Papua New Guinea women's national football team
The Papua New Guinea women's national football team is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA). Its nickname is the Lakatois,[6] which is a Motuan sailing vessel. Their home ground is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, located in Port Moresby and their current manager is Peter Gunemba. Deslyn Siniu is the team's most capped player and top scorer.
Nickname(s) | Lakatois (Motuan sailing vessel) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) | ||
Confederation | OFC (Oceania) | ||
Head coach | Frederica Sakette[1] | ||
Most caps | Deslyn Siniu (43) | ||
Top scorer | Meagen Gunemba (23) | ||
Home stadium | Sir Hubert Murray Stadium | ||
FIFA code | PNG | ||
| |||
FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 46 (18 December 2020)[2] | ||
Highest | 46 (December 2019) | ||
Lowest | 133 (September 2014) | ||
First international | |||
Australia B 2–0 Papua New Guinea (Brisbane, Australia; 26 March 1989)[3] | |||
Biggest win | |||
Papua New Guinea 13–0 Kiribati (Nausori, Fiji; 30 June 2003)[4] | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
Papua New Guinea 0–16 New Zealand (Sydney, Australia; 19 May 1991)[5] | |||
OFC Women's Nations Cup | |||
Appearances | 8 (first in 1989) | ||
Best result | Runners-up (2007, 2010, 2014) |
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Pacific Games | ||
2003 Suva | Team | |
2007 Apia | Team | |
2011 Nouméa | Team | |
2015 Port Moresby | Team | |
2019 Apia | Team |
Papua New Guinea has never qualified for a FIFA Women's World Cup or the Olympic Games, but won the Pacific Games Football Tournament on four occasions (2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015) and finished second in the OFC Women's Nations Cup three times (2007, 2010 and 2014). It can be considered the second-best team in the Oceania Football Confederation after New Zealand.
Since December 2019, Papua New Guinea's FIFA ranking is 46, which is their highest ever ranking. Their worst ranking was 133 in September 2014.
History
1989–1998
Papua New Guinea played its first international game on 26 March 1989 in the Australian city of Brisbane facing the Australia B-side on the 1989 Oceania Cup. The match resulted in a 2–0 loss for the Papua New Guinean team. Geraldine Eka was Papua New Guinea's first scorer, in the lost game against Taiwan (6–1). In the two remaining matches, their rivals were New Zealand and Australia (senior team), with whom they lost both games. The Papua New Guineans finished on the bottom of the table, after being defeated in the four games.[7]
The team participated on the 1991 and 1994 editions of the Oceania Cup, with the second being on home soil in the country's capital, Port Moresby. In both editions, they faced Australia and New Zealand, losing to them heavily. During that period, Papua New Guinea had its biggest loss, 16–0 with New Zealand. Both tournaments also served as the qualifiers for the first FIFA World Cup, held in China in 1991 and the second, in Sweden in 1995.
The Papua New Guineans won the 1996 Pacific Cup in Tonga with Miriam Lanta's help.[8] In the same year, they managed to achieve their only draw with New Zealand.[9]
The 1998 Oceania Cup in New Zealand saw a small improvement on the national team. They finished in the third position of the competition after beating Fiji 7–1 on the third place match. Other results include a victory over American Samoa and two defeats with Australia and New Zealand.[10]
2000s
After 5 years without playing any games, Papua New Guinea re-appeared with coach Francis Moyap, in the 2003 Oceania Cup, celebrated in Australia during April 2003. The Papua New Guineans finished third once again. This edition included two new rivals: the Cook Islands and Samoa, teams which they defeated by 5–1 and 5–2, respectively. Midfielders Lydia Banabas and Glenda Matthies were notable players in this competition. Papua New Guinea had an average attendance of 412.5 people per match.
On the same year, the Papua New Guinean squad participated in the inaugural South Pacific Games women's football tournament, held in Fiji during June–July. This time, the national team achieved their biggest victory in their opening match, 13–0 over Kiribati, with Deslyn Siniu scoring a total of six goals for her country. With 13 points, thanks to four victories, one tie and one loss, Papua New Guinea won the gold medal in this competition. This time, the Papua New Guineans had an average attendance of 800 people per match.
Despite having won the Pacific Games tournament, the national team did a regular performance at the 2004 Olympic qualifying tournament, where it faced Australia and Fiji in a round-robin system competition.
