São Tomé and Príncipe national football team

São Tomé and Príncipe
Nickname(s)	Seleção dos Falcões e Papagaios ; (The Falcons and True Parrots Team)
Association	Federação Santomense de Futebol (FSF)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Head coach	Adriano Eusébio
Captain	Luís Leal
Most caps	Joazhifel Soares (29)
Top scorer	Luís Leal (8)
Home stadium	Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho
FIFA code	STP
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	186 (22 December 2022)
Highest	115 (March 2012)
Lowest	200 (September – October 2007)
First international
	Gabon 6–1 São Tomé and Príncipe ; (Libreville, Gabon; 2 May 1976)
Biggest win
	Mauritius 1–3 São Tomé and Príncipe ; (Belle Vue Harel, Mauritius; 9 October 2019); São Tomé and Príncipe 2–0 Equatorial Guinea ; (Libreville, Gabon; 14 November 1999) ; São Tomé and Príncipe 2–0 Sierra Leone ; (São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe; 8 April 2000)
Biggest defeat
	Congo 11–0 São Tomé and Príncipe ; (Libreville, Gabon; 7 July 1976)

The São Tomé and Príncipe national football team is the national association football team of São Tomé and Príncipe and is controlled by the São Toméan Football Federation. It is a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA.^[3]

History[edit]

São Tomé and Príncipe's first ever match was a friendly against Gabon in May 1976. They lost by a score of 6–1. Their next game, during the 1976 Central African Games, was a horrendous 11–0 loss to Congo, São Tomé's largest loss to date. São Tomé rounded off the competition with a 2–1 loss to Central African Republic and a 5–0 loss to Chad.

The following year, São Tomé picked up their first win, in a friendly versus Rwanda. In both 1978 and 1987 they achieved a draw at home to Angola.

The Green and Yellows took an eleven year break, before a string of matches including their first entry to a FIFA sanctioned tournament. At the UNIFAC Cup in 1999, they achieved their second win, 2–0 against Equatorial Guinea. They won the next game after that, against Sierra Leone, 2–0. This two-in-a-row streak accompanied with a draw a few matches later placed them at their highest FIFA ranking to date, 179.

In 2003, São Tomé lost to Libya 1–0 and 8–0, which was a major blow to their previous success.^[4] São Tomé did not participate in the qualification for the 2010 World Cup, withdrawing before their first match, leaving them unranked in the FIFA rankings because they did not play any matches for four years.

On 11 November 2011, after an eight-year hiatus, São Tomé and Príncipe participated in the qualification for the 2014 World Cup, losing to Congo 5–0, then drawing 1–1 with the same team four days later. São Tomé were reinstated in the FIFA rankings on 23 November 2011, entering at number 192.

In January 2012, in the preliminary round of 2013 AFCON Qualifiers, São Tomé achieved their first ever aggregate win, defeating Lesotho 1–0 at home then successfully defending a 0–0 draw in Maseru seven days later. In the next round, São Tomé only narrowly lost 5–4 on aggregate to Sierra Leone. In the following years, São Tomé continued to show promise with impressive wins at home to Ethiopia and Libya but poor away results prevented them from advancing again.

On 9 October 2019, São Tomé defeated Mauritius 1–3 away from home in the first leg of their preliminary round tie of 2021 AFCON Qualifiers. This was São Tomé and Príncipe's first away win in a competitive match ever. Four days later, São Tomé won 2–1 at home to advance 5–2 on aggregate and enter Group C, facing Ghana, South Africa and Sudan, where they finished bottom with zero points.

