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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 coachSeo Dong-won
CaptainJason Cunliffe
Most capsJason Cunliffe (61)
Top scorerJason Cunliffe (22)
Home stadiumGuam National Football Stadium
FIFA codeGUM
First colors
Second colors
FIFA ranking
Current 204 Steady (24 October 2024)[2]
Highest146 (August – September 2015)
Lowest205 (November 2004 – February 2005)
First international
 Guam 1–5 Solomon Islands 
(Tumon, Guam; 2 August 1975)
Biggest win
 Guam 9–0 Northern Mariana Islands 
(Hagatna, Guam; 1 April 2007)
Biggest defeat
 North Korea 21–0 Guam 
(Taipei, Taiwan; 11 March 2005)
AFC Challenge Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2006)
Best resultGroup stage (2006)

The Guam national football team represents Guam, overseas territory of the United States 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]

Results and fixtures

Main article: Guam national football team results

2021

30 May 2022 World Cup qualification Guam  0–7  China Suzhou, China
19:30 UTC+8 Report
Stadium: Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre
Attendance: 29,222
Referee: Sivakorn Pu-udom (Thailand)
7 June 2022 World Cup qualification Guam  0–3  Syria Sharjah, UAE
22:00 UTC+8 Report
Stadium: Sharjah Stadium
Referee: Khalid Saleh Alturais (Saudi Arabia)
11 June 2022 World Cup qualification Philippines  3–0  Guam Sharjah, UAE
22:00 UTC+8
Report Stadium: Sharjah Stadium
Referee: Ammar Aljeneibi (United Arab Emirates)
7 September 2023 ACQ Play-off Guam  –  Cambodia Guam
12 October 2023 ACQ Play-off Cambodia  –  Guam Cambodia

Current coaching staff

Position Name
Manager South Korea Suh Dong-won
Translator South Korea Lee Yong-un
Assistant coach South Korea TBA
Goalkeeper coach South Korea TBA
Team Manager Guam J.R. Campos
High Performance Manager Russia Pavel Gubenko
Physiotherapist Guam Jordan Tingson
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] It was announced in April 2021 that Dodd has resigned from the post due to a family emergency. Suh Dong Won, a longtime head coach of the Korea University’s championship football teams and 2016 Korea Football Association Coach of the Year, was appointed as the interim head coach for the forthcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Asian Qualifiers Round 2 for Guam.[17]

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following 24 players were called up to the preliminary squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against China, Philippines and Syria on 30 May, 3 June and 11 June respectively.[18]

Caps and goals correct as of 13 June 2021 after the match against Philippines.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Dallas Jaye (1993-06-19) 19 June 1993 (age 31) 20 0 United States Greenville Triumph
18 1GK Sean Evans (1999-07-10) 10 July 1999 (age 25) 3 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
22 2DF Travis Nicklaw (1993-12-21) 21 December 1993 (age 30) 35 1 United States Chattanooga Red Wolves
17 2DF Alex Lee (1990-01-15) 15 January 1990 (age 34) 19 0 United States Christos
6 2DF Justin Lee (1990-01-15) 15 January 1990 (age 34) 18 1 United States Christos
2 2DF Isiah Lagutang (1997-08-03) 3 August 1997 (age 27) 11 1 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
4 2DF Nate Lee (1994-05-06) 6 May 1994 (age 30) 11 0 United States Frederick
5 2DF Ryan Quitugua (1997-08-26) 26 August 1997 (age 27) 5 0 Guam Rovers
20 2DF Shane Healy (1998-07-03) 3 July 1998 (age 26) 2 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
23 2DF Morgan McKenna (2003-01-16) 16 January 2003 (age 21) 0 0 Guam Manhoben Lalåhi
10 3MF Jason Cunliffe (captain) (1983-10-23) 23 October 1983 (age 41) 61 22 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
8 3MF Mark Chargualaf (1991-01-03) 3 January 1991 (age 33) 36 0 Guam Rovers
7 3MF John Matkin (1986-04-20) 20 April 1986 (age 38) 28 2 Unattached
16 3MF Devan Mendiola (1999-01-19) 19 January 1999 (age 25) 11 2 Guam Rovers
11 3MF Kyle Halehale (2002-06-03) 3 June 2002 (age 22) 8 0 Guam Manhoben Lalåhi
3 3MF Marlon Evans (1997-08-03) 3 August 1997 (age 27) 8 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
15 3MF Leon Morimoto (2001-12-18) 18 December 2001 (age 22) 3 0 Argentina Temperley II
14 3MF Eduardo Pedemonte Jr. (2003-07-22) 22 July 2003 (age 21) 1 0 United States South San Francisco Warriors
13 3MF Nate Sablan (1993-08-10) 10 August 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Guam Rovers
4FW Marcus Lopez (1992-02-09) 9 February 1992 (age 32) 36 6 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
12 4FW Clayton Sato (1999-07-20) 20 July 1999 (age 25) 3 0 United States San Francisco State Gators
9 4FW Shawn Aguigui (1996-08-13) 13 August 1996 (age 28) 1 0 United States Vallejo Omega
19 4FW Anthony Moon (2001-10-14) 14 October 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Guam Red Wings
4FW Jacob McDonald (2001-01-31) 31 January 2001 (age 23) 0 0

