Vanuatu national football team explained

The Vanuatu men's national football team (French: équipe du Vanuatu de football) represents Vanuatu in men's international football competitions. The team is governed by the Vanuatu Football Federation, which is currently a member of FIFA and the Oceania Football Confederation.^[2]

History

Early years (1951–2022)

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.

Recognition of the team efforts (2023–present)

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.

FIFA Series tournament

In 2024, FIFA invited Vanuatu to the 2024 FIFA Series tournament held from 21 to 26 March 2024 in Jeddah where they would face Guinea (CAF) and Brunei (AFC). On 21 March, Vanuatu faced their first ever opponent from the Africa continent, Guinea in a 6–0 lost.

2024 OFC Nations Cup - Vanuatu reach their first ever major tournament final

Vanuatu progressed to the final of the OFC Nations Cup for the first time in 2024 and finished as runners-up of the tournament on 30 June 2024 after losing to New Zealand with a 3–0 scoreline.^{[3] [4]}

Team image

Kit sponsorship

Kit provider[5]	Period
	2004–2011
	2012
Veto	2013–2016
Pasifika	2017
Gorilla Sports	2018–2020
KPI Sports	2020–2022
Macron	2022–2023
Lotto	2022–present

Results and fixtures

See 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.

2024

Coaching staff

Position
Head coach	Juliano Schmeling
Assistant coach	George Amos
Assistant coach	François Sakama
Team Manager	Peter Takaro
Goalkeeper coach	Jimmy Obed
Assistant Goalkeeper coach	Jean Yves Galinie
Physio	Albert Lata

Coaching history

New Hebrides

• P. Reichert (1973–1987)

Vanuatu

• Terry O'Donnell (1987–1993)
• Saby Natonga (1996)
• Alwyn Job (1998)
• Juan Carlos Buzzetti (2000–2004)
• Joe Szekeres (2004–2007)
• Robert Calvo (2007–2008)
• Willian Malas (2008)
• Jorge Añón (2009)
• Saby Natonga (2011–2012)
• Percy Avock (2012–2015)
• Moise Poida (2015–2017)
• Etienne Mermer (2017–2018)
• Paul Munster (2019)
• Etienne Mermer (2019–2022)
• George Amos (2022)
• Juan Carlos Buzzetti (2022)
• Emerson Alcântara (2022)
• Etienne Mermer (2022–2023)
• Emerson Alcântara (2023–2024)
• Juliano Schmeling (2024–)

Players

Current squad

The following 23 players were called up for the 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup in June 2024.^[6]

Caps and goals are correct as of 30 June 2024, after the match against .

Recent call-ups

Player records

^[7]

Players in bold are still active with Vanuatu.

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Kensi Tangis	36	9	2011–present
2	Richard Iwai	34	20	2000–2011
3	Etienne Mermer	33	15	1998–2008
4	Fedy Vava	30	2	2000–2012
	Brian Kaltak	30	5	2011–present
6	Lexa Bibi	29	2	2000–2004
	Seimata Chilia	29	9	2000–2011
8	Pita David Maki	28	2	2000–2008
9	Bong Kalo	27	4	2015–present
	Jason Thomas	27	1	2015–present

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Richard Iwai	20	34		2000–2011
2	Tony Kaltack	15	16		2016–2019
	Etienne Mermer	15	33		1998–2008
4	Seule Soromon	10	10		2007–2011
	Azariah Soromon	10	24		2017–present
6	Jean Kaltack	9	8		2011–2012
	Seimata Chilia	9	29		2000–2011
	Kensi Tangis	9	36		2011–present
9	Bill Nicholls	6	8		2015–2019
	François Sakama	6	12		2007–2015
	Robert Tasso	6	12		2011–2016

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record											FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Host	Result	Position
1930 to 1986		Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1990		Did not enter									Did not enter
1994		Rowspan=7 Colspan=8	Did not qualify	4	0	0	4	1	18
1998	France	2	0	1	1	2	3
2002		4	1	0	3	11	21
2006		9	4	1	4	21	11
2010	South Africa	12	5	1	6	30	19
2014	Brazil	3	1	0	2	8	9
2018		3	1	0	2	3	8
2022	Qatar	Withdrew									Withdrew
2026	Canada Mexico United States	To be determined									To be determined
2030	Morocco Portugal Spain
2034	Saudi Arabia
Total											37	12	3	22	76	89