During the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, São Tomé faced Mauritius, winning the first leg 1–0 before drawing the second leg 3–3 to advance to the group stages. Following the fixtures CAF sanctioned São Tomé for their first leg victory as they hadn't followed COVID protocol for Luis Leal, giving Mauritius a 3–0 victory and eliminating São Tomé from the competition.^[5] São Tomé appealed the decision and, following an initial unsuccessful ruling, they were reinstated by CAF a week before the first qualifying group game.^[6]

Results and fixtures[edit]

2022[edit]

24 March 2023 AFCON Q preliminary round	São Tomé and Príncipe	1–0	Mauritius	São Tomé, São Tomé and Principe
	Leal 36'			Stadium: Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho

27 March 2023 AFCON Q preliminary round	Mauritius	3–3 (3–4 agg.)	São Tomé and Príncipe	Saint Pierre, Mauritius
	Bru 21' (pen.) Collard 57' Nazira 90+1'	Report	Cardoso 27', 60' Leal 34'	Stadium: Complexe Sportif de Côte d'Or
Note: São Tomé and Príncipe won 4–3 on aggregate.

9 June 2023 AFCON qualification	Guinea-Bissau	5–1	São Tomé and Príncipe	Marrakech, Morocco
13:00 UTC+1	Semedo 40' Gano 50', 58' Banjaqui 80' Jorginho 87'		Viegas 21'	Stadium: Stade de Marrakech

13 June 2023 AFCON qualification	São Tomé and Príncipe	0–10	Nigeria	Agadir, Morocco
			Osimhen 9', 48', 65', 84' Simon 28' Moffi 43', 60' Etebo 55' Lookman 63' Dennis 90+2' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade Adrar Referee: Osiase Koto (Lesotho)

2023[edit]

March 2023 AFCON qualification

Sierra Leone

v

São Tomé and Príncipe

March 2023 AFCON qualification

São Tomé and Príncipe

v

Sierra Leone

June 2023 AFCON qualification

São Tomé and Príncipe

v

Guinea-Bissau

September 2023 AFCON qualification	Nigeria	v	São Tomé and Príncipe	Abuja, Nigeria
				Stadium: Moshood Abiola National Stadium

Coaching history[edit]

Rudi Gutendorf (1984)
Juvenal Correia (1998)
Eduardo de Sousa (2000)
Antônio Dumas (2000–2001)
Jose Ferraz (2003–2005)
Osvaldo Lima (2011)
Gustave Clément Nyoumba (2011–2015)
António do Rosário (2015–2017)
Gustave Clément Nyoumba (2017–2019)
Adriano Eusébio (2019–present)

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches.^{[citation needed]}
Match dates: 9 and 13 June 2022
Opposition: Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria
Caps and goals correct as of: 13 June 2022, after the match against Nigeria

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Anastácio Bragança	(1997-02-16) 16 February 1997 (age 25)	3	0	Free agent
12	1GK	Feher Mendes	(2004-01-27) 27 January 2004 (age 19)	0	0	Estrela da Amadora

2	2DF	Ivonaldo	(1993-05-05) 5 May 1993 (age 29)	24	0	UDRA
3	2DF	Leonildo Soares	(1992-08-07) 7 August 1992 (age 30)	12	0	Pinhalnovense
5	2DF	Jardel Nazaré	(1995-05-16) 16 May 1995 (age 27)	8	0	União de Santarém
4	2DF	Nilton Pequeno	(1998-04-06) 6 April 1998 (age 24)	3	0	UDRA
14	2DF	Hernane Espírito	(1987-12-17) 17 December 1987 (age 35)	0	0	Agrosport

18	3MF	Iniesta	(1992-09-08) 8 September 1992 (age 30)	11	2	UDRA
17	3MF	Tinho	(1992-10-21) 21 October 1992 (age 30)	10	0	UDRA
6	3MF	Aldair	(1989-09-04) 4 September 1989 (age 33)	8	0	RSD Jette
7	3MF	Joel Neves	(1996-05-01) 1 May 1996 (age 26)	8	0	Loures
11	3MF	Maú	(2000-07-13) 13 July 2000 (age 22)	5	0	Free agent
15	3MF	Luis Selemane	(1995-05-01) 1 May 1995 (age 27)	2	0	Atlético CP
16	3MF	Geoxking Alegre	(2001-11-14) 14 November 2001 (age 21)	0	0	Águias de Camarate

