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Guam national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Guam women's national football team.

Guam
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Matao[1]
AssociationGuam Football Association
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationEAFF (East Asia)
Head coachKarl Dodd
CaptainJason Cunliffe
Most capsJason Cunliffe (59)
Top scorerJason Cunliffe (22)
Home stadiumGuam National Football Stadium
FIFA codeGUM
First colors
Second colors
FIFA ranking
Current 203 Steady (19 December 2024)[2]
Highest146 (August – September 2015)
Lowest205 (November 2004 – February 2005)
First international
 Fiji 12–0 Guam Guam
(Guam; 24 August 1975)
Biggest win
 Guam 7–2 Tuvalu 
(Suva, Fiji; 6 September 1979)
 Guam 5–0 Bhutan 
(Dededo, Guam; 11 July 2019)
Biggest defeat
 North Korea 21–0 Guam Guam
(Taipei, Taiwan; 11 March 2005)
AFC Challenge Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2006)
Best resultGroup stage (2006)

The Guam national football team represents the United States territory of Guam in international football and is controlled by the Guam Football Association. They are affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation's East Asian Football Federation region.

Guam reached its highest ever position in the FIFA World Ranking at 146 in 2015 after victories over Turkmenistan and India.[4]

History

Guam's team was founded in 1975 and joined FIFA in 1996. It's one of FIFA's smallest Member Associations in population and size. It has competed in World Cup qualification on two occasions. However, Guam was eliminated in the first round of Asian qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup after losing against Iran and Tajikistan and was eliminated in the second round of qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[5]

Recently, Guam has found success by winning the EAFF preliminary competition and qualifying for the semi-final round in 2012, 2013, and 2014. In 2016, Guam automatically qualified for the semifinal round based on its FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking. Guam finished third out of four teams in Group A of the 2014 Challenge Cup qualifiers, completing group play with a 3–0 victory over Chinese Taipei, a win over its regional rival for the first time in history. During November 2013's FIFA International games schedule, Guam beat Cambodia 2–0 and drew with Laos 1–1. Both these International fixtures were played away at the opponents' home national stadiums.[citation needed]

On 11 June 2015, during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers of Group D, Guam clinched their first-ever World Cup Qualifier win beating Turkmenistan 1–0. The game was the first time Guam hosted a World Cup qualifier on their home soil. Just a few days later, Guam hosted their second World Cup qualifier to India and defeated them by a 2–1 scoreline. The win was notable considering India's FIFA rankings sits 33 spots ahead at No. 141, their population is in the billions and they were recently dubbed the 'sleeping giants of football' by FIFA.[6][7] In 2022 World Cup qualifying, Guam advanced to the second round with a 5-1 aggregate victory over Bhutan.[8]

Guam National Team Officials

Position Name
Manager Australia Karl Dodd
Assistant coach Australia Daniel McBreen
Goalkeeper coach Australia Matthew Ham
Team Manager Guam J.R. Campos
High Performance Manager Russia Pavel Gubenko
Physiotherapist Australia Allsports Physiotherapy
Team Doctor Guam Dr. Luis Cruz
Video Analyst Guam
Media Officer Guam Jill Espiritu
Equipment Director Guam Thomas Castro

On 1 February 2012, Gary White was appointed as head coach and also served as the federation's technical director.[9] The same year, Guam Football Association officially adopted the nickname Matao for the team, which refers to the highest social class in ancient Chamorro society.[10][11] National football teams in Guam also began using the Inifresi (Chamorro pledge) regularly before every training session and all matches.[12]

Before 2012, the men's national team had only won twice against FIFA member nations - a 1-0 win against Mongolia in 2009 and a 2-0 win over American Samoa in 2011. In 2012, Guam defeated Macau twice - a 3-0 victory in that year's EAFF East Asian Cup Preliminary Round 1 tournament in Guam and another 3-0 victory in the 2012 Philippines Football Peace Cup in Manila. In Round 2 of the EAFF East Asian Cup Preliminary Round, Guam battled to a 1-1 draw with Chinese Taipei, marking the first point earned in the semifinal round of the regional tournament. In 2013, Guam finished third of four teams in Group A of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification, completing group play with a resounding 3–0 victory over Chinese Taipei, a win over the regional rival for the first time in history. Due to the success of the Matao, FIFA Futbol Mundial (April 2013 episode #137) and various other world media have featured the progress of the Guam national football team. On 30 May 2016, White was appointed as head coach of Shanghai Shenxin in the China League One.[13] With the EAFF E-1 Football Championship semifinal round set for November 2016, Guam acquired head coach Darren Sawatzky on an interim basis.[14]

In late 2017, Guam Football Association announced the appointment of Australia's Karl Dodd as the new Matao Head Coach.[15] Since arriving in Guam in early 2018, Dodd has called prospective players into a training camp in California, where they played against San Diego State University's men's soccer team, as well as LA Galaxy II.[16]