The team appeared in the 2005 Arafura Games tournament, and finished with poor results.[11]
Without Australia in the OFC, Papua New Guinea hosted the Oceania Cup again in 2007. All the games were played in Lae. This time, the team won against their neighbors, the Solomon Islands and Tonga (in fact, by an own goal scored by Tonga's Mele Vaisioa Mahe Niukapu).[12] On the last game, the team lost the chance of qualifying to the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China after losing to New Zealand.
The Papua New Guineans won their second gold medal in Samoa in the 2007 South Pacific Games. In the group stage, the team had very impressive victories (6–0 against American Samoa; 4–0 against the Solomon Islands; 4–1 against the Cook Islands) and a narrow loss (1–0 against Fiji). It advanced to the semi-finals along with Tahiti, and won 5–0, allowing them to advance to the final game, where they confronted Tonga at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex. After a hard game, Papua New Guinea won 3–1 after extra time with the help of Daisy Winas, Ara Midi and Lydia Banabas.[13] The aforementioned was the national team's top scorer again, with a total of eight goals. Thanks to this result, the Papua New Guineans qualified for a play-off against New Zealand to determine Oceania's representative at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Papua New Guinea played the Olympic play-off qualifier on 8 March 2008, but they lost 2–0.
2010s
With an attendance of 60 people, the Lakatois started their 2010 Oceania Cup campaign facing Fiji at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Papua New Guinea won the game 3–0 with a scoreline of 1–0 in the half-time. Both the second and third matches (2–1 against the Solomon Islands and 3–0 against Tonga, with an own goal of the Tongan goalkeeper Lupe Likiliki) resulted in victories. Papua New Guinea advanced to the semi-finals to beat the Cook Islands by 1–0. The final, played on 8 October 2010, saw the Kiwis and the Papua New Guineans struggling once again for the Oceania Cup title in front of an audience of 900 people. New Zealand finished as the champion for the fourth time, after thrashing Papua New Guinea 11–0.[14] Zeena Limbai had a brilliant participation, after scoring four goals for PNG.
With one goal from Miriam Louma against Tahiti, the Papua New Guinean team started their 2011 Pacific Games road in New Caledonia, coached by Steven Mune. They achieved a second victory, against American Samoa, by 8–0, including an own goal. It was followed by a loss against the hosts, New Caledonia (2–1) and a victory over the Solomon Islands (1–0). The national team advanced to the semi-finals, where they faced Fiji, winning the game 4–0. In the gold medal/final game, the Papua New Guinean squad confronted the New Caledonians for the second time in the tournament. Christelle Wahnawe scored for the New Caledonians and Ara Midi and Linah Honeakii for the Papua New Guinean team, thus making 2–1 the final result. PNG received the gold medal for the third time.[15]
PNG failed to qualify for the London 2012 Summer Olympics despite having a very good performance on the first stage of the qualifiers, played in Tonga from March to April 2012. They had an attendance average of 973.8 people per match.
With the former Australian footballer Gary Phillips as the squad's manager, Papua New Guinea started the 2014 OFC Nations Cup winning 4–1 on home soil, at the Kalabond Oval in Kokopo against the Cook Islands. The Lakatois were defeated by the Kiwis 3–0 on the second game. The tournament finished with a 3–0 win to Tonga. Meagen Gunemba was PNG's top scorer, with four goals, and goalkeeper Fidelma Watpore was awarded with the Golden Gloves.
The Lakatois had a tour on Southeast Asia in March 2015. They faced Singapore and Thailand.[16]
The national team finished first in the Group B of the 2015 Pacific Games (on home soil), and had a victory against Samoa to advance to the final match, facing New Caledonia. Marie Kaipu gave the Papua New Guineans a fourth gold medal after scoring in the 21st minute.[17]
The Lakatois' latest game was the 2016 Olympic qualifier against the Kiwis, which resulted in a 7–1 loss. A second leg was supposed to be played, but the Papua New Guinean team couldn't travel to New Zealand due to visa issues.[18]
Coaching staff
Position | Name | Ref. |
---|---|---|
Head Coach | ||
Assistant Coach | ||
Goalkeeping Coach | ||
Physical Coach |
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2019 Pacific Games from 7–20 July in Apia, Samoa.
Caps and goals as of 20 July 2019, after the match against Samoa.
