Timor-Leste national under-23 football team

Timor-Leste
Nickname(s)	O Sol Nascente; (The Raising Sun)
Association	Federação de Futebol de Timor-Leste
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	AFF (Southeast Asia)
Captain	Jorge Sabas Victor
Most caps	Ramos Maxanches; Nilo Soares (18)
Top scorer	Murilo de Almeida; Henrique Cruz (3)
Home stadium	East Timor National Stadium
FIFA code	TLS
First colours	Second colours
First international
	Malaysia 3–0 Timor-Leste ; (Bangkok, Thailand; 30 August 2005)
Biggest win
	Timor-Leste 3–0 Brunei ; (Jakarta, Indonesia; 31 March 2015)
Biggest defeat
	Malaysia 11–0 Timor-Leste ; (Vientiane, Laos; 2 December 2009)
Asian Games
Appearances	2 (first in 2014)
Best result	Round 1 (2014)
Southeast Asian Games
Appearances	5 (first in 2009)
Best result	Round 1 (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)

The Timor-Leste national Under-23 football team (also known as Timor-Leste U-23 or Selecao U-23) represents the Timor-Leste in international football competitions in the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games and any other under-23 international football tournaments. It is controlled by the Federação de Futebol de Timor-Leste, the governing body of football in the country. Timor Leste is currently one of the weakest teams in the world. They won their first match on 5 November 2011 against Brunei, scoring 2–1.^[1]

History[]

Football was firstly introduced during Portuguese Timor era where many local and the Portuguese colonial official played the sport for enjoyment. After the Portuguese leave the eastern part of the island of Timor, neighbouring Indonesia invaded and change their culture and identity. East Timor gained full independence in 2002 after more than 20 years of occupation which resulted in a long running battle against Jakarta-led forces. The Timor-Leste U-23 team was invited to the 2005 AFF U-23 Youth Championship without any success, which is the first time that the team played in an international tournament. In 2009, the team entered the first Southeast Asian Games. Once again, they lost every match, including a 0–11 loss to Malaysia. Timor-Leste had major improvements at the 2011 SEA Games, when they used overseas players of Timorese descent from Brazil and Australia. These players contributed a lot to their successful run; especially from Murilo de Almeida who managed to score three goals. The team finished third in their group by recording their first win in their history, finishing above Laos, Brunei and the Philippines and had a goal difference of –4, which was a big improvement compared to their previous participation where the team finished last in their group with no wins from four games, scoring only once and having a goal difference of –28.

Kits[]

Timor-Leste's traditional home kit includes a red shirt, black shorts and red or black socks. The away kits feature white or yellow shirts. At the 2009 SEA Games, their home kit resemble the ones worn by the Belgian national team.

Kit evolution[]

Home Kit 2009-2010

Away Kit 2009–2010

Alternative Kit 2011

Stadium[]

East Timor National Stadium (2002–present)

Competition records[]

Olympic games record[]

Summer Olympic Games Record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2004	Did Not Qualify
2008	Did Not Qualify
2012	Did Not Enter
2016	Did Not Qualify
2020	Did Not Qualify
2024	To be determined
2028	To be determined
Total		0 / 4

Asian Games Record[]

(Under-23 Team since 2002)

Asian Games
Year	Round	Placing	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
2002	Did not enter
2006
2010
2014	Round 1	28th	3	0	0	3	2	13
2018	Round 1	24th	3	0	0	3	3	15
Total	Best: Round 1	24th	6	0	0	6	5	28

AFC U-23 Championship Record[]

AFC U-23 Championship
Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
2013	Did Not Qualify
2016
2018
2020
Total	0/4	0	0	0	0	0	0

SEA Games Record[]

(Under-23 Team since 2001)

SEA Games
Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
2005	Did not enter
2007	Did not enter
2009	Group Stage	4	0	0	4	1	28
2011		5	2	0	3	4	8
2013		4	1	1	2	5	8
2015		5	1	0	4	4	10
2017		5	1	0	4	2	8
2019		4	0	0	4	2	18
Total	Best: Group Stage	27	5	1	21	18	80

AFF U-23 Youth Championship record[]

ASEAN Under-23
Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
2005	Group Stage	3	0	0	3	1	14
2011	Competition Cancelled
2019	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	1	5
2022	Third Place	3	2	1	0	7	3
Total	Best: Third Place	9	3	1	5	9	22

Coaching staff[]

Position	Name
Team Manager
Assistant Team Manager
Head Coach	Fábio Magrão
Assistant Coach
Assistant Coach
Goalkeeper Coach
Fitness Coach
Team Doctor

Players[]

Current squad[]

The following players were selected to compete in the 2022 AFF U-22 Youth Championship.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	1GK		(2003-06-04) 4 June 2003 (age 18)
12	1GK		(2004-11-16) 16 November 2004 (age 17)
20	1GK		(2002-03-16) 16 March 2002 (age 19)	SLB Laulara

