Vanuatu national football team

The Vanuatu men's national football team (French: équipe du Vanuatu de football) represents Vanuatu in international football, and is controlled by the Vanuatu Football Federation.

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.

Team image

Kit sponsorship

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.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

2024

Coaching staff

Coaching history

New Hebrides

• P. Reichert (1973–1987)

Vanuatu

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2024 FIFA Series matches against Guinea and Brunei on 21 and 26 March 2024.

Caps and goals are correct as of 14 October 2023, after the match against Papua New Guinea.

Recent call-ups

Player records

As of 26 March 2024

Players in bold are still active with Vanuatu.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

OFC Nations Cup

Pacific Games

Head-to-head record

Up to matches played on 26 March 2024.

Historical kits

Sources:

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

References

Notes

External links

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