Papua New Guinea women's national soccer team

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Papua New Guinea
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Lakatois
(Motuan sailing vessel)
AssociationPapua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA)
ConfederationOFC (Oceania)
Head coachSpencer Prior
CaptainMeagen Gunemba
Most capsDeslyn Siniu (43)
Top scorerMeagen Gunemba (28)
Home stadiumSir Hubert Murray Stadium
FIFA codePNG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 56 Steady (15 March 2024)[1]
Highest46 (December 2019 – December 2020)
Lowest60 (June – September 2005)
First international
 Australia B 2–0 Papua New Guinea 
(Brisbane, Australia; 26 March 1989)[2]
Biggest win
 Kiribati 0–13 Papua New Guinea 
(Nausori, Fiji; 30 June 2003)[3]
Biggest defeat
 New Zealand 16–0 Papua New Guinea 
(Sydney, Australia; 19 May 1991)[4]
OFC Women's Nations Cup
Appearances10 (first in 1989)
Best resultChampions (2022)
Papua New Guinea women's national soccer team
Medal record
OFC Women's Nations Cup
Gold medal – first place 2022 Fiji Team
Pacific Games
Gold medal – first place 2003 Suva Team
Gold medal – first place 2007 Apia Team
Gold medal – first place 2011 Nouméa Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Port Moresby Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Asia Team

The Papua New Guinea women's national soccer team is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA). Its nickname is the Lakatois,[5] which is a Motuan sailing vessel. Their home ground is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, located in Port Moresby and their current manager is Peter Gunemba. Deslyn Siniu is the team's most capped player and top scorer.

Papua New Guinea has never qualified for a FIFA Women's World Cup or the Olympic Games, but won the Pacific Games Football Tournament on five occasions (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019) and won the 2022 OFC Women's Nations Cup and was runner up three times (2007, 2010 and 2014). They can be considered the second-best team in the Oceania Football Confederation after New Zealand.

Papua New Guinea's FIFA ranking as of December 2022 is 51. Their highest ever ranking was 46 in December 2019 and their worst ranking was 133 in September 2014.

History[edit]

1989–1998[edit]

Papua New Guinea played its first international game on 26 March 1989 in the Australian city of Brisbane facing the Australia B-side on the 1989 Oceania Cup. The match resulted in a 2–0 loss for the Papua New Guinean team. Geraldine Eka was Papua New Guinea's first scorer, in the lost game against Taiwan (6–1). In the two remaining matches, their rivals were New Zealand and Australia (senior team), with whom they lost both games. The Papua New Guineans finished on the bottom of the table, after being defeated in the four games.[6]

The team participated on the 1991 and 1994 editions of the Oceania Cup, with the second being on home soil in the country's capital, Port Moresby. In both editions, they faced Australia and New Zealand, losing to them heavily. During that period, Papua New Guinea had its biggest loss, 16–0 with New Zealand. Both tournaments also served as the qualifiers for the first FIFA World Cup, held in China in 1991 and the second, in Sweden in 1995.

The Papua New Guineans won the 1996 Pacific Cup in Tonga with Miriam Lanta's help.[7] In the same year, they managed to achieve their only draw with New Zealand.[8]

The 1998 Oceania Cup in New Zealand saw a small improvement on the national team. They finished in the third position of the competition after beating Fiji 7–1 on the third place match. Other results include a victory over American Samoa and two defeats with Australia and New Zealand.[9]

2000s[edit]

After 5 years without playing any games, Papua New Guinea re-appeared with coach Francis Moyap, in the 2003 Oceania Cup, celebrated in Australia during April 2003. The Papua New Guineans finished third once again. This edition included two new rivals: the Cook Islands and Samoa, teams which they defeated by 5–1 and 5–2, respectively. Midfielders Lydia Banabas and Glenda Matthies were notable players in this competition. Papua New Guinea had an average attendance of 412.5 people per match.

On the same year, the Papua New Guinean squad participated in the inaugural South Pacific Games women's football tournament, held in Fiji during June–July. This time, the national team achieved their biggest victory in their opening match, 13–0 over Kiribati, with Deslyn Siniu scoring a total of six goals for her country. With 13 points, thanks to four victories, one tie and one loss, Papua New Guinea won the gold medal in this competition. This time, the Papua New Guineans had an average attendance of 800 people per match.

