Solomon Islands national football team

The Solomon Islands men's national football team is the national football team of Solomon Islands, administered by the Solomon Islands Football Federation. The Solomon Islands national football team was founded in 1978. They were officially recognised by FIFA a decade later, in 1988.[3]

Solomon Islands
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Bonitos
AssociationSolomon Islands Football Federation
ConfederationOFC (Oceania)
Head coachJacob Moli
CaptainJoses Nawo
Most capsHenry Fa'arodo (64)
Top scorerCommins Menapi (34)
Home stadiumNational Stadium,
Lawson Tama Stadium
FIFA codeSOL
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 133 Decrease 1 (20 June 2024)[1]
Highest120 (October 2007, April 2008)
Lowest200 (January–March 2016)
First international
 Solomon Islands 6–3 New Hebrides 
(Suva, Fiji; 30 August 1963)
Biggest win
 Solomon Islands 16–0 Cook Islands 
(Papeete, Tahiti; 21 August 1995)
Biggest defeat
 Tahiti 18–0 Solomon Islands 
(Suva, Fiji; 8 December 1963)
OFC Nations Cup
Appearances8 (first in 1980)
Best resultRunners-up, 2004

History

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During the 2004 Oceania World Cup qualification/Oceania Cup the team drew 2–2 with Australia and qualified for the second leg. In the second leg, the Solomon Islands national men's team were thrashed by Australia 5–1 and 6–0 in the two matches, with Australia qualifying for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

The Solomons got a second chance against the Socceroos in a two-legged series in September 2005, this time with the winner advancing to a two-legged series against CONMEBOL's fifth-place finisher for a berth in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and the team was thrashed by Australia 7–0 on the first leg and 2–1 in the second played at home.

The Solomons were knocked out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup – having got off to a good start winning every game in their qualifying group and comfortably progressing to the knockout rounds, defeats to New Caledonia and then to Vanuatu saw them knocked out of the competition.

In 2012, the Solomon Islands held the 2012 OFC Nations Cup which was also the second round of World Cup qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup where they finished in fourth place after qualifying through to the knockout stage by defeating Papua New Guinea and having draws against Fiji and New Zealand. They lost in the semi-final after they lost to the champions Tahiti after Jonathan Tehau scored the only goal. They later lost to New Zealand in the third-place playoff. The third round of World Cup qualifying saw the team finish bottom of the group after only taking one win against Tahiti.

After first taking charge of the team in 2017, Spaniard Felipe Vega-Arango was appointed for his second stint in June 2021.[4]

In 2019, they went on a three-week training tour in Netherlands.[5]

In June 2023, Solomon Islands played their friendly match against Southeast Asia countries, Singapore and Malaysia. Solomon Island won the 2023 MSG Prime Minister's Cup after winning against Papua New Guinea (3–1), Vanuatu (1–0) and New Caledonia (1–0) as Raphael Lea'i clinch the golden boots as the tournament top scorer with four goals.

Team image

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Kit sponsorship

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Kit lier Period
  Lotto 2004–2012
  Pasifika 2013–2016
  Veto 2016–2021
  UCAN 2022–

Sponsors

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Results and fixtures

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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

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8 October 2023 MSG Prime Minister's Cup Papua New Guinea   1–3   Solomon Islands Nouméa, New Caledonia
14:00 UTC+11:00 Gunemba   51' Report Lea'i   80', 86', 90+3' Stadium: Stade Numa-Daly Magenta
Referee: Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)
17 November 2023 Pacific Games Solomon Islands   1–0   Samoa Honiara, Solomon Islands
15:00 UTC+11 Orobulu   49' Report Stadium: Lawson Tama Stadium
Referee: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand)
23 November 2023 Pacific Games American Samoa   0–11   Solomon Islands Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara
15:00 Report
Referee: Calvin Berg (New Zealand)

2024

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18 March Friendly Solomon Islands   2–1   Fiji Honiara, Solomon Islands
15:00 UTC+11
Report
Stadium: Lawson Tama Stadium
15 June 2024 OFC Nations Cup Solomon Islands   0–1   Vanuatu Port Vila, Vanuatu
15:00 UTC+11 Report
Stadium: Freshwater Stadium
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Veer Singh (Fiji)
21 June 2024 OFC Nations Cup New Caledonia   Cancelled   Solomon Islands Port Vila, Vanuatu
12:00 UTC+11 Stadium: Freshwater Stadium
Note: On 5 June 2024, New Caledonia withdrew from the 2024 OFC Nations Cup due to the serious crisis in the country.[6]
September Friendly Solomon Islands   v   Hong Kong Suva, Fiji
--:-- UTC+12 Stadium: HFC Bank Stadium

Coaching staff

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Position
Head coach   Jacob Moli[7]
Assistant coach   Stanley Waita[7]
Goalkeeper coach   Zantas Kabini
Kit Manager   Augustine Hou
Team Manager   Patrick Miniti

Coaching history

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Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Players

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Current squad

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The following 23 players were called up for the 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup.[10]

Caps and goals correct as of 2 December 2023, after the match against   New Caledonia