10	4FW	Luís Leal	(1987-05-29) 29 May 1987 (age 35)	21	8	Guabirá
20	3MF	Eba Viegas	(1999-10-08) 8 October 1999 (age 23)	6	0	Moncarapachense
19	4FW	Edmílson Viegas	(1996-10-29) 29 October 1996 (age 26)	4	1	Paniliakos
13	4FW	Ronaldo	(2001-07-11) 11 July 2001 (age 21)	2	0	Oliveira do Hospital
8	4FW	Gil Carvalho	(1997-02-25) 25 February 1997 (age 25)	1	0	Ashford United
9	4FW	Valter Rocha	(1991-08-19) 19 August 1991 (age 31)	1	0	Basildon United

Recent call ups[edit]

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Primo	(1989-09-09) 9 September 1989 (age 33)	12	0	Praia Cruz	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022

DF	Vavá Pequeno	(1994-02-05) 5 February 1994 (age 28)	11	0	Praia Cruz	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022
DF	Lúcio Oliveira	(1992-11-26) 26 November 1992 (age 30)	5	0	Ferreiras	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022
DF	Borja	(1993-01-31) 31 January 1993 (age 30)	0	0	Evreux FC 27	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022

MF	Jocy	(1991-01-19) 19 January 1991 (age 32)	32	1	UDRA	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022
MF	Marcos Barbeiro	(1995-07-29) 29 July 1995 (age 27)	10	1	Real	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022
MF	Ricardo Cardoso	(2001-09-23) 23 September 2001 (age 21)	4	2	HJK	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022
MF	Mimi	(1996-10-07) 7 October 1996 (age 26)	4	0	Moncarapanchense	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022
MF	Joel Leal	(2003-01-02) 2 January 2003 (age 20)	0	0	LZS Starowice	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022

FW	Zé Carlos Semedo	(1992-07-15) 15 July 1992 (age 30)	2	0	Loures	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022
FW	Vander Pinto	(1995-12-12) 12 December 1995 (age 27)	1	0	UDRA	v. Mauritius, 27 March 2022

Player records[edit]

As of 13 June 2022^[7]

Players in bold are still active with São Tomé and Príncipe.

Most appearances
Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Joazhifel Soares	32	1	2011–present
2	Ivonaldo	24	0	2014–present
3	Luís Leal	21	8	2012–present
4	Zé	20	3	2011–present
5	Francisco do Nascimento	18	0	2011–2018
6	Harramiz	15	2	2015–present
7	Jair Nunes	12	4	2011–2016
	Primo	12	0	2017–present
	Leonildo Soares	12	0	2016–present
10	Juary Cardoso	11	0	2011–2016
	Dilson	11	0	2017–present
	Iniesta	11	2	2017–present
	Vavá Pequeno	11	0	2019–present

Top goalscorers
Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Luís Leal	8	21	0.38	2012–present
2	Jair Nunes	4	12	0.33	2011–2016
3	Zé	3	20	0.15	2011–present
4	Amilcar Ramos	2	3	0.67	2000
	Ricardo Cardoso	2	4	0.5	2021–present
	Iniesta	2	11	0.18	2017–present
	Harramiz	2	15	0.13	2015–present

Competition records[edit]

World Cup record[edit]

FIFA World Cup record									FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Part of Portugal								Part of Portugal
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978	Not a FIFA member								Not a FIFA member
1982
1986
1990	did not enter								Declined participation
1994	Withdrew								Withdrew
1998	did not enter								did not enter
2002	did not qualify								2	1	0	1	2	4
2006	did not qualify								2	0	0	2	0	9
2010	Withdrew								Withdrew
2014	did not qualify								2	0	1	1	1	6
2018									2	1	0	1	1	3
2022									2	0	0	2	1	3
2026	to be determined
Total	-	0/22	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	2	1	7	5	25

Africa Cup of Nations record[edit]