Previous Coaches

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up to for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. Caps and goals updated as of 14 October 2019.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Elias Jesus (1994-10-04) 4 October 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Guam Sidekicks
18 1GK Alexander Stenson (2003-02-09) 9 February 2003 (age 21) 0 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
21 1GK Sean Evans (1999-07-10) 10 July 1999 (age 25) 1 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
2 2DF Isiah Lagutang (1997-08-03) 3 August 1997 (age 27) 4 1 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
4 2DF Nate Lee (1994-04-06) 6 April 1994 (age 30) 5 0 United States High Point Panthers
5 2DF Ryan Quitugua (1997-01-01) 1 January 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Guam Rovers
13 2DF Alex Lee (1990-01-15) 15 January 1990 (age 34) 14 0 United States Frederick
15 2DF Shawn Nicklaw (1989-04-15) 15 April 1989 (age 35) 28 1 Free Agent
20 2DF Takumi Ito (2000-02-03) 3 February 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Guam Rovers
7 3MF John Matkin (1986-04-20) 20 April 1986 (age 38) 20 1 Free Agent
8 3MF Mark Chargualaf (1991-01-03) 3 January 1991 (age 33) 27 0 Guam Rovers
10 3MF Jason Cunliffe (captain) (1983-10-23) 23 October 1983 (age 41) 54 27 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
14 3MF Dominic Gadia (1986-01-18) 18 January 1986 (age 38) 7 0 Guam Rovers
16 3MF Devan Mendiola (1999-01-16) 16 January 1999 (age 25) 6 2 Guam Rovers
19 3MF Mike Crowley (1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 29) 3 0 Guam Rovers
22 3MF Travis Nicklaw (1993-12-21) 21 December 1993 (age 31) 25 1 United States Chattanooga Red Wolves
3 4FW Aaron Kruger (1989-04-23) 23 April 1989 (age 35) 0 0 Germany Wiesbaden
9 4FW Marcus Lopez (1992-08-02) 2 August 1992 (age 32) 28 6 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
11 4FW Dylan Naputi (1995-01-04) 4 January 1995 (age 29) 31 3 Guam UOG Tritons
12 4FW Aidan Dickson (2000-06-15) 15 June 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
17 4FW Joey Ciochetto (1996-10-22) 22 October 1996 (age 28) 2 0 United States Temecula FC
23 4FW Shane Malcolm (1991-10-13) 13 October 1991 (age 33) 27 4 United States Colorado Springs Switchbacks

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Guam squad within last 12 months. Retired players are not listed.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Dallas Jaye (1993-06-19) 19 June 1993 (age 31) 11 0 United States Greenville Triumph
1GK Bijan Gloston (1993-01-11) 11 January 1993 (age 31) 3 0 United States Marshall Thundering Herd
1GK Doug Herrick (1989-06-02) 2 June 1989 (age 35) 26 0 Guam Rovers
2DF Marlon Evans (1997-08-03) 3 August 1997 (age 27) 4 0 United States Detroit City
2DF Takumi Odell (1990-01-05) 5 January 1990 (age 34) 0 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
2DF A. J. DeLaGarza (1987-11-04) 4 November 1987 (age 37) 14 0 United States Inter Miami
2DF Brandon McDonald (1986-01-16) 16 January 1986 (age 38) 13 1 Vietnam Hanoi
2DF Justin Lee (1990-01-05) 5 January 1990 (age 34) 16 1 United States Christos FC
2DF Josh Borja (1990-08-01) 1 August 1990 (age 34) 14 5 United States SoCAL Elite
2DF Christian Schweizer (1995-01-06) 6 January 1995 (age 29) 16 0 United States University of Portland
2DF Micah Paulino (1992-11-16) 16 November 1992 (age 32) 28 0 Guam Guam Shipyard
2DF Mason Grimes (1992-10-21) 21 October 1992 (age 32) 14 0 Unattached
2DF Jonathan Odell (1995-02-25) 25 February 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Guam Guam Shipyard
2DF Scott Leon Guerrero (1990-08-22) 22 August 1990 (age 34) 21 0 Guam Quality Distributors
2DF Gen Fudo (1995-12-10) 10 December 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Guam Guam Shipyard
3MF Ian Mariano (1990-10-07) 7 October 1990 (age 34) 33 3 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
3MF Kyle Halehale (2002-06-03) 3 June 2002 (age 22) 4 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
3MF Ian Adamos (1988-04-03) 3 April 1988 (age 36) 14 0 United States SoCAL Elite
3MF Thaddeus Atalig (1995-05-07) 7 May 1995 (age 29) 8 0 United States Bowling Green University
3MF Ryan Guy (1985-09-05) 5 September 1985 (age 39) 28 3 United States SoCal Surf
3MF Rin Katsumata (1997-07-03) 3 July 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
3MF Jonahan Romero (1988-03-17) 17 March 1988 (age 36) 26 0 Guam Rovers
3MF Jan-Willem Staman (1984-09-01) 1 September 1984 (age 40) 5 0 Guam Quality Distributors
3MF Donovan Reyes (1996-04-20) 20 April 1996 (age 28) 0 0 Guam Guam Shipyard
4FW Edward Na (1996-02-12) 12 February 1996 (age 28) 5 0 United States Tacoma Stars
4FW Zachary DeVille (1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 (age 31) 10 2 United States San Diego Flash
4FW Tye Perdido (1988-11-28) 28 November 1988 (age 36) 3 0 Unattached
4FW Conner Cappelletti (1989-01-10) 10 January 1989 (age 35) 3 0 Unattached
4FW Min Sung Choi (1992-10-16) 16 October 1992 (age 32) 2 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
4FW Michael Benito (1998-01-11) 11 January 1998 (age 26) 0 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers

