Tuvalu national football team

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Tuvalu
Shirt badge/Association crest
Association Tuvalu Football Association
Head coach Toakai Puapua
Most caps Mau Penisula (8 caps)
Home stadium Vaiaku Stadium
FIFA code TUV
Elo ranking 202
Home colours
Away colours
First international
French Polynesia Tahiti 18 - 0 Tuvalu Tuvalu
(Suva, Fiji; August 29, 1979)
Biggest win
Tuvalu Tuvalu 5 - 3 Tonga Tonga
(Suva, Fiji; August 31, 1979)
Biggest defeat
French Polynesia Tahiti 18- 0 Tuvalu Tuvalu
(Suva, Fiji; August 29, 1979)
Appearances (First in -)
Best result -
Best result -

The Tuvalu national soccer team is the international football team of Tuvalu.

The team is not affiliated to FIFA, but is an associate member of the OFC.

Contents

[edit] South Pacific Games participation

The national team is controlled by the Tuvalu Soccer Association and played three international matches in the 1979 South Pacific Games, held in Fiji. There, the team recorded both its largest win, 5-3 against Tonga, and its worst defeat, losing 18-0 to Tahiti.

It also participated in four games at the South Pacific Games in 2003, again held in Fiji. After defeating Kiribati in their opening game, the Tuvaluan team lost their remaining three matches and finished fourth out of five in Pool A.

[edit] World Cup qualification

History was made in 2007 when Tuvalu became the first non FIFA member to participate in an official World cup qualifying match[1]. The situation arose when the regional governing body used the 2007 South Pacific Games, as the first stage of the qualification tournament for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and qualification tournament for the 2008 OFC Nations Cup. Tuvalu performed with great credit, earning a remarkable 1-1 draw with Tahiti in which Viliamu Sekifu made history as the first World cup scorer for his country. The other three fixtures in the tournament ended in defeat and Tuvalu failed to progress from their five team group.

In September 2008, Tuvaluan Prime Minister Apisai Ielemia and the President of the Tuvalu Football Association, Tapugao Falefou, visited the headquarters of FIFA in Zurich, hoping to gain full membership in the organisation.[2]

[edit] Selected internationals

Date Event/Venue Home Team Opponent Score
Sep 1 2007 2007 SPG & 2010 WC Qualifier - Samoa  Tuvalu  Cook Islands 1 - 4
Aug 29 2007 2007 SPG & 2010 WC Qualifier - Samoa  Tuvalu  Tahiti 1 - 1
Aug 27 2007 2007 SPG & 2010 WC Qualifier - Samoa  Tuvalu  New Caledonia 0 - 1
Aug 25 2007 2007 SPG & 2010 WC Qualifier - Samoa  Tuvalu  Fiji 0 - 16
Jul 5 2003 2003 South Pacific Games - Fiji  Tuvalu  Solomon Islands 0 - 4
Jul 3 2003 2003 South Pacific Games - Fiji  Tuvalu  Vanuatu 0 - 1
Jul 1 2003 2003 South Pacific Games - Fiji  Tuvalu  Fiji 0 - 4
Jun 30 2003 2003 South Pacific Games - Fiji  Tuvalu  Kiribati 3 - 2
May 1 2003 Fiji  Tuvalu  Fiji 0 - 9
Sep 4 1979 1979 South Pacific Games - Fiji  Tuvalu  New Caledonia 0 - 11
Aug 31 1979 1979 South Pacific Games - Fiji  Tuvalu  Tonga 5 - 3
Aug 28 1979 1979 South Pacific Games - Fiji  Tuvalu  Tahiti 0 - 18

[edit] South Pacific Games record

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

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1] "Tuvalu does not sink", Periodismo de fútbol internacional, September, 2009
  2. ^ [2] "Tuvalu eye place in football family", FIFA website, September 22, 2008