Tahiti national football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Tahiti women's national football team.

Tahiti
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Toa Aito (Les guerriers de fer; Iron Warriors)
AssociationTahitian Football Federation
ConfederationOFC (Oceania)
Head coachSamuel Garcia[1]
CaptainStanley Atani
Most capsAngelo Tchen (34)
Top scorerTeaonui Tehau (24)
Home stadiumStade Pater Te Hono Nui
FIFA codeTAH
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 159 Steady (23 December 2021)[2]
Highest111 (August 2002)
Lowest196 (April–May 2016)
First international
French Polynesia 2–2 New Zealand 
(Papeete, Tahiti; 21 September 1952)
Biggest win
 Tahiti 30–0 Cook Islands 
(Papeete, Tahiti; 2 September 1971)
Biggest defeat
 New Zealand 10–0 Tahiti 
(Adelaide, Australia; 4 June 2004)
 Spain 10–0 Tahiti 
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 20 June 2013)
OFC Nations Cup
Appearances9 (first in 1973)
Best resultWinners, 2012
FIFA Confederations Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2013)
Best resultGroup stage, 2013

The Tahiti national football team (French: Équipe de football de Tahiti) represents French Polynesia[4][5][6][7] and is controlled by the Fédération Tahitienne de Football. The team consists of a selection of players from French Polynesia, not just Tahiti, and has competed in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) since 1990.

Tahiti is traditionally one of the stronger footballing nations of the Pacific Islands, with the second-best record at the football section of the South Pacific Games, with five victories. They were runners-up in the first three instalments of the Nations Cup (1973, 1980 and 1996). The nation went through a period of less success, but showed promise when it qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. This success was followed up with the title of 2012 OFC Nations Cup, becoming the first team other than Australia and New Zealand to win the competition.

History[]

Tahiti played its first full match on 21 September 1952, at home against New Zealand, drawing 2–2. Seven days later, the two teams played again and New Zealand won 5–3. On 30 September, they played each other for a third time, and Tahiti gained its first victory, by 2–0. However, it is unknown whether this was a full international match.[8]

In September 1953, Tahiti played three matches in New Caledonia against its national side, losing the first 5–0 and the later two 4–1. They then travelled to the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) and beat its national side 4–2 twice. In 1969, touring World Champions England beat Tahiti 4–1 in an exhibition match.[9] In 1989, under the leadership of Napoleon Spitz, the official federation was created.

Tahiti entered its first World Cup qualification with the aim of reaching the 1994 World Cup, held in the United States. They were placed in Group A alongside Australia and the Solomon Islands, and played their first match away to the Solomon Islands in Honiara on 11 July 1992. Eric Etaeta equalised for Tahiti to make it 1–1 in the 76th minute. On 11 September, Tahiti hosted Australia in Papeete and lost 3–0. The next fixture was again against Australia, and resulted in a 2–0 away defeat in Brisbane on 20 September. On 9 October, in Papeete, Tahiti defeated the Solomon Islands 4–2. Tahiti's first goal was scored as an 8th-minute penalty from Reynald Temarii, a politician and current president of the OFC. However, Tahiti finished second to Australia in the group and did not advance.

2012 OFC Nations Cup[]

In 2012, the new edition of the tournament occurred in the Solomon Islands with the host country, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Tahiti, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa (winner of the qualifying tournament) playing the competition. Tahiti defeated New Caledonia in the final in Lawson Tama Stadium 1–0 with a goal by Steevy Chong Hue and became the first team other than Australia (no longer part of OFC) and New Zealand to be crowned Oceania champions.[10]

2013 Confederations Cup[]

By winning the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, Tahiti qualified for the 2013 Confederations Cup, held in Brazil, for the first time.[11] Tahiti is the first – and so far only – team which has participated in the Confederations Cup but has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. On 17 June 2013, Tahiti lost 1–6 to Nigeria in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Belo Horizonte, with Jonathan Tehau scoring the goal for Tahiti in the second half with a header from a corner; Tahiti fans still rejoiced in the prospect of scoring a goal in an international tournament.[12] On 20 June, Tahiti lost 10–0 against Spain to equal their largest ever loss against New Zealand nine years earlier.[13] On 23 June 2013, Tahiti was beaten 8–0 by Uruguay.[14]

In all, Tahiti conceded 24 goals and scored 1 to end with a goal differential of −23, the worst of any national team in any major competition.[15] However, even with the poor record and heavy defeats, Tahiti's underdog qualities gathered significant respect from the people of Brazil, who always cheered for them in every match.[16] Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque, and strikers Fernando Torres and David Villa – who scored four and three goals respectively against Tahiti – complimented the team's fair play.[17]

17 June 2013 Tahiti  1–6  Nigeria Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte
16:00 J. Tehau 54' Report Vallar 5' (o.g.)
Oduamadi 10', 26', 76'
J. Tehau 69' (o.g.)
Echiéjilé 80'		 Attendance: 20,187
Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)
20 June 2013 Spain  10–0  Tahiti Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
16:00 Torres 5', 33', 57', 78'
Silva 31', 89'
Villa 39', 49', 64'
Mata 66'		 Report Attendance: 71,806
Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (Algeria)
23 June 2013 Uruguay  8–0  Tahiti Arena Pernambuco, Recife
16:00 Hernández 2', 24', 45+1', 67' (pen.)
Pérez 27'
Lodeiro 61'
Suárez 82', 90'		 Report Attendance: 22,047
Referee: Pedro Proença (Portugal)

Team image[]

Kit sponsorship[]

Kit lier Period
Germany Adidas 2000–2002
Italy Lotto 2004–2012
United States Nike 2013–

Fixtures and results[]

Main articles: Tahiti national football team results (1952–1999) and Tahiti national football team results (2000–present)

In March 2022, Tahiti will play their first matches since they took part in the 2019 Pacific Games.