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | GK | Fidelma Watpore | 9 February 1988 | 16 | 0 | POM |
20 | GK | Betty Sam | 12 October 1992 | 5 | 0 | Kimbe |
23 | GK | Faith Kasiray | 20 December 1999 | 3 | 0 | Ramu |
2 | DF | Dorcas Sesevo | 15 | 0 | POM | |
4 | DF | Lucy Maino | 2 August 1995 | 9 | 2 | Unattached |
14 | DF | Joelyn Aimi | 16 November 1994 | 6 | 0 | Lae |
15 | DF | Lydia Kose | 3 | 0 | POM | |
16 | DF | Michaella Kurabi | 13 April 1996 | 3 | 0 | Madang |
19 | DF | Georgina Bakani | 6 December 1996 | 9 | 0 | Kimbe |
3 | MF | Margret Joseph | 4 January 1999 | 10 | 0 | POM |
5 | MF | Sandra Birum | 6 June 1992 | 30 | 9 | Lae |
6 | MF | Rayleen Bauelua | 11 January 1995 | 9 | 1 | POM |
7 | MF | Yvonne Gabong | 29 August 1996 | 17 | 3 | POM |
8 | MF | Serah Tamgol | 14 September 1999 | 0 | 0 | Lae |
9 | MF | Deslyn Siniu | 2 January 1981 | 46 | 19 | POM |
11 | MF | Marie Kaipu | 16 August 1997 | 14 | 12 | POM |
12 | MF | Ramona Padio | 13 March 1998 | 14 | 13 | Kimbe |
17 | MF | Shalom Waida | 15 February 2001 | 2 | 0 | POM |
21 | MF | Gloria Balamus | 1 | 0 | Wewak | |
10 | FW | Meagen Gunemba | 4 June 1995 | 17 | 23 | Lae |
13 | FW | Selina Unamba | 24 November 1999 | 9 | 4 | Lae |
18 | FW | Gloria Laeli | 25 March 1997 | 2 | 0 | POM |
22 | FW | Asaiso Gossie | 18 April 2003 | 3 | 0 | Ramu |
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.
Previous squads
Player records
Most capped players
- As of September 10, 2017
- Players in bold are still active.
# | Name | Caps | Goals | First cap | Latest cap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Deslyn Siniu | 43 | 19 | June 30, 2003 | January 23, 2016 |
2 | Miriam Lanta | 31 | 5 | April 5, 2003 | September 9, 2011 |
3 | Kathrina Salaiau | 26 | 0 | August 25, 2007 | April 4, 2012 |
4 | Lydia Banabas | 24 | 15 | April 5, 2003 | October 8, 2010 |
5 | Daisy Winas | 22 | 5 | August 25, 2007 | October 29, 2014 |
6 | Sandra Birum | 21 | 8 | September 30, 2010 | January 23, 2016 |
7 | Tracey Kigg | 20 | 1 | April 5, 2003 | September 7, 2007 |
8 | Julie Alau | 18 | 3 | April 5, 2003 | September 7, 2007 |
9 | Linah Honeakii | 17 | 3 | September 30, 2007 | April 4, 2012 |
Linda Bunaga | 17 | 0 | August 28, 2007 | September 9, 2011 | |
Top goalscorers
- As of September 10, 2017
- Players in bold are still active.