OFC Nations Cup

Oceania Cup / OFC Nations Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position							Squad
as
1973	Fourth place	4th	5	1	1	3	5	10	Squad		No qualification
1980	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	6	9
as Vanuatu
1996	Did not qualify										4	0	1	3	5	12
1998	Group stage	5th	2	0	0	2	2	13	Squad		4	2	1	1	8	6
2000	Fourth place	4th	4	1	0	3	5	8	Squad		4	2	0	2	12	7
2002		4th	5	2	0	3	2	6	Squad		Qualified automatically
2004	Group stage	6th	5	1	0	4	5	9	Squad		4	3	1	0	16	2
2008	Fourth place	4th	6	1	1	4	5	13	Squad		6	4	0	2	25	6
2012	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	8	9	Squad		Qualified automatically
2016		7th	3	1	0	2	3	8	Squad
2024	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	0	2	3	8	Squad
Total	Runners-up	10/11	40	10	2	28	44	93	—		22	11	3	8	66	33

Pacific Games

Pacific Games record
Year	Round	Position
as
1963	Group stage	6th	1	0	0	1	3	6
1966	Third place	3rd	4	1	2	1	9	14
1969	Group stage	5th	5	1	1	3	13	13
1971	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	9	12
1975	Group stage	5th	2	0	0	2	1	6
1979	Fifth place	5th	6	4	0	2	19	6
as Vanuatu
1983	Group stage	6th	1	0	0	1	0	6
1987	Fourth place	4th	6	2	1	3	16	13
1991	Fourth place	4th	5	2	0	3	9	8
1995	Fourth place	4th	5	2	0	3	10	9
2003	Third place	3rd	6	3	3	0	23	3
2007	Third place	3rd	6	4	0	2	25	6
2011	Group stage	6th	5	4	0	1	18	7
2015	See Vanuatu national under-23 football team
2019	Group stage	5th	4	2	1	1	25	2
2023	Semi-finals	4th	4	1	1	2	9	6
Total	15/15	0 Titles	64	28	10	26	189	117

Melanesia Cup

Melanesia Cup record
Year	Round	Position
1988	Third place	3rd	4	1	0	3	2	19
1989	Fifth place	5th	4	0	0	4	2	12
1990	Champions	1st	4	2	2	0	4	2
1992	Fourth place	4th	3	0	0	3	1	6
1994	Fifth place	5th	4	0	1	3	5	12
1998	Runners-up	2nd	4	2	1	1	8	6
2000	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2	12	7
MSG Prime Minister's Cup
2022	Group stage	5th	2	0	1	1	2	3
2023	Third place	3rd	3	1	0	2	1	5
Total	9/9	1 Title	32	8	5	19	37	72

Wantok Cup

Wantok Cup record
Year	Round	Position
2008	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	3	3
2011	Runners-up	2nd	2	0	1	1	1	2
2011	Champions	1st	2	1	1	0	2	0
Total	3/3	1 Title	6	2	2	2	6	5

Head-to-head record

Up to matches played on 30 June 2024.

Historical kits

Sources:^{[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]}

See also

• Vanuatu national under-15 football team
• Vanuatu national under-17 football team
• Vanuatu national under-20 football team
• Vanuatu national under-23 football team
• Vanuatu women's national football team
• Vanuatu women's national under-20 football team

External links

• Vanuafoot – Vanuatu Football Federation Official site
• Vanuatu at OFC
• Vanuatu at FIFA
• Vanuatu Football Federation Official Blog site
• VFFFoot.over-nlog.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: Players with 100+ Caps and 30+ International Goals . Mamrud, Roberto . Stokkermans, Karel . . 22 August 2011 . 28 June 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110628192800/http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/century.html . live .
2. Web site: Hero Intercontinental Cup Rival Watch: Vanuatu. khelnow.com. Khel Now India. 4 June 2023. Uttiyo. Sarkar. 15 June 2023. 4 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230604190649/https://khelnow.com/football/2023-06-indian-football-hero-intercontinental-cup-rival-watch-vanuatu.
3. Web site: New Zealand vs Vanuatu: live 29 june 2024. Team News, Preview, Lineups, Streaming, Sopcast Soccer365 . 2024-07-08 . soccer365.me.
4. Web site: New Zealand win record sixth OFC Nations Cup title . 8 July 2024 . FIFA.com.
5. Web site: Antigo(a) Vanuatu camisas de futebol. 4 April 2020. 14 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170614145006/http://www.oldfootballshirts.com/pt/teams/v/vanuatu/old-vanuatu-football-shirts-t2895.html. live.
6. Web site: Vanuatu 23 Senior Mens Roster for OFC Nations Cup 2024. Twitter. Vanuatu Football Federation. 4 June 2024.
7. Web site: Vanuatu . National Football Teams.
8. Web site: ANOTANDO FÚTBOL - VANUATU.
9. Web site: 2007.
10. Web site: 2011.
11. Web site: 2012.
12. Web site: 2017.
13. Web site: 2019.
14. Web site: 2024.