Papua New Guinea women's national football team

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Papua New Guinea
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Lakatois
(Motuan sailing vessel)
AssociationPapua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA)
ConfederationOFC (Oceania)
Head coach[1]
Most capsDeslyn Siniu (43)
Top scorerMeagen Gunemba (23)
Home stadiumSir Hubert Murray Stadium
FIFA codePNG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 47 Steady (20 August 2021)[2]
Highest46 (December 2019)
Lowest133 (September 2014)
First international
 Australia B 2–0 Papua New Guinea 
(Brisbane, Australia; 26 March 1989)[3]
Biggest win
 Papua New Guinea 13–0 Kiribati 
(Nausori, Fiji; 30 June 2003)[4]
Biggest defeat
 Papua New Guinea 0–16 New Zealand 
(Sydney, Australia; 19 May 1991)[5]
OFC Women's Nations Cup
Appearances8 (first in 1989)
Best resultRunners-up (2007, 2010, 2014)
Papua New Guinea women's national football team
Medal record
Pacific Games
Gold medal – first place 2003 Suva
Gold medal – first place 2007 Apia Team
Gold medal – first place 2011 Nouméa Team
Gold medal – first place 2015 Port Moresby Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Apia

The Papua New Guinea women's national football team is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA). Its nickname is the Lakatois,[6] which is a Motuan sailing vessel. Their home ground is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, located in Port Moresby and their current manager is . Deslyn Siniu is the team's most capped player and top scorer.

Papua New Guinea has never qualified for a FIFA Women's World Cup or the Olympic Games, but won the Pacific Games Football Tournament on four occasions (, 2007, 2011 and 2015) and finished second in the OFC Women's Nations Cup three times (2007, 2010 and 2014). It can be considered the second-best team in the Oceania Football Confederation after New Zealand.

Since December 2019, Papua New Guinea's FIFA ranking is 46, which is their highest ever ranking. Their worst ranking was 133 in September 2014.

History[]

1989–1998[]

Papua New Guinea played its first international game on 26 March 1989 in the Australian city of Brisbane facing the Australia B-side on the 1989 Oceania Cup. The match resulted in a 2–0 loss for the Papua New Guinean team. was Papua New Guinea's first scorer, in the lost game against Taiwan (6–1). In the two remaining matches, their rivals were New Zealand and Australia (senior team), with whom they lost both games. The Papua New Guineans finished on the bottom of the table, after being defeated in the four games.[7]

The team participated on the 1991 and 1994 editions of the Oceania Cup, with the second being on home soil in the country's capital, Port Moresby. In both editions, they faced Australia and New Zealand, losing to them heavily. During that period, Papua New Guinea had its biggest loss, 16–0 with New Zealand. Both tournaments also served as the qualifiers for the first FIFA World Cup, held in China in 1991 and the second, in Sweden in 1995.

The Papua New Guineans won the 1996 Pacific Cup in Tonga with Miriam Lanta's help.[8] In the same year, they managed to achieve their only draw with New Zealand.[9]

The 1998 Oceania Cup in New Zealand saw a small improvement on the national team. They finished in the third position of the competition after beating Fiji 7–1 on the third place match. Other results include a victory over American Samoa and two defeats with Australia and New Zealand.[10]

2000s[]

After 5 years without playing any games, Papua New Guinea re-appeared with coach Francis Moyap, in the 2003 Oceania Cup, celebrated in Australia during April 2003. The Papua New Guineans finished third once again. This edition included two new rivals: the Cook Islands and Samoa, teams which they defeated by 5–1 and 5–2, respectively. Midfielders and were notable players in this competition. Papua New Guinea had an average attendance of 412.5 people per match.

On the same year, the Papua New Guinean squad participated in the inaugural South Pacific Games women's football tournament, held in Fiji during June–July. This time, the national team achieved their biggest victory in their opening match, 13–0 over Kiribati, with Deslyn Siniu scoring a total of six goals for her country. With 13 points, thanks to four victories, one tie and one loss, Papua New Guinea won the gold medal in this competition. This time, the Papua New Guineans had an average attendance of 800 people per match.

