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Liberia national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Liberia women's national football team.

The Liberia national football team, nicknamed the Lone Stars, represents Liberia in men's international football and is controlled by the Liberia Football Association. Although the nation produced the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, George Weah, its football team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations just twice—in 1996 and 2002. It is a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Liberia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Lone Star
AssociationLiberia Football Association
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachPeter Butler
CaptainAllen Njie
Most capsJoe Nagbe (77)
Top scorerGeorge Weah (18)
Home stadiumSKD Stadium
FIFA codeLBR
First colors
Second colors
FIFA ranking
Current 150 Steady (22 December 2022)[1]
Highest66 (July 2001)
Lowest164 (October–November 2010)
First international
France Ivory Coast 0–2 Liberia 
(Abidjan, Ivory Coast; unknown date 1954)
Biggest win
 Liberia 5–0 Djibouti 
(Monrovia, Liberia; 29 March 2016)
Biggest defeat
 Ghana 6–0 Liberia 
(Accra, Ghana; 6 April 1975)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances2 (first in 1996)
Best resultGroup stage, 1996 and 2002

HistoryEdit

African Cup of NationsEdit

In 1967 Liberia played in its first African Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, drawing its first match 2–2 against Guinea. They also drew against Senegal however lost both returning fixtures and were eliminated in the first round. Liberia returned to qualifying in 1976 but lost in the preliminary round to Togo, falling to defeat in both fixtures. After another absence, Liberia again joined AFCON qualifying in 1982 in the preliminary rounds but failed to progress after two draws against Gambia, losing on the away goals rule.

Liberia withdrew from qualifying for the 1984 African Cup of Nations, but the following tournament they managed to secure their first win during qualifying, a 3–1 first leg victory over Mauritania. They failed to capitalize on this advantage, losing 3–0 in the second leg. Liberia then faced Sierra Leone and Mali during the 1988 qualification and 1990 qualification respectively, but again failed to progress. In 1992, Liberia withdrew from qualifying before playing a match and in 1994, Liberia was put into a group with two participants that withdrew during qualifying (Tanzania and Burkina Faso) however they failed to take advantage of this, and finished with zero points, having lost to Ghana twice.

In the 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification, Liberia managed to register three wins (against Togo, Tunisia and Mauritania) and four draws, which saw them finish the group in second place and qualify for their first African Cup of Nations tournament. Following the withdrawal of Nigeria, Liberia were placed in a group with Gabon and Zaire. Liberia opened the tournament with a 2–1 victory over Gabon with goals from Kelvin Sebwe and Mass Sarr Jr., but lost 2–0 to Zaire. This meant that Liberia finished bottom of the group on goal difference and failed to progress to the knock-out stages.

Liberia missed out on returning to the African Cup of Nations in 1998 as they finished one point off of qualification. In 2000, they defeated Niger in the preliminary rounds, but again failed to advance to the main tournament, this time finishing behind Algeria on goal-difference.

In 2002 African Cup of Nations qualification, Liberia beat Cape Verde in the preliminary rounds, then they finished top of their group to qualify for the main tournament for the second time in their history. In the 2002 African Cup of Nations, Liberia drew their first game 1–1 with Mali (goal scored by George Weah) and drew their second game 2–2 against Algeria (goals from Prince Daye and Kelvin Sebwe), but in their final group game, needing a win against Nigeria, they lost 1–0.

FIFA World CupEdit

Liberia first entered the qualifying process for the FIFA World Cup in 1966, however they withdrew in protest against the fact that too few places had been reserved for Africa and Asia, along with all fourteen other African nations that had initially entered qualifying.

Liberia next entered qualifying in 1982 against Guinea after receiving a bye in the first round. They lost 1–0 over the two legs and were eliminated. In 1986, Liberia was again eliminated without having scored a goal, falling 4–0 to Nigeria. In 1990, Liberia won its first FIFA qualifying match defeating Ghana to progress to the second round. Despite finishing second in their group, Liberia failed to advance to the final qualification round, ending two points behind group winners Egypt.

In 1998, Liberia beat Gambia in the first qualification round, but finished twelve points adrift of Tunisia in their group. In 2002, Liberia had their strongest qualifying campaign, however a loss against Ghana in their penultimate group game gave Nigeria the opportunity to overtake them and secure the only qualification spot.

Results and fixturesEdit

Main article: Liberia national football team results (2020–present)

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   Fixtures

2022Edit

24 March Friendly Liberia   0–4   Benin Antalya, Turkey
Report
Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex
27 March Friendly Liberia   0–1   Sierra Leone Antalya, Turkey
Report
Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex
9 June 2023 AFCON qualification Zimbabwe   Cancelled   Liberia
13 June 2023 AFCON qualification Liberia   0–2   Morocco Casablanca, Morocco
20:00 Report
Stadium: Stade Mohammed V
Referee: Mohamed Moussa (Niger)

2023Edit

March 2023 AFCON qualification Liberia   Cancelled   Zimbabwe
Report
March 2023 AFCON qualification Morocco   v   Liberia
Report
September 2023 AFCON qualification South Africa   v   Liberia South Africa
--:-- UTC+2 Report
September 2023 AFCON qualification Liberia   v   South Africa Liberia
--:-- UTC±0 Report

Coaching staffEdit

Position Name
Head coach   Peter Butler
Assistant coach   Christopher Wreh
Goalkeeping coach   Nathaniel Sherman
Fitness coach   George Gebro