Despite having won the Pacific Games tournament, the national team did a regular performance at the 2004 Olympic qualifying tournament, where it faced Australia and Fiji in a round-robin system competition.

The team appeared in the 2005 Arafura Games tournament, and finished with poor results.[10]

Without Australia in the OFC, Papua New Guinea hosted the Oceania Cup again in 2007. All the games were played in Lae. This time, the team won against their neighbors, the Solomon Islands and Tonga (in fact, by an own goal scored by Tonga's Mele Vaisioa Mahe Niukapu).[11] In the last game, the team lost the chance of qualifying to the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China after losing to New Zealand.

The Papua New Guineans won their second gold medal in Samoa in the 2007 South Pacific Games. In the group stage, the team had very impressive victories (6–0 against American Samoa; 4–0 against the Solomon Islands; 4–1 against the Cook Islands) and a narrow loss (1–0 against Fiji). It advanced to the semi-finals along with Tahiti, and won 5–0, allowing them to advance to the final game, where they confronted Tonga at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex. After a hard game, Papua New Guinea won 3–1 after extra time with the help of Daisy Winas, Ara Midi and Lydia Banabas.[12] The aforementioned was the national team's top scorer again, with a total of eight goals. Thanks to this result, the Papua New Guineans qualified for a play-off against New Zealand to determine Oceania's representative at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Papua New Guinea played the Olympic play-off qualifier on 8 March 2008, but they lost 2–0.

2010s[edit]

With an attendance of 60 people, the Lakatois started their 2010 Oceania Cup campaign facing Fiji at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Papua New Guinea won the game 3–0 with a scoreline of 1–0 in the half-time. Both the second and third matches (2–1 against the Solomon Islands and 3–0 against Tonga, with an own goal of the Tongan goalkeeper Lupe Likiliki) resulted in victories. Papua New Guinea advanced to the semi-finals to beat the Cook Islands by 1–0. The final, played on 8 October 2010, saw the Kiwis and the Papua New Guineans struggling once again for the Oceania Cup title in front of an audience of 900 people. New Zealand finished as the champion for the fourth time, after thrashing Papua New Guinea 11–0.[13] Zeena Limbai had a brilliant participation, after scoring four goals for PNG.

With one goal from Miriam Louma against Tahiti, the Papua New Guinean team started their 2011 Pacific Games road in New Caledonia, coached by Steven Mune. They achieved a second victory, against American Samoa, by 8–0, including an own goal. It was followed by a loss against the hosts, New Caledonia (2–1) and a victory over the Solomon Islands (1–0). The national team advanced to the semi-finals, where they faced Fiji, winning the game 4–0. In the gold medal/final game, the Papua New Guinean squad confronted the New Caledonians for the second time in the tournament. Christelle Wahnawe scored for the New Caledonians and Ara Midi and Linah Honeakii for the Papua New Guinean team, thus making 2–1 the final result. PNG received the gold medal for the third time.[14]

PNG failed to qualify for the London 2012 Summer Olympics despite having a very good performance on the first stage of the qualifiers, played in Tonga from March to April 2012. They had an attendance average of 973.8 people per match.

With the former Australian footballer Gary Phillips as the squad's manager, Papua New Guinea started the 2014 OFC Nations Cup winning 4–1 on home soil, at the Kalabond Oval in Kokopo against the Cook Islands. The Lakatois were defeated by the Kiwis 3–0 in the second game. The tournament finished with a 3–0 win to Tonga. Meagen Gunemba was PNG's top scorer, with four goals, and goalkeeper Fidelma Watpore was awarded with the Golden Gloves.

The Lakatois had a tour on Southeast Asia in March 2015. They faced Singapore and Thailand.[15]

The national team finished first in the Group B of the 2015 Pacific Games (on home soil), and had a victory against Samoa to advance to the final match, facing New Caledonia. Marie Kaipu gave the Papua New Guineans a fourth gold medal after scoring in the 21st minute.[16]

The Lakatois' latest game was the 2016 Olympic qualifier against the Kiwis, which resulted in a 7–1 loss. A second leg was supposed to be played, but the Papua New Guinean team couldn't travel to New Zealand due to visa issues.[17]

Team image[edit]

Nicknames[edit]

The Papua New Guinea women's national soccer team has been known or nicknamed as the "Lakatois (Motuan sailing vessel)".