2	2DF		(2003-05-18) 18 May 2003 (age 18)
3	2DF		(2001-04-30) 30 April 2001 (age 20)
4	2DF	Jaimito Soares	(2003-06-10) 10 June 2003 (age 18)	Karketu Dili
5	2DF		(2000-08-24) 24 August 2000 (age 21)	Ponta Leste
13	2DF		(2001-10-08) 8 October 2001 (age 20)	Lalenok United
16	2DF		(2003-03-02) 2 March 2003 (age 18)
18	2DF		(2000-08-05) 5 August 2000 (age 21)	SLB Laulara
19	2DF
22	2DF	Nelson Viegas	(1999-12-24) 24 December 1999 (age 22)	Boavista Timor Leste
24	2DF		(2000-01-10) 10 January 2000 (age 22)	Lalenok United
28	2DF	João Panji	(2000-10-29) 29 October 2000 (age 21)	Assalam FC

6	3MF	Jhon Firth	(2002-07-17) 17 July 2002 (age 19)	SLB Laulara
7	3MF	Elias Mesquita	(2002-03-27) 27 March 2002 (age 19)	Lalenok United
8	3MF		(2001-03-14) 14 March 2001 (age 20)
11	3MF		(2001-01-12) 12 January 2001 (age 21)	SLB Laulara
14	3MF		(1999-04-13) 13 April 1999 (age 22)	Lalenok United
15	3MF		(2003-08-03) 3 August 2003 (age 18)
23	3MF	Cristevão	(2004-01-16) 16 January 2004 (age 18)	SLB Laulara

9	4FW	Anizo Correia	(2003-05-23) 23 May 2003 (age 18)	Ponta Leste
10	4FW	Mouzinho	(2002-02-26) 26 February 2002 (age 20)	SLB Laulara
17	4FW	Zenivio	(2005-04-22) 22 April 2005 (age 16)	SLB Laulara
21	4FW	Paulo Gali	(2004-12-31) 31 December 2004 (age 17)	Lalenok United
26	4FW		(2004-12-20) 20 December 2004 (age 17)

Recent results[]

Win Draw Loss

2014 Asian Games

15 September 2014 Group Stage	Timor-Leste	0–7	Indonesia	Goyang, South Korea
		Report	Ferdinand 7', 11', 35', 83' Tuasalamony 78' (pen.) Novri 81' Fandi 85'	Stadium: Goyang Stadium Referee: Yu Ming-hsun (Chinese Taipei)

18 September 2014 Group Stage	Timor-Leste	0–3	Thailand	Incheon, South Korea
		Report	Songkrasin 23' Thaweekarn 60' Inpinit 81'	Stadium: Incheon Stadium Referee: Timur Faizullin (Kyrgyzstan)

22 September 2014 Group Stage	Timor-Leste	2–3	Maldives	Ansan, South Korea
	Diogo 20' 60'	Report	Ali 27' Yaamin 63' Irufaan 73'	Stadium: Ansan Stadium Referee: Charymurat Kurbanov (Turkmenistan)

2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification

27 March 2015	Indonesia	5–0	Timor-Leste	Jakarta, Indonesia
19:00	Adam Alis 17' Lestusen 45+1' (pen.) Evan Dimas 51' Muchlis Hadi 66' Hansamu 86'	Report		Stadium: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Attendance: 3,412 Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

29 March 2015	Timor-Leste	0–3	South Korea	Jakarta, Indonesia
19:00		Report	Moon Chang-jin 17' (pen.), 47' Kim Seung-jun 44'	Stadium: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Attendance: 555 Referee: Sivakorn Pu-Udom (Thailand)

31 March 2015	Timor-Leste	3–0	Brunei	Jakarta, Indonesia
19:00	Ezequiel 24' Henrique Cruz 90' Agostinho 90+3'	Report		Stadium: Gelora Bung Karno Stadium Attendance: 137 Referee: Sivakorn Pu-Udom (Thailand)

2015 Southeast Asian Games

30 May 2015 Group stage	Malaysia	1–0	Timor-Leste	Bishan, Singapore
20:30 UTC+8	Saarvindran 12'	Report		Stadium: Bishan Referee: Foo Chuan Hui (Singapore)

1 June 2015 Group stage	Thailand	1–0	Timor-Leste	Bishan, Singapore
20:30 UTC+8	Rungrath 44'	Report		Stadium: Bishan Referee: Aziz Asimov (Uzbekistan)

3 June 2015 Group stage	Timor-Leste	2–1	Brunei	Bishan, Singapore
20:30 UTC+8	Neto 24' Helber 74'	Report	Faiq 68' (pen.)	Stadium: Bishan Referee: Al-Kuwari Khamis (Qatar)