Despite having won the Pacific Games tournament, the national team did a regular performance at the 2004 Olympic qualifying tournament, where it faced Australia and Fiji in a round-robin system competition.

The team appeared in the 2005 Arafura Games tournament, and finished with poor results.[11]

Without Australia in the OFC, Papua New Guinea hosted the Oceania Cup again in 2007. All the games were played in Lae. This time, the team won against their neighbors, the Solomon Islands and Tonga (in fact, by an own goal scored by Tonga's ).[12] On the last game, the team lost the chance of qualifying to the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China after losing to New Zealand.

The Papua New Guineans won their second gold medal in Samoa in the 2007 South Pacific Games. In the group stage, the team had very impressive victories (6–0 against American Samoa; 4–0 against the Solomon Islands; 4–1 against the Cook Islands) and a narrow loss (1–0 against Fiji). It advanced to the semi-finals along with Tahiti, and won 5–0, allowing them to advance to the final game, where they confronted Tonga at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex. After a hard game, Papua New Guinea won 3–1 after extra time with the help of Daisy Winas, and Lydia Banabas.[13] The aforementioned was the national team's top scorer again, with a total of eight goals. Thanks to this result, the Papua New Guineans qualified for a play-off against New Zealand to determine Oceania's representative at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Papua New Guinea played the Olympic play-off qualifier on 8 March 2008, but they lost 2–0.

2010s[]

With an attendance of 60 people, the Lakatois started their 2010 Oceania Cup campaign facing Fiji at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Papua New Guinea won the game 3–0 with a scoreline of 1–0 in the half-time. Both the second and third matches (2–1 against the Solomon Islands and 3–0 against Tonga, with an own goal of the Tongan goalkeeper ) resulted in victories. Papua New Guinea advanced to the semi-finals to beat the Cook Islands by 1–0. The final, played on 8 October 2010, saw the Kiwis and the Papua New Guineans struggling once again for the Oceania Cup title in front of an audience of 900 people. New Zealand finished as the champion for the fourth time, after thrashing Papua New Guinea 11–0.[14] had a brilliant participation, after scoring four goals for PNG.

With one goal from against Tahiti, the Papua New Guinean team started their 2011 Pacific Games road in New Caledonia, coached by . They achieved a second victory, against American Samoa, by 8–0, including an own goal. It was followed by a loss against the hosts, New Caledonia (2–1) and a victory over the Solomon Islands (1–0). The national team advanced to the semi-finals, where they faced Fiji, winning the game 4–0. In the gold medal/final game, the Papua New Guinean squad confronted the New Caledonians for the second time in the tournament. scored for the New Caledonians and Ara Midi and for the Papua New Guinean team, thus making 2–1 the final result. PNG received the gold medal for the third time.[15]

PNG failed to qualify for the London 2012 Summer Olympics despite having a very good performance on the first stage of the qualifiers, played in Tonga from March to April 2012. They had an attendance average of 973.8 people per match.

With the former Australian footballer Gary Phillips as the squad's manager, Papua New Guinea started the 2014 OFC Nations Cup winning 4–1 on home soil, at the Kalabond Oval in Kokopo against the Cook Islands. The Lakatois were defeated by the Kiwis 3–0 on the second game. The tournament finished with a 3–0 win to Tonga. Meagen Gunemba was PNG's top scorer, with four goals, and goalkeeper Fidelma Watpore was awarded with the Golden Gloves.

The Lakatois had a tour on Southeast Asia in March 2015. They faced Singapore and Thailand.[16]

The national team finished first in the Group B of the 2015 Pacific Games (on home soil), and had a victory against Samoa to advance to the final match, facing New Caledonia. Marie Kaipu gave the Papua New Guineans a fourth gold medal after scoring in the 21st minute.[17]

The Lakatois' latest game was the 2016 Olympic qualifier against the Kiwis, which resulted in a 7–1 loss. A second leg was supposed to be played, but the Papua New Guinean team couldn't travel to New Zealand due to visa issues.[18]

Team image[]

Nicknames[]

The Papua New Guinea women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Lakatois (Motuan sailing vessel)".