Home stadium[edit]

See also: Category:Football venues in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea play its home matches on the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.

Results and fixtures[edit]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

2023[edit]

23 February Friendly Chinese Taipei  5–0  Papua New Guinea Auckland, New Zealand
Stadium: North Harbour Stadium
17 November 2023 (2023-11-17) 2023 Pacific Games GS Papua New Guinea  9–0  American Samoa Honiara, Solomon Islands
19:00
  • Padio 7', 34', 49', 53' (pen.), 78', 84'
  • Elipas 50'
  • Kaipu 58', 76'
 Report Stadium: SIFF Academy fields 1 & 2
Referee: Ben Ariel Aukwai (Solomon Islands)
20 November 2023 (2023-11-20) 2023 Pacific Games GS Papua New Guinea  3–0  Cook Islands Honiara, Solomon Islands
16:00
Report Stadium: SIFF Academy fields 1 & 2
Referee: Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)
23 November 2023 (2023-11-23) 2023 Pacific Games GS New Caledonia  2–2  Papua New Guinea Honiara, Solomon Islands
19:00
Report
Stadium: SIFF Academy fields 1 & 2
Referee: Ben Ariel Aukwai (Solomon Islands)
27 November 2023 (2023-11-27) 2023 Pacific Games SF Papua New Guinea  5–1  Samoa Honiara, Solomon Islands
12:00
Report
Stadium: Lawson Tama Stadium
Referee: Bernard Mutukera (Solomon Islands)
1 December 2023 (2023-12-01) 2023 Pacific Games F Papua New Guinea  4–1  Fiji Honiara, Solomon Islands
19:00
Report
Stadium: Lawson Tama Stadium
Referee: Calvin Berg (New Zealand)

2024[edit]

7 February 2024 (2024-02-07) 2024 Summer Olympic Qualification Papua New Guinea  1—1  Solomon Islands Apia, Samoa
17:00 UTC+13
Report
Stadium: FFS football stadium
Attendance: 100
Referee: Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)
10 February 2024 (2024-02-10) 2024 Summer Olympic Qualification Papua New Guinea  3—4  Fiji Apia, Samoa
17:00 UTC+13
Report
Stadium: FFS football stadium
Attendance: 100
Referee: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand)
13 February 2024 (2024-02-13) 2024 Summer Olympic Qualification American Samoa  0—9  Papua New Guinea Apia, Samoa
13:00 UTC+13 Stadium: Apia Park

Head-to-head record[edit]

As of 8 October 2021
Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
 American Samoa 3 3 0 0 23 0 +23
 Australia 8 0 0 8 0 68 −68
 Australia B 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Australia Defense Force 1 0 0 1 2 8 −6
 Chinese Taipei 1 0 0 1 1 6 −5
 Cook Islands 5 5 0 0 16 3 +13
 Fiji 7 6 0 1 23 4 +19
 Guam 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 Kiribati 1 1 0 0 13 0 +13
 New Caledonia 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1
 New Zealand 15 0 1 14 2 96 −94
Australia Northern Territory 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Philippines 2 0 0 2 1 14 −13
 Samoa 3 3 0 0 15 4 +11
 Singapore 3 1 1 1 5 5 0
 Solomon Islands 4 4 0 0 13 2 +11
 Tahiti 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9
 Thailand 2 0 0 2 1 18 −17
 Tonga 7 6 0 1 15 4 +11
 United States 1 0 0 1 0 5 −5
 Vanuatu 2 1 1 0 13 3 +10
Total 72 36 3 33 157 247 −90

Coaching staff[edit]

Current coaching staff[edit]

As of 4 February 2023
Position Name Ref.
Head coach Papua New Guinea Eric Komeng
Assistant Coach Papua New Guinea Edna Thomas
Goalkeeping Coach Papua New Guinea Godfrey Baniau

Manager history[edit]

