Vanuatu national football team

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.[4][5]

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

Vanuatu
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationVanuatu Football Federation
ConfederationOFC (Oceania)
Head coachEmerson Alcântara
CaptainKensi Tangis
Most capsRichard Iwai (34)
Top scorerRichard Iwai (20)[1]
Home stadiumPort Vila Municipal Stadium
FIFA codeVAN
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 168 Decrease 3 (21 September 2023)[2]
Highest131 (October 2007)
Lowest201 (October–November 2015)
First international
 New Zealand 9–0 New Hebrides 
(Nouméa, New Caledonia; 4 October 1951)[3]
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
Appearances9 (first in 1973)
Best resultFourth place, 1973, 2000, 2002 and 2008

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[6] Period
Italy Lotto2004–2011
United States Nike2012
Australia Veto2013–2016
New Zealand Pasifika2017
Australia Gorilla Sports2018–2020
Australia KPI Sports 2020–2022
Italy Macron 2022–present

Results and fixtures
Main article: Vanuatu national football team results

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
 Report Stadium: Churchill Park
9 June 2023 Intercontinental Cup Lebanon  3–1  Vanuatu Bhubaneswar, India
16:30 UTC+5:30
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
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 coachVanuatu Etienne Mermer
Assistant coachVanuatu George Amos
Assistant coachVanuatu François Sakama
Team ManagerVanuatu Peter Takaro
Goalkeeper coachVanuatu Jimmy Obed
Assistant Goalkeeper coachVanuatu Jean Yves Galinie
PhysioVanuatu Albert Lata

Coaching history

New Hebrides

  • P. Reichert (1973–1987)

Vanuatu

Players

Current squad

The following players were named in the squad for the 2023 Intercontinental Cup between 9 and 18 June 2023.[7]

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

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Massing Kalotang (2002-08-26) 26 August 2002 3 0 Vanuatu Yatel
1GK Anthony Taiwia (1994-09-04) 4 September 1994 0 0 Vanuatu Ifira Black Bird
2DF Brian Kaltak (1993-09-30) 30 September 1993 22 5 Australia Central Coast Mariners
2DF Jason Thomas (1997-01-20) 20 January 1997 19 0 Vanuatu Erakor Golden Star
2DF Selwyn Vatu (1998-06-13) 13 June 1998 13 0 Vanuatu ABM Galaxy
2DF Raoul Coulon (1995-12-03) 3 December 1995 4 0 Vanuatu Tupuji Imere
2DF Lency Philip (1997-06-08) 8 June 1997 4 0 Vanuatu ABM Galaxy
2DF Timothy Boulet (1998-11-29) 29 November 1998 2 0 New Zealand Auckland City
2DF Tasso Jeffrey (1998-08-12) 12 August 1998 1 0 Australia FK Beograd
2DF James Chilia (2001-03-23) 23 March 2001 0 0 Vanuatu Tupuji Imere
3MF John Alick (1991-04-25) 25 April 1991 11 0 Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors
3MF Michel Coulon (1995-12-03) 3 December 1995 10 1 Vanuatu Tupuji Imere
3MF Jonathan Spokeyjack (1998-11-13) 13 November 1998 6 1 Vanuatu Ifira Black Bird
3MF Barry Mansale (1993-04-28) 28 April 1993 4 0 Vanuatu Yatel
3MF Claude Aru (1997-04-25) 25 April 1997 3 1 Vanuatu NEU
3MF Welwel (1997-07-09) 9 July 1997 3 0 Vanuatu Ifira Black Bird
3MF Godine Tenene (1998-05-03) 3 May 1998 2 0 Vanuatu Ifira Black Bird
3MF Jean Taussi (1996-07-17) 17 July 1996 1 0 Vanuatu Ifira Black Bird
3MF Joe Moses (2002-05-22) 22 May 2002 0 0 Vanuatu ABM Galaxy
3MF Lee Taiwia (1995-12-23) 23 December 1995 0 0 Vanuatu Ifira Black Bird
4FW Azariah Soromon (1999-03-01) 1 March 1999 15 7 Fiji Suva
4FW Alex Saniel (1996-11-08) 8 November 1996 9 1 Fiji Suva
4FW Jordy Tasip (2000-07-14) 14 July 2000 1 0 New Zealand 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 4 0 Vanuatu Erakor Golden Star v.  Solomon Islands, 23 March 2023
DF Samuel Kaloros (1989-09-16) 16 September 1989 3 0 Vanuatu Ifira Black Bird v.  Solomon Islands, 23 March 2023
DF Bethuel Olie (1997-08-19) 19 August 1997 3 0 Vanuatu NEU v.  Solomon Islands, 23 March 2023
MF Dondy Kileiter (1994-09-11) 11 September 1994 0 0 Vanuatu ABM Galaxy v.  Solomon Islands, 23 March 2023
FW Tonly Kalotang (1997-05-19) 19 May 1997 1 0 Vanuatu Ifira Black Bird v.  Solomon Islands, 23 March 2023

