Vanuatu national football team

Vanuatu
Association	Vanuatu Football Federation
Confederation	OFC (Oceania)
Head coach	Emerson Alcântara
Captain	Kensi Tangis
Most caps	Richard Iwai (34)
Top scorer	Richard Iwai (20)
Home stadium	Port Vila Municipal Stadium
FIFA code	VAN
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	157 5 (24 October 2024)
Highest	131 (October 2007)
Lowest	201 (October–November 2015)
First international
	New Zealand 9–0 New Hebrides ; (Nouméa, New Caledonia; 4 October 1951)
Biggest win
	Kiribati 0–18 Vanuatu ; (Lautoka, Fiji; 7 July 2003)
Biggest defeat
	New Zealand 9–0 New Hebrides ; (Nouméa, New Caledonia; 4 October 1951)
OFC Nations Cup
Appearances	9 (first in 1973)
Best result	Fourth place, 1973, 2000, 2002 and 2008

The Vanuatu men's national football team (French: équipe du Vanuatu de football) represents Vanuatu in international football, and is controlled by the Vanuatu Football Federation.^[5]^[6]

History

It was known as the New Hebrides until the New Hebrides became Republic of Vanuatu in 1980. It finished fourth in the OFC Nations Cup in 1973, 2000, and 2002. In the 2004 Oceania Nations Cup, Vanuatu beat New Zealand 4–2, preventing the regional powerhouse from making the final and, consequently, the running for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Vanuatu caused another shock in the 2007 South Pacific Games by knocking out the Solomon Islands for bronze medal and also enable to enter the second stage of qualification for the OFC Nations Cup and consequently a chance with a playoff for the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa. The last time they had won against Solomon Islands was back in 1998 and had since been on the receiving side of many losses save for one draw against them. In July 2008, Vanuatu faced two national teams from the Solomon Islands during the inaugural edition of the Wantok Cup. Vanuatu lost 1–2 to the Solomons' team A, but defeated their team B by two goals to one.

In 2023, Vanuatu was invited for the 2023 Intercontinental Cup tournament held in India which is the team first tournament outside Oceania. In the first match on 9 June 2023, they would face Lebanon but suffered a 3–1 defeat. In the next match, Vanuatu conceded a late goal losing to host India on a narrow 1–0 lost. On 15 June 2023, Vanuatu found themselves with a bright smiles as they would go on to win Mongolia 1–0 thus earning them the 3 points and finishing in third place.

Team image

Kit sponsorship

Kit provider^[7]	Period
Lotto	2004–2011
Nike	2012
Veto	2013–2016
Pasifika	2017
Gorilla Sports	2018–2020
KPI Sports	2020–2022
Macron	2022–present

Results and fixtures

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

Win Draw Loss Fixture

20 March 2023 Friendly	Fiji	1–2	Vanuatu	Lautoka, Fiji
	Joseph 22' (pen.)	Report	Spokeyjack 18' Aru 45'	Stadium: Churchill Park

23 March 2023 Friendly	Solomon Islands	2–0	Vanuatu	Lautoka, Fiji
	Feni 68' Komasi 81'	Report		Stadium: Churchill Park

9 June 2023 Intercontinental Cup	Lebanon	3–1	Vanuatu	Bhubaneswar, India
16:30 UTC+5:30	Matar 58' Kourani 71' Darwiche 85'	Report	Wohale 61'	Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Referee: Harish Kundu (India)

12 June 2023 Intercontinental Cup	Vanuatu	0–1	India	Bhubaneswar, India
19:30 UTC+5:30		Report	Chettri 81'	Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Referee: Virendha Rai (Bhutan)

15 June 2023 Intercontinental Cup	Vanuatu	1–0	Mongolia	Bhubaneswar, India
14:30 UTC+5:30	Gantuyaa 46' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Kalinga Stadium Referee: Songkran Bunmeekiart (Thailand)

8 October 2023 2023 MSG Prime Minister's Cup	New Caledonia	4–0	Vanuatu	Nouméa, New Caledonia
17:00 UTC+11:00				Stadium: Stade Numa-Daly Magenta

11 October 2023 2023 MSG Prime Minister's Cup	Solomon Islands	1–0	Vanuatu	Koné, New Caledonia
13:00 UTC+11:00				Stadium: Stade Yoshida