Results and fixtures

Main article: Guam national football team results

2019

6 June 2019 2022 World Cup qualification Bhutan  1–0  Guam Thimphu, Bhutan
18:00 UTC+6 Ts. Dorji 35' Report Stadium: Changlimithang Stadium
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Omar Al-Yaqoubi (Oman)
11 June 2019 2022 World Cup qualification Guam  5–0  Bhutan Dededo, Guam
15:15 UTC+10
Report Stadium: Guam F.A. National Training Center
Attendance: 1,029
Referee: Yu Ming-hsun (Chinese Taipei)
5 September 2019 2022 World Cup qualification Guam  0–1  Maldives Dededo, Guam
15:30 UTC+10 Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Stadium: Guam F.A. National Training Center
Attendance: 714
Referee: Yaqoub Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
10 September 2019 2022 World Cup qualification Guam  1–4  Philippines Dededo, Guam
15:30 UTC+10
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Stadium: Guam F.A. National Training Center
Referee: Kim Woo-sung (South Korea)
10 October 2019 2022 World Cup qualification China  7–0  Guam Guangzhou, China
20:00 UTC+8
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)		 Stadium: Tianhe Stadium
Referee: Ali Reda (Lebanon)
15 October 2019 2022 World Cup qualification Syria  4–0  Guam Dubai, United Arab Emirates
18:00 UTC+4
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)		 Stadium: Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium
Attendance: 2,050
Referee: Dmitriy Mashentsev (Kyrgyzstan)
19 November 2019 2022 World Cup qualification Maldives  3–1  Guam Malé, Maldives
16:00 UTC+5
Report (FIFA)
Report (AFC)
Stadium: National Football Stadium
Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)

2020

8 October 2020 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round  Philippines v  Guam Manila, Philippines
--:-- UTC+8 Stadium: Rizal Memorial Stadium
13 October 2020 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round  Guam v  China Dededo, Guam
--:-- UTC+10 Stadium: Guam F.A. National Training Center
12 November 2020 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round  Guam v  Syria Dededo, Guam
Stadium: Guam F.A. National Training Center


Records

Guam registered its first victory over a member of FIFA on 11 March 2009, 35 years after making its debut. They beat Mongolia, by a score of 1–0 in the 2010 East Asian Cup Preliminary Competition,[17] at home in Yona. Christopher Mendiola 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 neighbor, 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.

Recently they have recorded further victories over Chinese Taipei and Macau in International competition and were narrowly beaten 3-2 in Hong Kong against the host country in November 2016.

1975 South Pacific Games

Additional information: 1975 South Pacific Games

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 to Fiji and then lost to the Solomon Islands to finish at the bottom of Group 2.

1979 South Pacific Games

Additional information: 1979 South Pacific Games

Guam competed in South Pacific Games Football – 1979[18] 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 to New Caledonia and to the New Hebrides as both of the other teams advanced.

1991 South Pacific Games

Additional information: 1991 South Pacific Games

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 to Tahiti on 9 September 1991. On 12 September they lost to Fiji before losing to New Caledonia.[19]

1996 Asian Cup

Additional information: 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification

In Guam's first Asian Cup qualification attempt at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Ryan Stepp at 15 years of age became the youngest player to score in Asian Cup qualification in a 9–2 loss to Chinese Taipei.

2002 World Cup Qualification

Additional information: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Guam entered World Cup qualification for the first time for the 2002 tournament which was jointly held 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.

2006 AFC Challenge Cup

Additional information: 2006 AFC Challenge Cup

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 by Palestine, for whom Fahed Attal scored six times. Bangladesh then defeated Guam 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 at the Bangladesh Army Stadium.

2013 EAFF East Asian Cup

Additional information: 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup

In 2012, the first round of preliminary competition was hosted by Guam. Guam finished first within the tournament advancing to Round 2 of preliminary competition.