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Philip Mango (1995-08-28) August 28, 1995 (age 28) 37 0   Central Coast
1GK Michael Laulae (2002-05-20) May 20, 2002 (age 22) 2 0   Henderson Eels
1GK Harold Nauania (1997-10-10) October 10, 1997 (age 26) 1 0   Waneagu United

2DF Allen Peter (1995-09-11) September 11, 1995 (age 28) 16 0   Solomon Warriors
2DF Javin Wae (2002-11-17) November 17, 2002 (age 21) 15 0   Central Coast
2DF Leon Kofana (2002-06-22) June 22, 2002 (age 22) 14 0   Rewa
2DF David Supa (2000-12-21) December 21, 2000 (age 23) 11 0   Central Coast
2DF Prince Tahanipue (1995-01-13) January 13, 1995 (age 29) 7 0   Central Coast
2DF Calvin Ohasio (2000-04-05) April 5, 2000 (age 24) 7 0   Central Coast
2DF Junior David (2001-09-22) September 22, 2001 (age 22) 4 0   Central Coast
2DF Steven Koti (2000-06-10) June 10, 2000 (age 24) 0 0   Kossa

3MF Atkin Kaua (1996-04-04) April 4, 1996 (age 28) 27 5   Laugu United
3MF Marlon Tahioa (1998-11-28) November 28, 1998 (age 25) 8 0   Central Coast
3MF Tigi Molea (1992-09-24) September 24, 1992 (age 31) 6 3   Solomon Warriors
3MF Hudson Oreinima (1988-07-24) July 24, 1988 (age 35) 0 0   Central Coast
3MF Hadyn Irodao (2002-10-29) October 29, 2002 (age 21) 0 0   Central Coast

4FW Joses Nawo (1988-05-03) May 3, 1988 (age 36) 50 8   Kossa
4FW Alvin Hou (1996-09-18) September 18, 1996 (age 27) 23 6   Solomon Warriors
4FW Gagame Feni (1992-08-21) August 21, 1992 (age 31) 32 19   Kossa
4FW Raphael Lea'i (2003-09-09) September 9, 2003 (age 20) 17 11   Adelaide City
4FW Bobby Leslie (2000-03-03) March 3, 2000 (age 24) 8 2   Central Coast
4FW John Orobulu (2000-08-29) August 29, 2000 (age 23) 7 8   Henderson Eels
4FW Junior Fordney (1999-11-26) November 26, 1999 (age 24) 1 0   Central Coast

Recent call-ups

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The following players have also been called up within the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Junior Petua (2003-12-30) December 30, 2003 (age 20) 0 0   Honiara City v.   Fiji, 20 March 2024
GK Timothy Mae'arasia (1995-06-19) June 19, 1995 (age 29) 2 0   Solomon Warriors 2023 Pacific Games

DF Alick Stanton (1998-05-25) May 25, 1998 (age 26) 7 0   Central Coast v.   Fiji, 20 March 2024
DF Hadisi Aengari (1988-10-23) October 23, 1988 (age 35) 44 0   Solomon Warriors v.  Fiji, 20 March 2024
DF Loea Taisara (1989-06-02) June 2, 1989 (age 35) 2 0   Solomon Warriors 2023 Pacific Games

MF William Komasi (2000-06-10) June 10, 2000 (age 24) 16 1   Nadroga v.   Fiji, 20 March 2024
MF Molis Gagame (1989-09-21) September 21, 1989 (age 34) 14 0   Kossa v.   Fiji, 20 March 2024
MF Don Keana (2000-09-09) September 9, 2000 (age 23) 4 0   Waneagu United v.   Fiji, 20 March 2024

FW Micah Lea'alafa (1991-06-01) June 1, 1991 (age 33) 26 8   FK Beograd 2023 Pacific Games
FW Norman Ngafu (1997-07-16) July 16, 1997 (age 26) 1 0   Marist 2023 Pacific GamesPRE

Player records

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As of 21 March 2024[11]
Players in bold are still active with Solomon Islands.

Most appearances

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Henry Fa'arodo is Solomon Islands' most capped player with 64 appearances.
Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1 Henry Fa'arodo 64 20 2002–2017
2 Joses Nawo 52 8 2011–present
Benjamin Totori 52 29 2007–2019
4 Hadisi Aengari 44 0 2011–present
5 Philip Mango 39 0 2016–present
6 Nelson Sale Kilifa 37 0 2004–2017
7 Atkin Kaua 36 5 2016–present
Commins Menapi 36 34 2000–2007
Batram Suri 36 14 1995–2005
10 Gagame Feni 34 19 2012–present

Top goalscorers

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Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Commins Menapi 34 36 0.94 2000–2007
2 Benjamin Totori 29 52 0.56 2007–2019
3 Henry Fa'arodo 20 64 0.31 2002–2017
4 Gagame Feni 19 34 0.56 2012–present
5 Batram Suri 14 36 0.39 1995–2005
6 Raphael Lea'i 12 18 0.67 2022–present
7 Noel Berry 10 15 0.67 1995–2000
8 John Orobulu 8 9 0.89 2018–present
Micah Lea'alafa 8 26 0.31 2016–present
Joses Nawo 8 52 0.15 2011–present

