Vanuatu national football team

Vanuatu
Association	Vanuatu Football Federation
Confederation	OFC (Oceania)
Head coach	Vacant
Captain	Jason Thomas
Most caps	Etienne Mermer (35)
Top scorer	Richard Iwai (20)
Home stadium	Port Vila Municipal Stadium
FIFA code	VAN
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
	Vanuatu 18–0 Kiribati ; (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 national football team is the national team of Vanuatu and is controlled by the Vanuatu Football Federation.^[5]

History

It was known as the New Hebrides national football team 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 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 FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010. 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.

Kit sponsorship ^[6]

Kit lier	Period
Lotto	2004–2011
Nike	2012
Veto	2013–2016
Pasifika	2017
Gorilla Sports	2018–

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	Did not enter								Did not enter
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
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	To be determined								To be determined
2026	To be determined								To be determined
Total		0/21							37	12	3	22	76	89

OFC Nations Cup

OFC Nations Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1973	Fourth place	4th	5	1	1	3	5	10
1980	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	6	9
1996	Did not qualify
1998	Group stage	5th	2	0	0	2	2	13
2000	Fourth place	4th	4	1	0	3	5	8
2002	Fourth place	4th	5	2	0	3	2	6
2004	Group stage	6th	5	1	0	4	5	9
2008	Fourth place	4th	6	1	1	4	5	13
2012	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	8	9
2016	Group stage	7th	3	1	0	2	3	8
2020	Qualified	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	10/11	0 Titles	36	8	2	25	41	82

Pacific Games

Pacific Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1963	Round 1	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
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	Group stage	5th	5	2	1	2	51	3
Total	13/13	0 Titles	61	27	9	25	206	112

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

Results and fixtures

Recent results

10 July 2019 2019 Pacific Games Group Stage	Papua New Guinea	2–0	Vanuatu	Apia, Samoa
19:00	Gunemba 11' Simon 41'	Report		Stadium: J.S. Blatter Stadium Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Thoriq Munir Alkatiri (Indonesia)

12 July 2019 2019 Pacific Games Group Stage	Vanuatu	0–0	New Zealand	Apia, Samoa
16:00		Report		Stadium: J.S. Blatter Stadium Attendance: 900 Referee: Mongkolchai Pechsri (Thailand)

15 July 2019 2019 Pacific Games Group Stage	Tonga	0–14	Vanuatu	Apia, Samoa
9:00		Report	Molivakarua 5' Kalo 7' Natou 9' T. Kaltak 22', 64', 73', 82', 88' Cooper 35' Coulon 45' Nicholls 45+1', 80', 87', 90+2'	Stadium: J.S. Blatter Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Clifford Daypuyat (Philippines)

18 July 2019 2019 Pacific Games Group Stage	Vanuatu	11–0	Samoa	Apia, Samoa
16:00	Cooper 7', 14', 16', 23' T. Kaltak 25', 32', 55', 78' Bob 30' Nicholls 38' B. Kaltak 62'	Report		Stadium: J.S. Blatter Stadium Attendance: 500 Referee: Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia)

Current technical staff

Position
Head coach	Vacant
Assistant coach	François Sakama
Team Manager	Peter Takaro
Goalkeeper coach	Jimmy Obed
Assistant Goalkeeper coach	Jean Yves Galinie
Physio	Albert Lata

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 3 friendly games against Tahiti, Fiji and Indonesia and for the 2019 Pacific Games from 7–20 July in Apia, Samoa

Caps and goals updated as of 18 July 2019 after the game against Samoa.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Chikau Mansale	(1983-01-13) 13 January 1983 (age 41)	24	0	Tupuji Imere
21	1GK	Dick Taiwia	(1997-12-23) 23 December 1997 (age 26)	4	0	Ifira Black Bird
22	1GK	James Chilia	(2001-03-23) 23 March 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Tupuji Imere

2	2DF	Brian Kaltack	(1993-09-30) 30 September 1993 (age 31)	22	5	Auckland City
3	2DF	Jason Thomas (Captain)	(1997-01-20) 20 January 1997 (age 27)	16	0	Lautoka
4	2DF	Joseph Iaruel	(1998-01-25) 25 January 1998 (age 26)	13	0	Galaxy
6	2DF	Gordshem Dona	(1996-08-27) 27 August 1996 (age 28)	9	0	Tafea
18	2DF	Selwyn Vatu	(1998-06-13) 13 June 1998 (age 26)	13	0	Galaxy
19	2DF	Michel Coulon	(1995-12-03) 3 December 1995 (age 28)	9	1	Tafea
20	2DF	Jonathan Spokeyjack	(1998-11-13) 13 November 1998 (age 25)	3	0	Ifira Black Bird
23	2DF	Waiwo Kalmet	(1999-04-26) 26 April 1999 (age 25)	0	0	Tafea