7 June 2015 Group stage	Timor-Leste	0–4	Vietnam	Bishan, Singapore
20:30 UTC+8		Report	Trần Phi Sơn 12' Mạc Hồng Quân 50' Quế Ngọc Hải 57' Võ Huy Toàn 61'	Stadium: Bishan Referee: Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)

9 June 2015 Group stage	Timor-Leste	2–3	Laos	Bishan, Singapore
20:30 UTC+8	Alves 22' Martins 90+1'	Report	Sipasong 27' Khochalern 47' Sihavong 67'	Stadium: Bishan Referee: Turki Al-Khudair (Saudi Arabia)

2018 Asian Games

14 August 2018 Group Stage	China PR	6–0	Timor-Leste	Soreang, Indonesia
16:00 UTC+7	Zhang Yuning 4' Zhang Yuan 20' Gao Zhunyi 27', 47' Wei Shihao 33' Yao Junsheng 36'	Report		Stadium: Jalak Harupat Stadium Referee: Çarymyrat Kurbanow (Turkmenistan)

16 August 2018 Group Stage	Timor-Leste	1–4	United Arab Emirates	Soreang, Indonesia
16:00 UTC+7	Gama 87'	Report	2' Al Sharji 10' 19', 61'	Stadium: Jalak Harupat Stadium Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)

19 August 2018 Group Stage	Timor-Leste	2–5	Syria	Soreang, Indonesia
19:00 UTC+7	Gama 15' Garcia 85'	Report	33' 50' 42', 54', 90+1'	Stadium: Jalak Harupat Stadium Referee: Zaid Thamer Mohammed (Iraq)

2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualification

25 October 2021 2022 AFCU23Q	Singapore	2-2	Timor-Leste	Singapore
	Glenn Kweh 34' Jordan Emaviwe 90+5' Jacob Mahler	[1] [2]	38' Paulo Gali 41' 44'	Stadium: Jalan Besar Stadium Attendance: 943 Referee: Majed Al Shamrani (Saudi Arabia)

28 October 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification	Timor-Leste	0–6	South Korea	Singapore
17:00 UTC+8		Report	Park Jeong-in 29', 32', 49' Choi Jun 32' Oh Hyun-gyu 82' Kim Se-yun 87'	Stadium: Jalan Besar Stadium Attendance: 166 Referee: Ngô Duy Lân (Vietnam)

31 October 2021 (2021-10-31)	Timor-Leste	1–0	Philippines	Singapore
17:00 (UTC+08:00)	Zenivio 89'	Report		Stadium: Jalan Besar Stadium Attendance: 251 Referee: Yudai Yamamoto (Japan)

Current staff[]

As of March 2018

Position	Name	Nationality
Coach	Norio Tsukitate	Japan
Assistant Coach	Manuel da Costa Soares	East Timor
Assistant Coach		East Timor
Fitness Coach		Brazil
Goalkeeping Coach	Eduardo Niño	Colombia

List of coaches[]

Coach	Coaching period	Pld	W	D	L	Achievements
José Luís	2005	3	0	0	3	2005 AFF U-23 Youth Championship – Round 1 (First Time)
Manuel da Costa Soares	2009–2010	4	0	0	4	2009 Southeast Asian Games – Round 1 (First Time)
Antonio Carlos Vieira	2011–2012	5	2	0	3	2011 Southeast Asian Games – First Win with Brunei
Norio Tsukitate	2012	5	1	0	4	2013 AFC U-22 Championship qualification – Did not qualify
Emerson Alcântara	2013–2014	6	2	2	2	2013 Southeast Asian Games – First Draw with Indonesia
Takuma Koga	2014	3	0	0	3	2014 Asian Games – Round 1 (First Time)
Fábio Magrão	2015–2016	8	2	0	6	2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification – Did not qualify 2015 Southeast Asian Games – Round 1
Kim Shin-hwan	2017–2018	3	1	1	1	2018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification – Did not qualify
Norio Tsukitate	2018–	3	0	0	3	2018 Asian Games – Group stage

References[]

^ Brunei U23 Vs East Timor U23 Result | World Sportsholic

External links[]

[1] Brunei U23 Vs East Timor U23 Result | World Sportsholic

[1]

v t National under-23 football teams of Asia (AFC)
AFC U-23 Asian Cup
West Asia (WAFF)	Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates Yemen
Central Asia (CAFA)	Afghanistan Iran Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan
South Asia (SAFF)	Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
East Asia (EAFF)	China PR Chinese Taipei Hong Kong Japan Korea DPR Korea Republic Macau ¹
Southeast Asia (AFF)	Australia Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Mongolia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor-Leste Vietnam
¹ Not a member of FIFA

v t National sports teams of East Timor
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