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Guam squad within last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Sena Morimoto 0 0 2021 Training Camp
GK Alexander Stenson (2003-02-09) 9 February 2003 (age 21) 0 0 2021 Training Camp
DF Shawn Nicklaw (1989-04-15) 15 April 1989 (age 35) 35 2 Unattached 2021 Training CampRET
DF Takumi Ito (2000-02-03) 3 February 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Guam Rovers 2021 Training Camp
DF Robert Niu (2002-06-08) 8 June 2002 (age 22) 0 0 2021 Training Camp
MF Ian Mariano (1990-10-07) 7 October 1990 (age 34) 42 3 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers 2021 Training Camp
MF Shane Malcolm (1991-10-13) 13 October 1991 (age 33) 29 4 Unattached 2021 Training Camp
MF Joey Ciochetto (1996-10-22) 22 October 1996 (age 28) 3 0 United States Temecula 2021 Training Camp
FW Dominic Perez (1996-10-14) 14 October 1996 (age 28) 0 0 2021 Training Camp

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad
RET Retired from the national team
SUS Serving suspension

Player records

As of 13 June 2021
Players in bold are still active with Guam.

Team 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,[19] 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[20] 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.[21]

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 Program. 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]

Competitive record

Main article: Guam national football team results

FIFA 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 to France 1998 Did not enter Did not enter
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 35
Germany 2006 Withdrew Withdrew
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018 Did not qualify 8 2 1 5 3 16
Qatar 2022 10 1 0 9 7 33
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total — 0/22 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 3 1 16 14 84

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D* L GF GA
Hong Kong 1956 to Japan 1992 Did not enter Did not enter
United Arab Emirates 1996 Did not qualify 3 0 0 3 2 27
Lebanon 2000 3 0 0 3 0 32
China 2004 2 0 0 2 0 11
IndonesiaMalaysiaThailandVietnam 2007 Did not enter Did not enter
Qatar 2011 Did not qualify AFC Challenge Cup
Australia 2015
United Arab Emirates 2019 Withdrew during qualification 8 2 1 5 3 16
China 2023 To be determined 10 1 0 9 7 31
Total 0/17 — 26 3 1 22 12 117
  • 2019 – Withdrew from the third tournament due to financial constraints.

East Asian Football Championship

East Asian Football Championship record Preliminary competition
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
East Asian Football Championship
Japan 2003 Did not qualify 4 0 0 4 0 22
South Korea 2005 4 0 0 4 1 49
China 2008 4 2 0 2 13 27
Japan 2010 6 2 1 3 9 28
EAFF East Asian Cup
South Korea 2013 Did not qualify 6 2 1 3 8 18
China 2015 6 3 2 1 10 6
EAFF E-1 Football Championship
Japan 2017 Did not qualify 3 0 0 3 2 7
South Korea 2019 3 1 1 1 5 3
2022 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total - 0/9 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 10 5 21 48 160

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
Samoa 2019
Total Group stage 6/17 18 1 1 16 9 148

Micronesian Games

  • 1998 – Winners (According to AFC profile)

Mariana Cup

  • 2007, 2008, 2010

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. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  3. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 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. ^ "Matao gets interim coach for upcoming FIFA matches". Pacific Daily News. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Final roster of 24 for WCQ set". GuamFA.com. Guam FA.
  19. ^ Steve Menary (11 September 2009). "Guam on the rise". World Soccer Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  20. ^ hif:South Pacific Games Football - 1979
  21. ^ "Guam - List of International Matches". rsssf.com.

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