Home stadium[]

See also: Category:Football venues in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea play its home matches on the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.

Results and fixtures[]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixture

2021[]

Head-to-head record[]

Against Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD
 American Samoa 3 3 0 0 23 0 +23
 Australia 8 0 0 8 0 68 −68
 Australia B 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Australia Defense Force 1 0 0 1 2 8 −6
 Chinese Taipei 1 0 0 1 1 6 −5
 Cook Islands 5 5 0 0 16 3 +13
 Fiji 7 6 0 1 23 4 +19
 Guam 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
 Kiribati 1 1 0 0 13 0 +13
 New Caledonia 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1
 New Zealand 15 0 1 14 2 96 −94
Australia Northern Territory 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2
 Samoa 3 3 0 0 15 4 +11
 Singapore 3 1 1 1 5 5 0
 Solomon Islands 4 4 0 0 13 2 +11
 Tahiti 3 3 0 0 9 0 +9
 Thailand 2 0 0 2 1 18 −17
 Tonga 7 6 0 1 15 4 +11
 United States 1 0 0 1 0 5 −5
 Vanuatu 2 1 1 0 13 3 +10
Total 72 36 3 33 156 233 −77

Coaching staff[]

Current coaching staff[]

Position Name Ref.
Head Coach [19]

Manager history[]

Manager Career Played Won Drawn Lost Win % Competitions
Unknown 1989–2003 17 2 1 14 011.8 1989 OFC Championship – Third place
1991 OFC Championship – Third place
1994 OFC Championship – Third place
1998 OFC Championship – Third place
Papua New Guinea Francis Moyap 2003–2010 29 16 1 12 055.2 2003 OFC Championship – Third place
– Champions
2007 OFC Championship – Runners-up
2007 South Pacific Games – Champions
2010 OFC Championship – Runners-up
Papua New Guinea 2011–2012 14 11 0 3 078.6 2011 Pacific Games – Champions
Australia Gary Phillips 2014–2015 11 7 1 3 063.6 2014 OFC Nations Cup – Runners-up
2015 Pacific Games – Champions
Papua New Guinea 2016–? 1 0 0 1 000.0 2014 OFC Nations Cup – Runners-up
2015 Pacific Games – Champions
[20] ?– 0 0 0 0 !—

Players[]

See also: Category:Papua New Guinea women's international footballers

Current squad[]

  • The following players were called up for the 2019 Pacific Games from 7–20 July in Apia, Samoa.
  • Caps and goals as of 20 July 2019, after the match against  Samoa.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Fidelma Watpore (1988-02-09) 9 February 1988 (age 33) 16 0 Papua New Guinea
20 1GK Betty Sam (1992-10-12) 12 October 1992 (age 28) 5 0 Papua New Guinea
23 1GK Faith Kasiray (1999-12-20) 20 December 1999 (age 21) 3 0 Papua New Guinea
2 2DF Dorcas Sesevo (1987-03-22) 22 March 1987 (age 34) 15 0 Papua New Guinea
4 2DF Lucy Maino (1995-08-02) 2 August 1995 (age 26) 9 2 Unattached
14 2DF Joelyn Aimi (1994-11-16) 16 November 1994 (age 26) 6 0 Papua New Guinea Lae
15 2DF Lydia Kose 3 0 Papua New Guinea
16 2DF Michaella Kurabi (1996-04-13) 13 April 1996 (age 25) 3 0 Papua New Guinea Madang
19 2DF Georgina Bakani (1996-12-06) 6 December 1996 (age 24) 9 0 Papua New Guinea
3 3MF Margret Joseph (1999-01-04) 4 January 1999 (age 22) 10 0 Papua New Guinea
5 3MF Sandra Birum (1992-06-06) 6 June 1992 (age 29) 30 9 Papua New Guinea Lae
6 3MF Rayleen Bauelua (1995-01-11) 11 January 1995 (age 26) 9 1 Papua New Guinea
7 3MF Yvonne Gabong (1996-08-29) 29 August 1996 (age 25) 17 3 Papua New Guinea
8 3MF (1999-09-14) 14 September 1999 (age 22) 0 0 Papua New Guinea Lae
9 3MF Deslyn Siniu (1981-01-02) 2 January 1981 (age 40) 46 19 Papua New Guinea
11 3MF Marie Kaipu (1997-08-16) 16 August 1997 (age 24) 14 12 Papua New Guinea
12 3MF Ramona Padio (1998-03-13) 13 March 1998 (age 23) 14 13 Papua New Guinea
17 3MF Shalom Waida (2001-02-15) 15 February 2001 (age 20) 2 0 Papua New Guinea
21 3MF Gloria Balamus 1 0 Papua New Guinea
10 4FW Meagen Gunemba (1995-06-04) 4 June 1995 (age 26) 17 23 Papua New Guinea Lae
13 4FW Selina Unamba (1999-11-24) 24 November 1999 (age 21) 9 4 Papua New Guinea Lae
18 4FW Gloria Laeli (1997-03-25) 25 March 1997 (age 24) 2 0 Papua New Guinea
22 4FW Asaiso Gossie (2003-04-18) 18 April 2003 (age 18) 3 0 Papua New Guinea