Player records
As of 27 March 2022[8]
Players in bold are still active with Vanuatu.

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
United States 1994 did not qualify 4 0 0 4 1 18
France 1998 2 0 1 1 2 3
South Korea Japan 2002 4 1 0 3 11 21
Germany 2006 9 4 1 4 21 11
South Africa 2010 12 5 1 6 30 19
Brazil 2014 3 1 0 2 8 9
Russia 2018 3 1 0 2 3 8
Qatar 2022 Withdrew Withdrew
Canada Mexico United States 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
New Zealand 1973 Fourth place 4th 5 1 1 3 5 10 No qualification
New Caledonia 1980 Group stage 7th 3 0 0 3 6 9
as  Vanuatu as  Vanuatu
Pacific Community 1996 did not qualify 4 0 1 3 5 12
Australia 1998 Group stage 5th 2 0 0 2 2 13 4 2 1 1 8 6
French Polynesia 2000 Fourth place 4th 4 1 0 3 5 8 4 2 0 2 12 7
New Zealand 2002 4th 5 2 0 3 2 6 Qualified automatically
Australia 2004 Group stage 6th 5 1 0 4 5 9 4 3 1 0 16 2
Pacific Community 2008 Fourth place 4th 6 1 1 4 5 13 6 4 0 2 25 6
Solomon Islands 2012 Group stage 5th 3 1 0 2 8 9 Qualified automatically
Papua New Guinea 2016 7th 3 1 0 2 3 8
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
Fiji 1963 Group stage 6th 1 0 0 1 3 6
New Caledonia 1966 Third place 3rd 4 1 2 1 9 14
Papua New Guinea 1969 Group stage 5th 5 1 1 3 13 13
French Polynesia 1971 Runners-up 2nd 4 2 1 1 9 12
Guam 1975 Group stage 5th 2 0 0 2 1 6
Fiji 1979 Fifth place 5th 6 4 0 2 19 6
as  Vanuatu
Samoa 1983 Group stage 6th 1 0 0 1 0 6
New Caledonia 1987 Fourth place 4th 6 2 1 3 16 13
Papua New Guinea 1991 Fourth place 4th 5 2 0 3 9 8
French Polynesia 1995 Fourth place 4th 5 2 0 3 10 9
Fiji 2003 Third place 3rd 6 3 3 0 23 3
Samoa 2007 Third place 3rd 6 4 0 2 25 6
New Caledonia 2011 Group stage 6th 5 4 0 1 18 7
Papua New Guinea 2015 See Vanuatu national under-23 football team
Samoa 2019 Group stage 5th 4 2 1 1 25 2
Total 14/14 0 Titles 60 27 9 24 180 111

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[lower-alpha 1] 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:
  1. Includes results as Western Samoa.

See also

References
  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.
  2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  3. "Vanuatu (New Hebrides) – List of International matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  4. "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.
  5. 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.
  6. "Antigo(a) Vanuatu camisas de futebol". Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  7. "Vanuatu Squad For The 2023 Intercontinental Cup in India". Vanuatu Football Federation. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  8. "Vanuatu". National Football Teams.

Notes
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