Competitive record

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FIFA World Cup

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FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup qualification
Year Host Round Pld W D L F A Pos Pld W D L F A
1930 to 1986 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
1990   Italy Did not enter Did not enter
1994   United States Did not qualify Group Stage 4 0 1 3 5 13
1998   France Group Stage 8 3 3 2 22 23
2002   South Korea
  Japan
Group Stage 4 2 0 2 17 10
2006   Germany 2nd 11 6 2 3 24 16
2010   South Africa Knockout Stage 6 4 0 2 23 6
2014   Brazil 4th 9 2 2 5 7 22
2018   Russia 2nd 9 4 1 4 10 16
2022   Qatar 2nd 3 2 0 1 6 8
2026   Canada
  Mexico
  United States
To be determined To be determined
2030   Morocco
  Portugal
  Spain
2034   Saudi Arabia
Total 0/9 57 23 9 25 118 121

OFC Nations Cup

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Oceania Cup / OFC Nations Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
  1973 Did not enter Did not enter
  1980 Group stage 8th 3 0 0 3 3 21 No qualification
  1996 Semi-finals 3rd 2 0 0 2 1 3 Squad 4 4 0 0 10 1
  1998 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 8 7
  2000 Third place 3rd 4 2 0 2 7 10 Squad 4 2 1 1 10 9
  2002 Group stage 6th 3 0 1 2 3 9 Squad Qualified automatically
  2004 Runners-up 2nd 7 3 1 3 10 17 Squad 4 3 1 0 14 1
  2008 Did not qualify 6 4 0 2 23 6
  2012 Fourth place 4th 5 1 2 2 5 6 Squad Qualified as host
  2016 Semi-finals 3rd 4 1 0 3 2 4 Squad Qualified automatically
    2024 Group stage 6th 2 0 0 2 0 4 Squad
Total Runners-up 8/11 30 7 4 19 31 74 22 15 3 4 65 24

Pacific Games

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Pacific Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
  1963 Fourth place 4th 3 1 0 2 6 26
  1966 Group stage 6th 2 0 1 1 4 12
  1969 Sixth place 6th 5 0 1 4 8 19
  1971 did not enter
  1975 Third place 3rd 4 2 1 1 9 8
  1979 Third place 3rd 5 4 0 1 24 5
  1983 Group stage 10th 3 1 0 2 0 11
  1987 did not enter
  1991 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 1 0 12 3
  1995 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 0 2 34 10
  2003 Group stage 5th 4 2 1 1 14 4
  2007 Fourth place 4th 6 4 0 2 23 6
  2011 Runners-up 2nd 7 5 0 2 21 6
  2015 See Solomon Islands national under-23 football team
  2019 Group stage 7th 5 2 1 2 30 9
Total Runners-up 12/15 55 29 6 20 185 119

Wantok Cup

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Head-to-head record

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As of 18 June 2024
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD WPCT
  American Samoa 4 4 0 0 40 1 +39 100.00
  Australia 10 0 1 9 8 55 −47 0.00
  Chinese Taipei 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
  Cook Islands 5 5 0 0 37 2 +35 100.00
  Fiji 41 8 16 17 46 74 −28 19.51
  Guam 3 3 0 0 24 2 +22 100.00
  Kiribati 1 1 0 0 7 0 +7 100.00
  Macau 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 100.00
  Malaysia 1 0 0 1 1 4 −3 0.00
  New Caledonia 28 11 3 14 33 55 −22 39.29
  New Zealand 14 0 2 12 11 52 −41 0.00
  Papua New Guinea 23 14 4 5 40 29 +11 60.87
  Samoa[a] 4 4 0 0 21 0 +21 100.00
  Singapore 2 0 1 1 4 5 −1 0.00
  Tahiti 24 5 3 16 26 76 −50 20.83
  Tonga 5 5 0 0 31 0 +31 100.00
  Tuvalu 4 4 0 0 29 1 +28 100.00
  Vanuatu[b] 35 22 7 6 77 37 +40 62.86
  Wallis and Futuna 3 3 0 0 23 1 +22 100.00
Total 209 91 37 81 463 395 +68 43.54
  1. ^ Includes results as Western Samoa.
  2. ^ Includes results as New Hebrides.

Honours

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Historical kits

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References

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  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Member Association – Solomon Islands". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Solomon Islands appoint new coach". 23 June 2021. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Historic training camp in Netherlands wrap-up". siff.com.sb. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  6. ^ "La Fédération se résout à la "NON-PARTICIPATION" des cagous". New Caledonian Football Federation. 5 June 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "MOLI APPOINTED FOR NATIONS CUP 2024". SIFF. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  8. ^ "FIFA.com". 23 June 2007. Archived from the original on 23 June 2007.
  9. ^ "Solomons search for new coach". Oceania Football Confederation. 29 July 2016. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Final 23-man squad named for OFC Nations Cup 2024". Facebook. Solomon Islands Football Federation. 29 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Solomon Islands". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2021.

Further reading

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