Recent call-ups[]

  • The following players have been called up for a team in the last 12 months.
Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up

Previous squads[]

Records[]

See also: Category:Papua New Guinea women's international footballers

Most capped players[]

As of September 10, 2017
Players in bold are still active.
# Name Caps Goals First cap Latest cap
1 Deslyn Siniu 43 19 June 30, 2003 January 23, 2016
2 Miriam Lanta 31 5 April 5, 2003 September 9, 2011
3 Kathrina Salaiau 26 0 August 25, 2007 April 4, 2012
4 24 15 April 5, 2003 October 8, 2010
5 Daisy Winas 22 5 August 25, 2007 October 29, 2014
6 Sandra Birum 21 8 September 30, 2010 January 23, 2016
7 20 1 April 5, 2003 September 7, 2007
8 18 3 April 5, 2003 September 7, 2007
9 17 3 September 30, 2007 April 4, 2012
Linda Bunaga 17 0 August 28, 2007 September 9, 2011

Top goalscorers[]

As of September 10, 2017
Players in bold are still active.
# Name Goals Caps Average First cap Latest cap Position
1 Meagen Gunemba 23 8 1.25 October 25, 2014 January 23, 2016 FW
2 Deslyn Siniu 19 43 0.44 June 30, 2003 January 23, 2016 MF
3 15 24 0.62 April 5, 2003 October 8, 2010 MF
4 Sandra Birum 8 21 0.38 September 30, 2010 January 23, 2016 MF
5 6 9 0.66 August 25, 2007 September 9, 2011 MF
6 9 0.66 September 30, 2010 October 25, 2014 FW
Rumona Morris 6 14 0.43 September 30, 2010 October 29, 2014 FW
8 Miriam Lanta 5 28 0.18 April 5, 2003 September 9, 2011 MF
Daisy Winas 5 22 0.23 August 25, 2007 October 29, 2014 FW
10 Fatima Rama 4 8 0.50 March 1, 2012 July 13, 2015 MF

Honours[]

Continental[]

Med 2.png Runners-up (3): 2007, 2010, 2014
  • South Pacific Games
Med 1.png Champions (4): , 2007, 2011, 2015
  • Pacific Cup
Med 1.png Champions (1): 1996

Competitive record[]

FIFA Women's World Cup[]

FIFA Women's World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
China 1991 Did Not Qualify 4 0 0 4 0 47
Sweden 1995 4 0 0 4 0 19
United States 1999 4 2 0 2 16 14
United States 2003 4 2 0 2 10 21
China 2007 3 2 0 1 7 8
Germany 2011 5 4 0 1 9 12
Canada 2015 3 2 0 1 7 4
France 2019 4 3 0 1 14 3
AustraliaNew Zealand 2023 To Be Determined To Be Determined
Total – – – – – – – – 27 12 0 15 49 125