Africa Cup of Nations record									Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957	Part of Portugal								Part of Portugal
1959
1962
1963
1965
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976	Not affiliated to CAF								Not affiliated to CAF
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988	did not enter								did not enter
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000	did not qualify								2	0	0	2	0	6
2002	did not qualify								2	0	1	1	2	5
2004	Withdrew								Withdrew
2006	did not qualify								2	0	0	0	0	9
2008	did not enter								did not enter
2010	Withdrew								Withdrew
2012	did not enter								did not enter
2013	did not qualify								4	2	1	1	5	5
2015									2	0	0	2	0	4
2017									6	1	0	5	4	19
2019									2	0	0	2	2	4
2021									8	2	0	6	8	18
2023	to be determined								4	1	1	2	5	18
2025	to be determined								to be determined
Total	-	0/34	-	-	-	-	-	-	34	6	3	25	26	88

Head-to-head record[edit]

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	WPCT
Angola	4	0	1	3	6	12	−6	0.00
Benin	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0.00
Cape Verde	2	0	0	2	2	9	−7	0.00
Central African Republic	2	0	0	2	1	5	−4	0.00
Chad	2	0	0	2	0	10	−10	0.00
Congo	4	0	1	3	1	18	−17	0.00
Equatorial Guinea	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	33.33
Ethiopia	2	1	0	1	1	3	−2	50.00
Gabon	4	0	1	3	3	12	−9	0.00
Ghana	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	0.00
Guinea-Bissau	4	0	0	4	2	9	−7	0.00
Lesotho	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	50.00
Libya	4	1	0	3	2	14	−12	25.00
Madagascar	2	0	0	2	2	4	−2	0.00
Mauritius	4	3	1	0	9	5	+4	75.00
Morocco	2	0	0	2	0	5	−5	0.00
Nigeria	1	0	0	1	0	10	−10	0.00
Rwanda	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	50.00
Sierra Leone	4	2	0	2	5	8	−3	50.00
South Africa	2	0	0	2	2	6	−4	0.00
Sudan	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	0.00
Togo	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	0.00
Uganda	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	0.00
Total	59	10	7	42	44	157	−113	16.95

Source: Results

References[edit]

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
^ "BBC Sport − São Tomé e Príncipe rocket up Fifa rankings". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
^ "São Tomé e Príncipe spring an unlikely surprise − World Soccer". worldsoccer.com. Time Inc. UK. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
^ Warshaw, Andrew. "Mauritius win 2023 AFCON qualifier slot after Sao Tome break covid rules". Inside World Football. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
^ Shehu, Idris. "Mauritius out as CAF reinstates Sao Tome to Nigeria's group". The Cable.
^ "Sao Tome and Principe". National Football Teams.

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.

[3] "BBC Sport − São Tomé e Príncipe rocket up Fifa rankings". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2013.

[4] "São Tomé e Príncipe spring an unlikely surprise − World Soccer". worldsoccer.com. Time Inc. UK. 12 February 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2013.

[5] Warshaw, Andrew. "Mauritius win 2023 AFCON qualifier slot after Sao Tome break covid rules". Inside World Football. Retrieved 30 May 2022.

[6] Shehu, Idris. "Mauritius out as CAF reinstates Sao Tome to Nigeria's group". The Cable.

[7] "Sao Tome and Principe". National Football Teams.

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[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

v t e São Tomé and Príncipe national football team
General	São Toméan Football Federation History Managers Results
Venues	Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho
Other teams	U23 U20 U17 Women's U23 U20 U17

v t e National and regional football teams of Africa (CAF)
North Africa (UNAF)	Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia
West Africa (WAFU)	Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
East Africa (CECAFA)	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar¹
Central Africa (UNIFFAC)	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé and Príncipe
Southern Africa (COSAFA)	Angola Botswana Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
Non-regional Members	Réunion¹
Football in Africa portal ¹ Regional team, an associate member of CAF but not a member of FIFA

v t e Central African Football Federations' Union
International competitions	CEMAC Cup UNIFFAC Cup (U-17) UNIFAC Cup (defunct) UNIFFAC Women's Cup
Club competitions	UNIFFAC Clubs Cup (defunct)
Members	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Democratic Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon Republic of the Congo São Tomé and Príncipe
National teams	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Democratic Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon Republic of the Congo São Tomé and Príncipe
Football in Africa portal