14 October 2023 2023 MSG Prime Minister's Cup	Papua New Guinea	0–1	Vanuatu	Nouméa, New Caledonia
14:00 UTC+11:00				Stadium: Stade Numa-Daly Magenta

Coaching staff

Position
Head coach	Etienne Mermer
Assistant coach	George Amos
Assistant coach	François Sakama
Team Manager	Peter Takaro
Goalkeeper coach	Jimmy Obed
Assistant Goalkeeper coach	Jean Yves Galinie
Physio	Albert Lata

Coaching history

New Hebrides

P. Reichert (1973–1987)

Vanuatu

Terry O'Donnell (1987–1993)
Saby Natonga (1996)
Alwyn Job (1998)
Juan Carlos Buzzetti (2000–2004)
Joe Szekeres (2004–2007)
Robert Calvo (2007–2008)
Willian Malas (2008)
Jorge Añón (2009)
Saby Natonga (2011–2012)
Percy Avock (2012–2015)
Moise Poida (2015–2017)
Etienne Mermer (2017–2018)
Paul Munster (2019)
Etienne Mermer (2019–2022)
George Amos (2022)
Juan Carlos Buzzetti (2022)
Emerson Alcantara (2022)
Etienne Mermer (2022–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were named in the squad for the 2023 Intercontinental Cup between 9 and 18 June 2023.^[8]

Caps and goals updated as of 23 March 2023, after the match against Solomon Islands.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Massing Kalotang	(2002-08-26) 26 August 2002 (age 22)	3	0	Yatel
1GK	Anthony Taiwia	(1994-09-04) 4 September 1994 (age 30)	0	0	Ifira Black Bird

2DF	Brian Kaltak	(1993-09-30) 30 September 1993 (age 31)	22	5	Central Coast Mariners
2DF	Jason Thomas	(1997-01-20) 20 January 1997 (age 27)	19	0	Erakor Golden Star
2DF	Selwyn Vatu	(1998-06-13) 13 June 1998 (age 26)	13	0	ABM Galaxy
2DF	Raoul Coulon	(1995-12-03) 3 December 1995 (age 28)	4	0	Tupuji Imere
2DF	Lency Philip	(1997-06-08) 8 June 1997 (age 27)	4	0	ABM Galaxy
2DF	Timothy Boulet	(1998-11-29) 29 November 1998 (age 25)	2	0	Auckland City
2DF	Tasso Jeffrey	(1998-08-12) 12 August 1998 (age 26)	1	0	FK Beograd
2DF	James Chilia	(2001-03-23) 23 March 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Tupuji Imere

3MF	John Alick	(1991-04-25) 25 April 1991 (age 33)	11	0	Solomon Warriors
3MF	Michel Coulon	(1995-12-03) 3 December 1995 (age 28)	10	1	Tupuji Imere
3MF	Jonathan Spokeyjack	(1998-11-13) 13 November 1998 (age 25)	6	1	Ifira Black Bird
3MF	Barry Mansale	(1993-04-28) 28 April 1993 (age 31)	4	0	Yatel
3MF	Claude Aru	(1997-04-25) 25 April 1997 (age 27)	3	1	NEU
3MF	Welwel	(1997-07-09) 9 July 1997 (age 27)	3	0	Ifira Black Bird
3MF	Godine Tenene	(1998-05-03) 3 May 1998 (age 26)	2	0	Ifira Black Bird
3MF	Jean Taussi	(1996-07-17) 17 July 1996 (age 28)	1	0	Ifira Black Bird
3MF	Joe Moses	(2002-05-22) 22 May 2002 (age 22)	0	0	ABM Galaxy
3MF	Lee Taiwia	(1995-12-23) 23 December 1995 (age 28)	0	0	Ifira Black Bird

4FW	Azariah Soromon	(1999-03-01) 1 March 1999 (age 25)	15	7	Suva
4FW	Alex Saniel	(1996-11-08) 8 November 1996 (age 27)	9	1	Suva
4FW	Jordy Tasip	(2000-07-14) 14 July 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Auckland City

Recent call-ups

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Serge Daniel	(1991-02-16) 16 February 1991 (age 33)	4	0	Erakor Golden Star	v. Solomon Islands, 23 March 2023

DF	Samuel Kaloros	(1989-09-16) 16 September 1989 (age 35)	3	0	Ifira Black Bird	v. Solomon Islands, 23 March 2023
DF	Bethuel Olie	(1997-08-19) 19 August 1997 (age 27)	3	0	NEU	v. Solomon Islands, 23 March 2023

MF	Dondy Kileiter	(1994-09-11) 11 September 1994 (age 30)	0	0	ABM Galaxy	v. Solomon Islands, 23 March 2023

FW	Tonly Kalotang	(1997-05-19) 19 May 1997 (age 27)	1	0	Ifira Black Bird	v. Solomon Islands, 23 March 2023

Player records

As of 27 March 2022^[9]

Players in bold are still active with Vanuatu.