Olympic Games[]

Summer Olympics record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
United States 1996 Did Not Enter – – – – – –
Australia 2000 – – – – – –
Greece 2004 Did Not Qualify 2 1 0 1 2 10
China 2008 7 5 0 2 22 5
United Kingdom 2012 6 4 0 2 22 18
Brazil 2016 5 4 0 1 12 8
Japan 2020 Did not qualfy
Total – – – – – – – – 20 14 0 6 58 41

OFC Women's Nations Cup[]

OFC Women's Nations Cup record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
New Caledonia 1983 Did not enter
New Zealand 1986
Australia 1989 Fifth Place 5th 4 0 0 4 1 19 –18
Australia 1991 Third Place 3rd 4 0 0 4 0 47 –47
Papua New Guinea 1994 Third Place 3rd 4 0 0 4 0 19 –19
New Zealand 1998 Third Place 3rd 4 2 0 2 16 14 +2
Australia 2003 Third Place 3rd 4 2 0 2 10 21 –11
Papua New Guinea 2007 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 7 8 –1
New Zealand 2010 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 0 1 9 12 –3
Papua New Guinea 2014 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3
New Caledonia 2018 Third Place 3rd Place 5 4 0 1 22 9 +13
Solomon Islands 2022 To Be Determined
Total Runners-up 8/10 36 16 0 20 72 153 –81

Pacific Games[]

Pacific Games record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Fiji Champions 1st 6 4 1 1 22 6 +16
Samoa 2007 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 22 3 +19
New Caledonia 2011 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 17 3 +14
Papua New Guinea 2015 Champions 1st 4 4 0 0 11 1 +10
Samoa 2019 To Be Determined
Total Champions 4/4 22 18 1 3 72 13 +59

Pacific Cup[]

Pacific Cup record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Tonga 1996 Champions 1st Unknown details
Total Champions 1/1 – – – – – – –

Arafura Games[]

Arafura Games record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Australia Fifth Place 5th 4 0 0 4 2 20 –18
Total Fifth Place 1/1 4 0 0 4 2 20 –18

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Member Association - Papua New Guinea - FIFA.com". 27 March 2021.
  2. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Women's Oceania Cup 1989". rsssf.com.
  4. ^ "South Pacific Games 2003 (Fiji) - Tournament Details". www.rsssf.com.
  5. ^ http://fifa.com/live-scores/teams/country=png/women/matches/index.html#year1991
  6. ^ https://www.soccer.com/guide/soccer-com-outfits-papua-new-guinea-u20-womens-national-team
  7. ^ "Football III Ladies Oceania Nations Cup 1989 Brisbane (AUS) 26.03-01.04 - Winner Taiwan". todor66. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Women's soccer veteran hangs up boots to officiate". The National. 9 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017.
  9. ^ "M-Wey Services Tournament Reports". ultimatenzsoccer. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Football VI Ladies Oceania Nations Cup 1998 - played in Auckland (NZL) +13 GMT - Winner Australia". todor66.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
  11. ^ "The RSSSF Archive - International Country Results - Women Tournaments". www.rsssf.com.
  12. ^ https://www.oceaniafootball.com/archives-4425/
  13. ^ "PAPUA NEW GUINEA WOMEN GRIND OUT GOLDEN RESULT". 15 October 2008. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008.
  14. ^ "Oceania Football Confederation". 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Oceania Football Confederation". 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  16. ^ "PNG women to tour SE Asia". 3 March 2015.
  17. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083137/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/a2755d84-5be9-495d-b9af-93c4bddefba9/language/en-US/Default.aspx
  18. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160131020813/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/562e39a3-a939-482d-8105-33825acca85c/language/en-US/Default.aspx
  19. ^ "Member Association - Papua New Guinea - FIFA.com". 27 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Member Association - Papua New Guinea - FIFA.com". 27 March 2021.

External links[]

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