Manager Career Played Won Drawn Lost Win % Competitions
Unknown 1989–2003 17 2 1 14 011.8 1989 OFC Championship – Third place
1991 OFC Championship – Third place
1994 OFC Championship – Third place
1998 OFC Championship – Third place
Papua New Guinea Francis Moyap 2003–2010 29 16 1 12 055.2 2003 OFC Championship – Third place
2003 South Pacific Games – Champions
2007 OFC Championship – Runners-up
2007 South Pacific Games – Champions
2010 OFC Championship – Runners-up
Papua New Guinea Steven Mune 2011–2012 14 11 0 3 078.6 2011 Pacific Games – Champions
Australia Gary Phillips 2014–2015 11 7 1 3 063.6 2014 OFC Nations Cup – Runners-up
2015 Pacific Games – Champions
Papua New Guinea Rachel Wadunah 2016–? 1 0 0 1 000.0 2014 OFC Nations Cup – Runners-up
2015 Pacific Games – Champions
Frederica Sakette [18] ?– 0 0 0 0 !—
Spencer Justin [19] 2023 2 0 0 2 000

Players[edit]

See also: Category:Papua New Guinea women's international soccer players

Current squad[edit]

Caps and goals as of 30 July 2022 after the match against  Fiji.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Fidelma Watpore
1 1GK Faith Kasiray (1999-12-20) 20 December 1999 (age 24) 6 0 Papua New Guinea POM
2 1GK Lavinia Hola (1999-03-22) 22 March 1999 (age 25) 5 0 Papua New Guinea POM
2DF Anastasia Gunemba
2DF Raynatha Samuel
2DF Serah Waida
2DF Georgina Bakani
5 2DF Olivia Upaupa (1992-06-06) 6 June 1992 (age 31) 30 9 Papua New Guinea Lae
2DF Merolyne Sali
2DF Fidorah Namuesh
3MF Mavis Singara
16 3MF Rumona Morris (1993-06-05) 5 June 1993 (age 30) 2 0 Papua New Guinea POM
3MF Phylis Pala
3MF Christie Maneu
3MF Hortance Kimit
3MF Aileen David
4FW Marie Kaipu
4FW Cynthia Bangita
4FW Cynthia Bangita
4FW Nenny Elipas
4FW Calista Maneo
4FW Michaelyne Butubu
4FW Arnolda Dou

Recent call-ups[edit]

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 Glories Miag Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
DF Gloria Laeli (1997-03-25) 25 March 1997 (age 27) 2 0 Papua New Guinea POM Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
MF Rumona Padio Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
Ginnimarie Wambi Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
Mayah Samai Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
Grace Batiy Football at the 2023 Pacific Games

Previous squads[edit]

OFC Women's Nations Cup
Pacific Games

Records[edit]

See also: Category:Papua New Guinea women's international soccer players
As of 10 September 2017

*Players in bold are still active.

Most capped players[edit]

# Name Caps Goals First cap Latest cap
1 Deslyn Siniu 43 19 June 30, 2003 January 23, 2016
2 Miriam Lanta 31 5 April 5, 2003 September 9, 2011
3 Kathrina Salaiau 26 0 August 25, 2007 April 4, 2012
4 Lydia Banabas 24 15 April 5, 2003 October 8, 2010
5 Daisy Winas 22 5 August 25, 2007 October 29, 2014
6 Sandra Birum 21 8 September 30, 2010 January 23, 2016
7 Tracey Kigg 20 1 April 5, 2003 September 7, 2007
8 Julie Alau 18 3 April 5, 2003 September 7, 2007
9 Linah Honeakii 17 3 September 30, 2007 April 4, 2012
Linda Bunaga 17 0 August 28, 2007 September 9, 2011

Top goalscorers[edit]

# Name Goals Caps Average First cap Latest cap Position
1 Meagen Gunemba 23 8 1.25 October 25, 2014 January 23, 2016 FW
2 Deslyn Siniu 19 43 0.44 June 30, 2003 January 23, 2016 MF
3 Lydia Banabas 15 24 0.62 April 5, 2003 October 8, 2010 MF
4 Sandra Birum 8 21 0.38 September 30, 2010 January 23, 2016 MF
5 Ara Midi 6 9 0.66 August 25, 2007 September 9, 2011 MF
Zeena Limbai 6 9 0.66 September 30, 2010 October 25, 2014 FW
Rumona Morris 6 14 0.43 September 30, 2010 October 29, 2014 FW
8 Miriam Lanta 5 28 0.18 April 5, 2003 September 9, 2011 MF
Daisy Winas 5 22 0.23 August 25, 2007 October 29, 2014 FW
10 Fatima Rama 4 8 0.50 March 1, 2012 July 13, 2015 MF

Competitive record[edit]

FIFA Women's World Cup[edit]