5	3MF	Jeffery Bob	(1992-07-01) 1 July 1992 (age 32)	5	3	Tafea
7	3MF	John Alick	(1991-04-25) 25 April 1991 (age 33)	10	0	Solomon Warriors
8	3MF	Ronaldo Wilkins	(1999-12-30) 30 December 1999 (age 24)	8	0	Shepherds United
10	3MF	Mitch Cooper	(1994-09-18) 18 September 1994 (age 30)	6	5	Hume City
13	3MF	Daniel Natou	(1989-11-25) 25 November 1989 (age 34)	12	1	Galaxy
14	3MF	Elkington Molivakarua	(1993-03-03) 3 March 1993 (age 31)	13	3	Tafea
16	3MF	Bong Kalo	(1997-01-18) 18 January 1997 (age 27)	20	2	Galaxy
	3MF	Tom Saksak	(2000-05-08) 8 May 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Vaum United

9	4FW	Kensi Tangis	(1991-12-19) 19 December 1991 (age 32)	28	8	Galaxy
11	4FW	Andre Batick	(1993-04-28) 28 April 1993 (age 31)	5	0	Malampa Revivors
12	4FW	Azariah Soromon	(1999-03-01) 1 March 1999 (age 25)	14	7	Southern United
15	4FW	Tony Kaltack	(1996-09-05) 5 September 1996 (age 28)	16	15	Solomon Warriors
17	4FW	Bill Nicholls	(1993-06-03) 3 June 1993 (age 31)	8	6	Magenta

Recent call-ups

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	Dgen Leo	(2000-08-06) 6 August 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Sia-Raga	Standby List 2019 Pacific Games
GK	Joshua Willie	(2000-06-13) 13 June 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Galaxy	Standby List 2019 Pacific Games
GK	Seiloni Iaruel	(1995-04-17) 17 April 1995 (age 29)	6	0	Galaxy	Pre-Squad 2019 Pacific Games
GK	Daniel August	(1998-12-28) 28 December 1998 (age 25)	0	0	Shepherds United	Pre-Squad 2019 Pacific Games

DF	Barhormaal Lolo	(1991-09-15) 15 September 1991 (age 33)	0	0	Yatel	Pre-Squad 2019 Pacific Games

MF	Kalfter Kaltack	(1997-11-01) 1 November 1997 (age 27)	0	0	Erakor Golden Star	Standby List 2019 Pacific Games
MF	Henry Namatak	(1997-02-06) 6 February 1997 (age 27)	0	0	Galaxy	Standby List 2019 Pacific Games
MF	Jacky Ruben	(1996-11-10) 10 November 1996 (age 27)	9	1	Suva	Pre-Squad 2019 Pacific Games
MF	Raoul Coulon	(1995-12-03) 3 December 1995 (age 28)	4	0	Tafea	Pre-Squad 2019 Pacific Games
MF	Barry Mansale	(1995-11-01) 1 November 1995 (age 29)	1	0	Galaxy	Pre-Squad 2019 Pacific Games
MF	Jayson Timatua	(1998-12-27) 27 December 1998 (age 25)	3	0	Tafea	Pre-Squad 2019 Pacific Games

FW	Alex Saniel	(1996-11-08) 8 November 1996 (age 27)	7	1	Lautoka	Standby List 2019 Pacific Games
FW	Jordy Tasip	(2000-07-14) 14 July 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Tafea	Standby List 2019 Pacific Games

List of coaches

New Hebrides (−1980)

P. Reichert (1973)

Vanuatu (1980–)

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)^[7]
Jorge Añón (2009)
Saby Natonga (2011–2012)
Percy Avock (2012–2015)^[8]
Moise Poida (2015–2018)^[9]
Etienne Mermer (2017)
Paul Munster (2019)

References

^ Mamrud, Roberto; Stokkermans, Karel. "Players with 100+ Caps and 30+ International Goals". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Vanuatu (New Hebrides) – List of International matches". Rsssf.com. 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. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
^ https://www.oldfootballshirts.com/pt/teams/v/vanuatu/old-vanuatu-football-shirts-t2895.html
^ "Member Association – Vanuatu". FIFA.com. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
^ "Vanuatu Football Federation". Vanuafoot.vu. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
^ "Poida named National Senior Team coach". Vanuata Football Federation. 21 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.

External links

Vanuatu at the FIFA website.
Vanuatu at the OFC website.
VFFFoot.over-nlog.com
Vanuafoot – Vanuatu Football Federation Official site
Vanuatu Football Federation Official Blog site

[1] Mamrud, Roberto; Stokkermans, Karel. "Players with 100+ Caps and 30+ International Goals". RSSSF. 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.com. 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. Retrieved 10 July 2015.

[6] ttps://www.oldfootballshirts.com/pt/teams/v/vanuatu/old-vanuatu-football-shirts-t2895.html

[7] "Member Association – Vanuatu". FIFA.com. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.

[8] "Vanuatu Football Federation". Vanuafoot.vu. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.

[9] "Poida named National Senior Team coach". Vanuata Football Federation. 21 October 2015. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.

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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.