Coaching historyEdit

Caretaker managers are listed in italics

PlayersEdit

Current squadEdit

The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Morocco.[3]Caps and goals correct as of 13 June 2022.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Tommy Songo (1995-04-20) 20 April 1995 (age 27) 17 0   LISCR
1GK Junior Yeanaye (2004-12-19) 19 December 2004 (age 18) 2 0   Nimba Kwado
1GK Derrick Julu (2002-05-13) 13 May 2002 (age 20) 1 0   Watanga
2DF Oscar Dorley (1998-07-19) 19 July 1998 (age 24) 27 1   Slavia Prague
2DF Sampson Dweh (2001-10-10) 10 October 2001 (age 21) 12 0   LPRC Oilers
2DF Prince Balde (1998-03-23) 23 March 1998 (age 24) 10 0   Drita
2DF Ben Benaiah (1992-12-06) 6 December 1992 (age 30) 5 0   LPRC Oilers
2DF Mark Pabai (2000-09-30) 30 September 2000 (age 22) 4 0 Free agent
2DF Jamal Arago (1993-08-28) 28 August 1993 (age 29) 3 0   Ohod
2DF Eugene Dennis (1996-11-16) 16 November 1996 (age 26) 1 0   Ishøj
3MF Marcus Macauley (1991-10-27) 27 October 1991 (age 31) 20 5   Sahab
3MF Allen Njie (1999-07-26) 26 July 1999 (age 23) 19 0   Aarau
3MF Seth Hellberg (1995-08-19) 19 August 1995 (age 27) 9 0   Brage
3MF Brem Soumaoro (1996-08-08) 8 August 1996 (age 26) 8 0   PAEEK
3MF Justin Salmon (1999-01-25) 25 January 1999 (age 24) 5 0   Degerfors
3MF Frank Allison (2004-06-25) 25 June 2004 (age 18) 2 0   Freeport
3MF Julius Nyanamah (2004-12-21) 21 December 2004 (age 18) 0 0   Nimba Kwado
4FW Kpah Sherman (1992-02-03) 3 February 1992 (age 30) 17 3   Terengganu
4FW Moussa Sanoh (1995-07-20) 20 July 1995 (age 27) 6 0   Eindhoven
4FW Divine Teah (2005-04-19) 19 April 2005 (age 17) 2 1   Massa
4FW Joachim Adukor (1993-05-02) 2 May 1993 (age 29) 1 0   Aktobe
4FW Molley Karpeh (1994-12-24) 24 December 1994 (age 28) 1 0   Syracuse Pulse
4FW Patrick Dweh (2002-12-28) 28 December 2002 (age 20) 0 0   Freeport

Recent call-upsEdit

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Allenton Sembeh (1994-10-17) 17 October 1994 (age 28) 1 0   Bea Mountain v.   Burundi, 29 March 2022
DF Joel Johnson (1992-09-20) 20 September 1992 (age 30) 8 0   Hartford Athletic v.   Burundi, 29 March 2022
DF Emmanuel Reyah (2001-06-02) 2 June 2001 (age 21) 1 0   Muscat v.   Burundi, 29 March 2022
MF Mohammed Sangare (1998-12-28) 28 December 1998 (age 24) 7 1   Accrington Stanley v.   Burundi, 29 March 2022
FW Peter Wilson (1996-10-09) 9 October 1996 (age 26) 9 2   Jerv v.   Burundi, 29 March 2022
FW Ayouba Kosiah (2001-07-22) 22 July 2001 (age 21) 5 0   NAC Breda v.   Burundi, 29 March 2022
FW Cherif Diallo (1997-01-10) 10 January 1997 (age 26) 2 0   Derthona v.   Burundi, 29 March 2022
FW Prince Zawoh (2000-04-17) 17 April 2000 (age 22) 0 0   Nimba United v.   Burundi, 29 March 2022

RecordsEdit

As of 13 June 2022[4]
Players in bold are still active with Liberia.

Competitive recordEdit

FIFA World CupEdit

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
  1930 Did not enter Declined participation
  1934
  1938
  1950
  1954
  1958
  1962
  1966
  1970
  1974
  1978
  1982 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 0 1
  1986 2 0 0 2 0 4
  1990 8 3 3 2 4 3
  1994 Withdrew during qualifying 2 0 1 1 2 4
  1998 Did not qualify 8 2 1 5 7 12
   2002 10 6 1 3 11 2
  2006 12 2 1 9 6 29
  2010 6 0 3 3 4 12
  2014 6 1 1 4 3 9
  2018 4 1 1 2 4 6
  2022 8 3 0 5 7 10
    2026 To be determined To be determined
Total — 0/22 – – – – – – 68 18 13 37 48 92

Africa Cup of Nations recordEdit

Main article: Liberia at the Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances: 2
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
  1957 Not affiliated to CAF
  1959
  1962
  1963 Did not enter
  1965
  1968 Did not qualify
  1970 Did not enter
  1972
  1974
  1976 Did not qualify
  1978 Did not enter
  1980
  1982 Did not qualify
  1984 Withdrew
  1986 Did not qualify
  1988
  1990
  1992 Withdrew
  1994 Did not qualify
  1996 Group stage 13th 2 1 0 1 2 3
  1998 Did not qualify
    2000
  2002 Group stage 9th 3 0 2 1 3 4
  2004 Did not qualify
  2006
  2008
  2010
    2012
  2013
  2015
  2017
  2019
  2021
  2023 To be determined
  2025
Total Group stage 2/33 5 1 2 2 5 7

AchievementsEdit

West African Nations Cup :
  • 1 Time Runners-up
CEDEAO Cup :
  • 1 Time Runners-up

NotesEdit

  1. ^ Nagbe retired from international duty in 2001 but later played two farewell matches in 2011.
  2. ^ a b Weah retired from international duty in 2002 but later played a farewell match in 2018.
  3. ^ a b Debbah retired from international duty in 2004 but later played a farewell match in 2018.

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Liberia v Morocco: Butler Hosts First Training". Liberia Football Association. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  4. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Liberia - Record International Players". RSSSF.

External linksEdit

 
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