Most capped players

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Richard Iwai	34	20	2000–2011
2	Etienne Mermer	33	15	1998–2008
3	Fedy Vava	30	2	2000–2012
4	Lexa Bibi	29	2	2000–2004
	Seimata Chilia	29	9	2000–2011
	Kensi Tangis	29	8	2011–present
7	Pita David Maki	28	2	2000–2008
8	David Chilia	26	0	1998–2007
9	Graham Demas	25	1	2000–2004
9	Simon Lauru	25	5	2000–2004

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Richard Iwai	20	34	0.59	2000–2011
2	Tony Kaltack	15	16	0.94	2016–2019
2	Etienne Mermer	15	33	0.45	1998–2008
4	Seule Soromon	10	10	1	2007–2011
5	Jean Kaltack	9	8	1.13	2011–2012
5	Seimata Chilia	9	29	0.31	2000–2011
7	Kensi Tangis	8	29	0.28	2011–present
8	Azariah Soromon	7	13	0.54	2017–2019
9	Bill Nicholls	6	8	0.75	2015–2019
	François Sakama	6	12	0.5	2007–2015
	Robert Tasso	6	12	0.5	2011–2016

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record									FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1990	did not enter								did not enter
1994	did not qualify								4	0	0	4	1	18
1998									2	0	1	1	2	3
2002									4	1	0	3	11	21
2006									9	4	1	4	21	11
2010									12	5	1	6	30	19
2014									3	1	0	2	8	9
2018									3	1	0	2	3	8
2022	Withdrew								Withdrew
2026	To be determined								To be determined
Total		0/22							37	12	3	22	76	89

OFC Nations Cup

Oceania Cup / OFC Nations Cup record									Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
as New Hebrides									as New Hebrides
1973	Fourth place	4th	5	1	1	3	5	10	No qualification
1980	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	6	9	No qualification
as Vanuatu									as Vanuatu
1996	did not qualify								4	0	1	3	5	12
1998	Group stage	5th	2	0	0	2	2	13	4	2	1	1	8	6
2000	Fourth place	4th	4	1	0	3	5	8	4	2	0	2	12	7
2002	Fourth place	4th	5	2	0	3	2	6	Qualified automatically
2004	Group stage	6th	5	1	0	4	5	9	4	3	1	0	16	2
2008	Fourth place	4th	6	1	1	4	5	13	6	4	0	2	25	6
2012	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	8	9	Qualified automatically
2016	Group stage	7th	3	1	0	2	3	8	Qualified automatically
2024	To be determined								To be determined
Total	Fourth place	9/10	36	8	2	25	41	82	22	11	3	8	66	33

Pacific Games

Pacific Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
as New Hebrides
1963	Group stage	6th	1	0	0	1	3	6
1966	Third place	3rd	4	1	2	1	9	14
1969	Group stage	5th	5	1	1	3	13	13
1971	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	9	12
1975	Group stage	5th	2	0	0	2	1	6
1979	Fifth place	5th	6	4	0	2	19	6
as Vanuatu
1983	Group stage	6th	1	0	0	1	0	6
1987	Fourth place	4th	6	2	1	3	16	13
1991	Fourth place	4th	5	2	0	3	9	8
1995	Fourth place	4th	5	2	0	3	10	9
2003	Third place	3rd	6	3	3	0	23	3
2007	Third place	3rd	6	4	0	2	25	6
2011	Group stage	6th	5	4	0	1	18	7
2015	See Vanuatu national under-23 football team
2019	Group stage	5th	4	2	1	1	25	2
Total	14/14	0 Titles	60	27	9	24	180	111

Melanesia Cup

Melanesia Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1988	Third place	3rd	4	1	0	3	2	19
1989	Fifth place	5th	4	0	0	4	2	12
1990	Champions	1st	4	2	2	0	4	2
1992	Fourth place	4th	3	0	0	3	1	6
1994	Fifth place	5th	4	0	1	3	5	12
1998	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	8	6
2000	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2	12	7
Total	8/8	1 Title	29	7	5	17	36	67

