South Yemen national football team

South Yemen

1965–1989
Nickname(s)	Soqoor Al-Janoub (The South Falcons) (صقور الجنوب)
Association	PDR Yemen Football Federation
Most caps	Abubakar Al-Mass (12)
Top scorer	(3)
Home stadium	Mortayer Yard
FIFA code	YMD
First colours Second colours Third colours
First international
Palestine 1–0 Aden  (Cairo, United Arab Republic; 2 September 1965)[2]
Last international
South Yemen 1–0 Guinea  (Kuwait City, Kuwait; 5 November 1989)
Biggest win
South Yemen 2–0 Iraq  (Aden, South Yemen; 2 May 1974)  South Yemen 2–0 Mauritania  (Damascus, Syria; 12 October 1976)[1]
Biggest defeat
Algeria 15–1 South Yemen  (Tripoli, Libya; 17 August 1973)  United Arab Republic 14–0 Aden  (Cairo, United Arab Republic; 3 September 1965)
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 1976)
Best result	Group stage, 1976

The South Yemen national football team (Arabic: منتخب اليمن الجنوبي الوطني لكرة القدم) was the national team of South Yemen between 1965 and 1989. The team took part in the Asian Cup finals in 1976, losing 0–8 to Iran and 0–1 to Iraq. They entered their only World Cup qualification campaign, for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, and were knocked out in the first round by Bahrain.

The team ceased to exist in 1990, when South Yemen united with North Yemen to form Yemen. See the article Yemen national football team for details after 1990.

Debut[]

South Yemen made its international football debut on 2 September 1965 at the 1965 Pan Arab Games in Cairo, Egypt. They played the hosts (who played as the United Arab Republic) in the first game and lost, 14–0. This was their largest defeat without scoring a goal in reply. South Yemen lost all three other games in the group: 1–0 to Palestine and then 4–3 to Lebanon. South Yemen did not play another game until 10 January 1972 when they lost a home friendly, 4–1, to Algeria.^[1]

Competitive record[]

World Cup record[]

FIFA World Cup										FIFA World Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
as  Aden										as  Aden
1930	Part of  United Kingdom									Part of  United Kingdom
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
as  Aden										as  Aden
1966	Part of  United Kingdom									Part of  United Kingdom
as  South Yemen										as  South Yemen
1970	Did not enter									Did not enter
1974
1978
1982
1986	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	4	7
1990	Withdrew									Withdrew
Total	–	0/14	0	0	0	0	0	0		2	0	1	1	4	7

1986 World Cup qualification

South Yemen competed in qualification for the only time for the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. They were placed in Group 4 of Zone A in the First Round against Iran and Bahrain. Iran was disqualified before the games were played, due to refusal to move their games to neutral grounds away from the Iran–Iraq War. South Yemen hosted Bahrain on 12 March 1985 and lost 4–1 in Mortayer Yard (now 22 May Stadium), Aden. On 12 April they drew, 3–3, at the Bahrain National Stadium in Manama after leading 3–1. This saw Bahrain advance through.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Bahrain	2	1	1	0	7	4	+3	3
South Yemen	2	0	1	1	4	7	−3	1
Iran	Disqualified

Asian Cup record[]

AFC Asian Cup										AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
as  Aden										as  Aden
1956	Did not enter									Did not enter
1960
as  Aden										as  Aden
1964	Did not enter									Did not enter
as  South Yemen										as  South Yemen
1968	Did not enter									Did not enter
1972
1976	Group Stage	6th	2	0	0	2	0	9		Bye
1980	Withdrew									Withdrew
1984
1988	Did not qualify									3	0	1	2	1	4
Total	Best: Group Stage	1/9	2	0	0	2	0	9		3	0	1	2	1	4

Asian Games[]

Football at the Asian Games has been an under-23 tournament since 2002.

Asian Games record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1951	Did not participate
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	8
1986	Did not participate
Total	Group Stage	3	0	0	3	1	8

Pan Arab Games[]

Pan Arab Games record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1953	Did not enter
1957
1961
1965	Group stage	4	0	0	4	3	25
1976	Fourth place	6	3	1	2	7	8
1985	Did not enter
Total	Fourth place	10	3	1	6	10	33

Coaches[]

Results and head to head records[]

Results Review[]

Nation	Confederation	Number of matches	Win	Draw	Lost	Win %	Goals for	Goals against	Goal difference
South Yemen	AFC (Asia)	44	9	5	30	26.92%	41	142	-101

Head to head records[]

Key

The list shown below shows the South Yemen national football team all-time international record against opposing nations.

Head to head records

Opponent	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Algeria	2	0	0	2	2	19	-17
China PR	3	0	0	3	8	17	-9
Bahrain	3	0	1	2	4	9	-5
Djibouti	1	0	0	1	1	4	-3
Egypt	2	0	0	2	0	19	-19
Ethiopia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Guinea	1	1	0	0	1	0	1
Indonesia	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1
Iran	3	0	0	3	0	12	-12
Iraq	6	1	0	5	4	18	-14
Japan	1	0	0	1	1	3	-2
Jordan	2	1	0	1	4	4	0
Kuwait	1	0	0	1	1	5	-4
Lebanon	1	0	0	1	3	4	-1
Libya	1	0	0	1	0	10	-10
Mauritania	1	1	0	0	2	0	2
Morocco	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4
Palestine	3	1	1	1	2	2	0
Qatar	1	1	0	0	2	1	1
Saudi Arabia	2	2	0	0	2	0	2
South Korea	2	0	1	1	1	4	-3
Sudan	1	0	0	0	1	1	-1
Syria	3	1	0	2	3	4	-1
United Arab Emirates	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Totals	44	9	5	30	41	142	-101

Player records[]

As of 5 November 1989

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1		3	2	1.5	1989
2	Abubakar Ibrahim Al-Mass	2	12	0.17	1975–1988
3		1	–	–	1982–1985
			–	–	1973–1976
			3	0.33	1982
			–	–	1985–1988
			–	–	1985–1989

References[]