FIFA Women's World Cup Qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
China 1991 Did not qualify 4 0 0 4 0 47
Sweden 1995 4 0 0 4 0 19
United States 1999 4 2 0 2 16 14
United States 2003 4 2 0 2 10 21
China 2007 3 2 0 1 7 8
Germany 2011 5 4 0 1 9 12
Canada 2015 3 2 0 1 7 4
France 2019 4 3 0 1 14 3
Australia New Zealand 2023 5 5 0 1 16 3
Total – – – – – – – – 31 15 0 16 63 128

Olympic Games[edit]

Summer Olympics Qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
United States 1996 Did not enter
Australia 2000
Greece 2004 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 10
China 2008 7 5 0 2 22 5
United Kingdom 2012 6 4 0 2 22 18
Brazil 2016 5 4 0 1 12 8
Japan 2020 2018 Nations Cup
Total – – – – – – – – 20 14 0 6 58 41

OFC Women's Nations Cup[edit]

OFC Women's Nations Cup
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
New Caledonia 1983 did not enter
New Zealand 1986
Australia 1989 Fifth place 5th 4 0 0 4 1 19 −18
Australia 1991 Third place 3rd 4 0 0 4 0 47 −47
Papua New Guinea 1994 Third place 3rd 4 0 0 4 0 19 −19
New Zealand 1998 Third place 3rd 4 2 0 2 16 14 +2
Australia 2003 Third place 3rd 4 2 0 2 10 21 −11
Papua New Guinea 2007 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 7 8 −1
New Zealand 2010 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 0 1 9 12 −3
Papua New Guinea 2014 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3
New Caledonia 2018 Third place 3rd 5 4 0 1 22 9 +13
Fiji 2022 Champions 1st 5 4 1 0 13 6 +7
Total Champions 10/12 41 20 1 20 85 159 –74

Pacific Games[edit]

Pacific Games
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Fiji 2003 Champions 1st 6 4 1 1 22 6 +16
Samoa 2007 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 22 3 +19
New Caledonia 2011 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 17 3 +14
Papua New Guinea 2015 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 11 1 +10
Samoa 2019 Champions 1st 5 5 0 0 23 5 +18
Total Champions 5/5 27 23 1 3 95 18 +77

Pacific Cup[edit]

Pacific Cup
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Tonga 1996 Champions 1st Unknown details
Total Champions 1/1 – – – – – – –

Arafura Games[edit]

Arafura Games
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Australia 2005 Fifth Place 5th 4 0 0 4 2 20 −18
Total Fifth Place 1/1 4 0 0 4 2 20 –18

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Women's Oceania Cup 1989". RSSSF.
  3. ^ "South Pacific Games 2003 (Fiji) – Tournament Details". RSSSF.
  4. ^ "Kazakhstan, Portugal produce thrilling fightbacks to reach semis". Archived from the original on 3 September 2017.
  5. ^ https://www.soccer.com/guide/soccer-com-outfits-papua-new-guinea-u20-womens-national-team
  6. ^ "Football III Ladies Oceania Nations Cup 1989 Brisbane (AUS) 26.03–01.04 – Winner Taiwan". todor66. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
  7. ^ "Women's soccer veteran hangs up boots to officiate". The National. 9 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017.
  8. ^ "M-Wey Services Tournament Reports". ultimatenzsoccer. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Football VI Ladies Oceania Nations Cup 1998 – played in Auckland (NZL) +13 GMT – Winner Australia". todor66.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
  10. ^ "The RSSSF Archive – International Country Results – Women Tournaments". RSSSF.
  11. ^ "Ofc – PNG Keep World Cup Hopes Alive". 12 April 2007.
  12. ^ "PAPUA NEW GUINEA WOMEN GRIND OUT GOLDEN RESULT". 15 October 2008. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008.
  13. ^ "Oceania Football Confederation". 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  14. ^ "Oceania Football Confederation". 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  15. ^ "PNG women to tour SE Asia". 3 March 2015.
  16. ^ "Oceania Football Confederation". www.oceaniafootball.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  17. ^ "Oceania Football Confederation". www.oceaniafootball.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  18. ^ "Member Association - Papua New Guinea". 27 March 2021. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
  19. ^ "Justin Spencer". 27 March 2021.
  20. ^ READl PNG Football Association has named a strong team to take part in the upcoming 2024 OFC Olympics Qualifiers in Apia, Samoa next week..

External links[edit]

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