2014 AFC Challenge Cup

Additional information: 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification

Guam finished third during the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification and completed their group play with a resounding 3–0 victory over Chinese Taipei for the first time in history.

2015 EAFF East Asian Cup

Additional information: 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup

In 2014, the first round of preliminary competition was hosted by Guam. Guam finished first, advancing to the semifinal round for the third-straight time.

2018 World Cup Qualification

Additional information: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Guam entered the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Group D. Guam hosted the qualifiers for the first time at the Guam Football Association National Training Center in Harmon, which was built with financial assistance from FIFA's Goal Programme. During the qualifying round, Guam clinched their first FIFA World Cup qualifying win ever by defeating Turkmenistan. Just a few days later, Guam won their second FIFA World Cup qualifying match beating India. The win was notable considering India's FIFA ranking sits 33 spots ahead at No. 141, the size of India's population, and their reputation as they were recently dubbed "the sleeping giants" of football by FIFA.[6][7]

Tournament record

Main article: Guam national football team results

World Cup

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Did not enter
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994
France 1998
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 35
Germany 2006 Withdrew
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018 8 2 1 5 3 16
Qatar 2022
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total - 0/21 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 2 1 7 7 51

AFC Asian Cup

  • 2019 – Withdrew from the third tournament due to financial constraints.

East Asian Football Championship

  • 2003 – 5th place in qualifiers
  • 2005 – 5th place in qualifiers
  • 2008 – 6th place in qualifiers
  • 2010 – Qualified to Round 2 (Preliminary Competition winners)
  • 2013 – Qualified to Round 2 (Preliminary Competition winners)
  • 2015 – Qualified to Round 2 (Preliminary Competition winners)
  • 2017 - Automatically qualified to Round 2 (Ranked higher than bottom four countries in East Asia region)

AFC Challenge Cup

  • 2006 – Round 1
  • 2008 – 4th in qualifying group

South Pacific Games

(South) Pacific (Mini) Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Fiji 1963 Did not compete
New Caledonia 1966
Papua New Guinea 1969
French Polynesia 1971
Guam 1975 Group stage 7th place 2 0 0 2 1 16
Fiji 1979 Group stage 11th place 2 0 0 2 1 16
Solomon Islands 1981 Did not compete
Samoa 1983
New Caledonia 1987
Papua New Guinea 1991 Group stage 8th place 3 0 0 3 2 37
Vanuatu 1993 Group stage 8th place 3 0 0 3 1 35
French Polynesia 1995 Group stage 8th place 3 0 0 3 0 23
Fiji 2003 Did not compete
Samoa 2007
Fiji 2011 Group stage 9th place 5 1 1 3 4 21
Papua New Guinea 2015 Did not compete
Vanuatu 2017
Total Group stage 6/17 18 1 1 16 9 148

Micronesian Games

  • 1998 – Runners Up

References

  1. ^ Mike Nauta Jr. (1 June 2012). "Guam men's national soccer team now known as 'Matao'". Marianas Variety. Guam. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  2. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  3. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  4. ^ "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking − Guam Men's Ranking". fifa.com. FIFA. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Ambitious Guam climbing high". fifa.com. FIFA. 21 February 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Tiny Guam slay sleeping giants India in World Cup qualifier". uk.reuters.com. Reuters. 16 June 2015.
  7. ^ a b "White: It was a historic event for Guam". fifa.com. FIFA. 15 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Guam's Matao beat Bhutan 5-0, moves on to second round of qualifications for World Cup". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Guam coach Gary White wants to manage in Premier League". BBC Sport. 11 January 2013.
  10. ^ Center, Pacific News. "Guam Nat'l Soccer Team Will Called Matao. | PNC News First". pacificnewscenter.com. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  11. ^ "» Matao and Acha'ot". www.guampedia.com. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  12. ^ Center, Pacific News. "BBC: Guam Matao Coach Gary White Wants to Manage in Premier League - PNC News First". pacificnewscenter.com.
  13. ^ 关于盖瑞怀特（Gary White） 先生出任上海申鑫足球俱乐部主教练的公告 (in Chinese)
  14. ^ "Darren Sawatzky takes over Guam National Team". Sounder At Heart. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  15. ^ User, Super. "Guam Football Association - GFA appoints Australia's Dodd as Matao Head Coach beginning 2018". www.guamfa.com. Retrieved 26 April 2018. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ "STATESIDE MATAO CAMP FIRST OF ITS KIND - GSPN - Guam Sports Network". GSPN - Guam Sports Network. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  17. ^ Steve Menary (11 September 2009). "Guam on the rise". World Soccer Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  18. ^ hif:South Pacific Games Football - 1979
  19. ^ "Guam - List of International Matches". rsssf.com.

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