	2	1	1	0	12	1	+11
Solomon Islands	3	2	1	1	0	6	2	+4
Guam	0	2	0	0	2	1	16	-15

Guam first competed in football at the 1975 South Pacific Games which it hosted in August of that year. They lost their first ever game 11-0 to Fiji and then lost 5-1 to the Solomon Islands to finish bottom of Group 2. Fiji and the Solomons lost their semi-finals and Fiji's conquerer Tahiti beat New Caledonia 2-1 after extra-time in the final.

1979 South Pacific Games

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
New Caledonia	4	2	2	0	0	14	0	+14
New Hebrides	2	2	1	0	1	5	3	+2
Guam	0	2	0	0	2	0	16	-16

Guam competed in football at the 1979 South Pacific Games in Fiji and was placed in Group 4 alongside New Caledonia and the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu). During the tournament, held in September 1979, Guam lost 11-0 to New Caledonia and 5-0 to the New Hebrides as both of the other teams advanced.

1991 South Pacific Games

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Fiji	6	3	3	0	0	20	1	+19
New Caledonia	4	3	2	0	1	9	3	+6
Tahiti	2	3	1	0	2	15	5	+10
Guam	0	3	0	0	3	2	37	-35

The 1991 South Pacific Games saw Guam's first matches since the 1979 tournament, twelve years previous. In Papua New Guinea, Guam were in Group 2 and lost their opener 14-0 to Tahiti on 9 September 1991. On 12 September they lost 15-1 to Fiji before losing 18-0 on 15 September to New Caledonia .

2002 World Cup Qualification

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Iran	2	2	0	0	21	0	+21	6
Tajikistan	2	1	0	1	16	2	+14	3
Guam	2	0	0	2	0	35	−35	0

Guam entered World Cup qualification for the first time for the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea. They were put in Group B of the first qualifying round, against Iran (qualifiers in 1998) and Tajikistan. Each team played each other once in the Takhti Stadium in the city of Tabriz, Iran

Guam's first ever World Cup qualifier was against Iran, on 24 November 2000. Guam lost 19-0 in front of a crowd of 30,000. Iranian player Karim Bagheri scored seven times, and his team mate Ali Karimi four. Farhad Majidi and Ali Daei also scored hat-tricks, with one of Daei's from the penalty spot. Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh scored a further two for Iran with Alireza Nikhbat getting the other.

Two days later Guam lost 16-0 to Tajikistan, for whom nine different players scored. Rustam Khojaev and Sukhrob Khamidov each scored four for Tajikistan. Two days later Iran beat Tajikistan 2-0 to win the group and advance, but did not make the finals.

2006 AFC Challenge Cup

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Palestine	3	2	1	0	16	1	+15	7
Bangladesh	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	7
Cambodia	3	1	0	2	4	6	−2	3
Guam	3	0	0	3	0	17	−17	0

The first-ever 2006 AFC Challenge Cup was held in Bangladesh in April 2006. As a competition for Asia's weakest teams, there was no qualification scheme. Guam were put in Group C alongside the hosts, Palestine and Cambodia.

Guam played their first game at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, on 1 April, in front of 3,000 people and were defeated 11-0 by Palestine, for whom Fahed Attal scored six times. Bangladesh then defeated Guam 3-0 on 3 April, with two late goals from Mohammed Abul. The match was watched by 18,000. Three days later 550 people watched Cambodia defeat Guam 3-0 at the Bangladesh Army Stadium.

World Cup record

• 1930 to 1974 - Did not exist
• 1978 to 1994 - Not FIFA member
• 1998 - Did not enter
• 2002 - Did not qualify
• 2006 to 2010 - Withdrew
• 2014 - Did not enter

Asian Cup record

• 1956 to 1992 - Did not enter
• 1996 to 2004 - Did not qualify
• 2007 - Did not enter
• 2011 - Did not enter

East Asian Football Championship record

• 2003 - Did not qualify (5th place in qualifiers)
• 2005 - Did not qualify (5th place in qualifiers)
• 2008 - Did not qualify (6th place in qualifiers)
• 2010 - Did not qualify (4th place in second stage of qualifiers)

AFC Challenge Cup record

• 2006 - Round 1
• 2008 - Did not qualify, 4th in qualifying group
• 2010 - Did not enter
• 2012 - Did not enter

South Pacific Games record

• 1963 - Did not enter
• 1966 - Did not enter
• 1969 - Did not enter
• 1971 - Did not enter
• 1975 - Round 1
• 1979 - Round 1
• 1983 - Did not enter
• 1987 - Did not enter
• 1991 - Round 1
• 1995 - Round 1
• 2003 - Did not enter
• 2007 - Did not enter
• 2011 - Round 1

Micronesia Games

• 1998 - Champions
• 2001 - Did not enter

Recent results

Main article: Guam national football team results

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2011 Pacific Games.

No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club 1 1GK Brett Maluwelmeng 19 February 1985 (aged 26) Quality Distributors 2 2DF Joseph Laanan 14 February 1988 (aged 23) Guam Shipyard 3 2DF Matthew Cruz 23 January 1986 (aged 25) Cars Plus 4 2DF Scott Leon Guerrero 22 August 1990 (aged 21) Fuji-Ichiban Espada 5 2DF Edward Calvo 30 April 1990 (aged 21) Cars Plus 6 3MF Shawn Spindel 8 May 1993 (aged 18) Quality Distributors 7 3MF Ian Mariano 7 October 1990 (aged 20) Cars Plus 8 2DF Dominic Gadia (c) 18 January 1986 (aged 25) Cars Plus FC 9 4FW Elias Merfalen 7 September 1989 (aged 21) Cars Plus 10 3MF Jason Cunliffe 23 October 1983 (aged 27) Guam Shipyard 11 4FW Christian Schweizer 6 January 1995 (aged 16) Fuji-Ichiban Espada 12 3MF Dylan Naputi 4 January 1995 (aged 16) Quality Distributors 13 4FW David Manibusan 30 July 1982 (aged 29) Guam Shipyard 14 3MF Andre Gadia 17 October 1989 (aged 21) Cars Plus 15 3MF Jonathan Odell 25 February 1995 (aged 16) Cars Plus FC 17 2DF Mark Chargualaf 3 January 1991 (aged 20) Cars Plus 18 1GK Julius Campos 15 November 1989 (aged 21) Paintco Strykers

External links

• Guam Football Association
• Fan Club