Wantok Cup

Wantok Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2008	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	3	3
2011	Runners-up	2nd	2	0	1	1	1	2
2011	Champions	1st	2	1	1	0	2	0
Total	3/3	1 Title	6	2	2	2	6	5

Head-to-head record

Up to matches played on 15 June 2023.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	WPCT
American Samoa	4	4	0	0	39	1	+38	100.00
Australia	4	0	0	4	0	7	−7	0.00
Cook Islands	1	1	0	0	8	1	+7	100.00
Estonia	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0.00
Fiji	34	8	7	19	35	76	−41	23.53
Guam	3	3	0	0	14	0	+14	100.00
India	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0.00
Indonesia	1	0	0	1	0	6	−6	0.00
Kiribati	1	1	0	0	18	0	+18	100.00
Lebanon	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	0.00
Mongolia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
New Caledonia	38	8	7	23	45	96	−51	21.05
New Zealand	12	1	0	11	10	58	−48	8.33
Papua New Guinea	20	8	4	8	31	27	+4	40.00
Palau	1	1	0	0	6	2	+4	100.00
Samoa^[a]	5	5	0	0	36	1	+35	100.00
Solomon Islands	33	6	7	20	37	75	−38	18.18
Tahiti	26	5	3	18	28	64	−36	19.23
Tonga	5	5	0	0	33	2	+31	100.00
Wallis and Futuna	2	2	0	0	10	1	+9	100.00
Tuvalu	3	3	0	0	16	1	+15	100.00
Total	197	62	28	107	368	423	−55	31.47

Source: 1951–July 1980 results and July 1980–present results.
Notes:

^ Includes results as Western Samoa.

References

^ Mamrud, Roberto; Stokkermans, Karel. "Players with 100+ Caps and 30+ International Goals". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
^ "Vanuatu (New Hebrides) – List of International matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
^ "Micronesia suffer another humiliating defeat after 46–0 loss to Vanuatu | Football". The Guardian. 1 January 1970. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
^ Sarkar, Uttiyo (4 June 2023). "Hero Intercontinental Cup Rival Watch: Vanuatu". khelnow.com. Khel Now India. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
^ "Antigo(a) Vanuatu camisas de futebol". Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
^ "Vanuatu Squad For The 2023 Intercontinental Cup in India". Vanuatu Football Federation. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
^ "Vanuatu". National Football Teams.

Notes

External links

[table_note_SAM0.93016937418383-10] Includes results as Western Samoa.

[1] Mamrud, Roberto; Stokkermans, Karel. "Players with 100+ Caps and 30+ International Goals". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011.

[FIFA_World_Rankings-2] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

[rsssf1-3] "Vanuatu (New Hebrides) – List of International matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2015.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-4] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.

[5] "Micronesia suffer another humiliating defeat after 46–0 loss to Vanuatu | Football". The Guardian. 1 January 1970. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.

[6] Sarkar, Uttiyo (4 June 2023). "Hero Intercontinental Cup Rival Watch: Vanuatu". khelnow.com. Khel Now India. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.

[7] "Antigo(a) Vanuatu camisas de futebol". Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2020.

[8] "Vanuatu Squad For The 2023 Intercontinental Cup in India". Vanuatu Football Federation. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.

[9] "Vanuatu". National Football Teams.

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[a]

v t e National football teams of Oceania (OFC)
OFC Nations Cup
Active	American Samoa Cook Islands FS Micronesia² Fiji Kiribati¹ New Caledonia New Zealand Niue² Palau² Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tahiti Tonga Tuvalu¹ Vanuatu
Former	Australia (moved to AFC in 2006) Northern Mariana Islands³ (moved to AFC in 2009) Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)⁴ (returned to AFC in 1989)
¹ Associate member of OFC - Not a member of FIFA ² Not a member of OFC and consequently not a member of FIFA ³ Northern Mariana Islands was only an associate member of OFC between 1998 and 2009 - Not a member of FIFA ⁴ Although not geographically in Oceania, Chinese Taipei was a member of the OFC between 1976–1978 and 1982–1989 Although not geographically in Oceania Israel entered OFC World Cup qualification in 1986 and 1990 due to political reasons, though it never became a formal OFC member.