Forthcoming fixtures[]

See also: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)

Players[]

Current squad[]

The following players were called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification.[18]

Caps and goals updated as of 18 July 2019 after the game against American Samoa.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK (1992-04-17) 17 April 1992 (age 29) 7 0 French Polynesia Vénus Mahina
16 1GK Benjamin Tardivel (1987-12-03) 3 December 1987 (age 34) 1 0 French Polynesia A.S. Dragon
2DF (1992-01-23) 23 January 1992 (age 29) 2 0 French Polynesia Tefana
2DF (1991-10-27) 27 October 1991 (age 30) 0 0 French Polynesia A.S. Dragon
2DF (1999-04-12) 12 April 1999 (age 22) 0 0 French Polynesia A.S. Dragon
2DF (1999-03-10) 10 March 1999 (age 22) 0 0 Croatia
2 2DF (1998-05-12) 12 May 1998 (age 23) 4 0 French Polynesia Tefana
4 2DF (1989-05-24) 24 May 1989 (age 32) 5 0 French Polynesia Vénus Mahina
6 2DF (1988-02-26) 26 February 1988 (age 33) 4 0 French Polynesia Vénus Mahina
7 2DF Marama Amau (1991-01-13) 13 January 1991 (age 31) 10 0 French Polynesia Vénus Mahina
15 2DF Matatia Paama (1992-10-03) 3 October 1992 (age 29) 9 0 French Polynesia
20 2DF (1997-07-07) 7 July 1997 (age 24) 7 0 French Polynesia Tiare Tahiti
3MF (2001-05-16) 16 May 2001 (age 20) 0 0 France Toulouse
3MF Tauhiti Keck (1994-08-01) 1 August 1994 (age 27) 6 2 French Polynesia Vénus Mahina
3MF 0 0 French Polynesia
3MF (1993-12-16) 16 December 1993 (age 28) 1 0 French Polynesia Pirae
3MF (1994-01-10) 10 January 1994 (age 28) 0 0 French Polynesia Vénus Mahina
2DF (1998-04-28) 28 April 1998 (age 23) 0 0 French Polynesia Pirae
3MF (1989-04-05) 5 April 1989 (age 32) 0 0 French Polynesia Tefana
3 3MF (1997-09-02) 2 September 1997 (age 24) 7 1 French Polynesia Vénus Mahina
8 3MF (1989-12-11) 11 December 1989 (age 32) 6 1 French Polynesia Manu-Ura
13 3MF Stanley Atani (captain) (1990-01-27) 27 January 1990 (age 31) 21 5 French Polynesia Vénus Mahina
14 3MF Tamatoa Tetauira (1996-04-17) 17 April 1996 (age 25) 11 5 French Polynesia Vénus
4FW (1999-12-15) 15 December 1999 (age 22) 0 0 French Polynesia A.S. Dragon
2DF (1997-03-14) 14 March 1997 (age 24) 0 0 French Polynesia Pirae
2DF (1992-02-26) 26 February 1992 (age 29) 2 0 French Polynesia A.S. Dragon
4FW (1995-03-29) 29 March 1995 (age 26) 0 0 France
4FW (1989-12-01) 1 December 1989 (age 32) 4 0 French Polynesia Tiare Tahiti
10 4FW Teaonui Tehau (1992-09-01) 1 September 1992 (age 29) 31 24 French Polynesia Vénus Mahina

Player records[]

As of 20 July 2019[19]
Players in bold are still active with Tahiti.

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 1954 Did not exist Did not exist
1958 to 1990 Did not enter Did not enter
United States 1994 Did not qualify 4 1 1 2 5 8
France 1998 4 0 1 3 2 12
South Korea Japan 2002 4 3 0 1 14 6
Germany 2006 9 3 2 4 7 25
South Africa 2010 4 1 1 2 2 6
Brazil 2014 11 6 0 5 22 17
Russia 2018 7 3 2 2 14 7
Qatar 2022 To be determined To be determined
Canada Mexico United States 2026
Total 0/21 43 17 7 19 65 81

Head-to-head record[]

Main article: Tahiti national football team records and statistics

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Sélection de Tahiti: Samuel Garcia est le nouvel entreineur". Fedération Tahitienne de Football. FTF. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  2. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  3. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Trophies in paradise". The Football Ramble. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Tahiti ready for Confederations Cup". The Scotsman. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  6. ^ "IN THE LAND OF GIANTS – Tahiti set for Confederations Cup adventure". Football Republik. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  7. ^ "Tahiti national football team". Road To Brazil. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Tahiti International Matches". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  9. ^ "England's matches: unofficial 1946 onwards". England Football Online. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Glorious Tahiti claim maiden Oceania crown". FIFA.com. FIFA. 10 June 2012. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  11. ^ "Proud Tahiti No1 aims to enjoy Brazil challenge". FIFA.com. FIFA. 14 March 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Nigeria 6−1 Tahiti". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  13. ^ "Spain 10−0 Tahiti". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  14. ^ "Uruguay 8−0 Tahiti". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  15. ^ "FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 - Statistics - Teams - Top goals". FIFA.com. FIFA. 1 July 2013. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  16. ^ "Técnico confirma 'carisma' do Taiti e cumprimenta jornalistas na despedida". UOL Esporte (in Portuguese). 23 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  17. ^ "Nada de pancadaria: 'fair play' do Taiti em goleada arranca elogios da Fúria". Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 21 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Sélection A | Convocation aux prochains regroupements". 3 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Tahiti". National Football Teams.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""