# | Name | Goals | Caps | Average | First cap | Latest cap | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Deslyn Siniu | 19 | 43 | 0.44 | June 30, 2003 | January 23, 2016 | MF |
2 | Lydia Banabas | 15 | 24 | 0.62 | April 5, 2003 | October 8, 2010 | MF |
3 | Meagen Gunemba | 10 | 8 | 1.25 | October 25, 2014 | January 23, 2016 | FW |
4 | Sandra Birum | 8 | 21 | 0.38 | September 30, 2010 | January 23, 2016 | MF |
5 | Ara Midi | 6 | 9 | 0.66 | August 25, 2007 | September 9, 2011 | MF |
Zeena Limbai | 6 | 9 | 0.66 | September 30, 2010 | October 25, 2014 | FW | |
Rumona Morris | 6 | 14 | 0.43 | September 30, 2010 | October 29, 2014 | FW | |
8 | Miriam Lanta | 5 | 28 | 0.18 | April 5, 2003 | September 9, 2011 | MF |
Daisy Winas | 5 | 22 | 0.23 | August 25, 2007 | October 29, 2014 | FW | |
10 | Fatima Rama | 4 | 8 | 0.50 | March 1, 2012 | July 13, 2015 | MF |
Managers
Manager | Career | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % | Competitions |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unknown | 1989–2003 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 11.8 | 1989 OFC Championship – Third place 1991 OFC Championship – Third place 1994 OFC Championship – Third place 1998 OFC Championship – Third place |
Francis Moyap | 2003–2010 | 29 | 16 | 1 | 12 | 55.2 | 2003 OFC Championship – Third place 2003 South Pacific Games – Champions 2007 OFC Championship – Runners-up 2007 South Pacific Games – Champions 2010 OFC Championship – Runners-up |
Steven Mune | 2011–2012 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 78.6 | 2011 Pacific Games – Champions |
Gary Phillips | 2014–2015 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 63.6 | 2014 OFC Nations Cup – Runners-up 2015 Pacific Games – Champions |
Rachel Wadunah | 2016–present | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 |
Results and schedules
Win Draw Lose
Record against other nations
Against | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Samoa | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | +23 |
Australia | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 68 | −68 |
Australia B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 |
Australia Defense Force | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | −6 |
Chinese Taipei | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | −5 |
Cook Islands | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | +13 |
Fiji | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 4 | +19 |
Guam | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
Kiribati | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | +13 |
New Caledonia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 |
New Zealand | 15 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 96 | −94 |
Northern Territory | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 |
Samoa | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 | +11 |
Singapore | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
Solomon Islands | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | +11 |
Tahiti | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 |
Thailand | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 18 | −17 |
Tonga | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 4 | +11 |
United States | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | −5 |
Vanuatu | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 |
Total | 72 | 36 | 3 | 33 | 156 | 233 | −77 |
Honours
Continental
- Pacific Cup
- Champions (1): 1996
Competitive records
FIFA Women's World Cup
FIFA Women's World Cup record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
1991 | Did Not Qualify | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 47 | |||||||
1995 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 19 | ||||||||
1999 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 14 | ||||||||
2003 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 21 | ||||||||
2007 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||
2011 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 12 | ||||||||
2015 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | ||||||||
2019 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 3 | ||||||||
2023 | To Be Determined | To Be Determined | ||||||||||||
Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 27 | 12 | 0 | 15 | 49 | 125 |
Olympic Games
Olympic Games record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
1996 | Did Not Enter | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
2000 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
2004 | Did Not Qualify | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |||||||
2008 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 5 | ||||||||
2012 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 18 | ||||||||
2016 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 8 | ||||||||
2020 | To Be Determined | |||||||||||||
Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 58 | 41 |
OFC Women's Nations Cup
OFC Women's Nations Cup record | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | |
1983 | Did not enter | |||||||||
1986 | ||||||||||
1989 | Fifth Place | 5th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 19 | –18 | |
1991 | Third Place | 3rd | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 47 | –47 | |
1994 | Third Place | 3rd | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 19 | –19 | |
1998 | Third Place | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 14 | +2 | |
2003 | Third Place | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 21 | –11 | |
2007 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 8 | –1 | |
2010 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 12 | –3 | |
2014 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | |
2018 | Third Place | 3rd Place | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 9 | +13 | |
2022 | To Be Determined | |||||||||
Total | Runners-up | 8/10 | 36 | 16 | 0 | 20 | 72 | 153 | –81 |
Pacific Games
Pacific Games record | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
2003 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 6 | +16 |
2007 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 3 | +19 |
2011 | Champions | 1st | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 3 | +14 |
2015 | Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | +10 |
2019 | To Be Determined | ||||||||
Total | Champions | 4/4 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 72 | 13 | +59 |
See also
References
- "Oceania Football Confederation". January 29, 2016. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016.
- "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- "Women's Oceania Cup 1989". rsssf.com.
- "South Pacific Games 2003 (Fiji) - Tournament Details". www.rsssf.com.
- http://fifa.com/live-scores/teams/country=png/women/matches/index.html#year1991
- https://www.soccer.com/guide/soccer-com-outfits-papua-new-guinea-u20-womens-national-team
- "Football III Ladies Oceania Nations Cup 1989 Brisbane (AUS) 26.03-01.04 - Winner Taiwan". todor66. Archived from the original on 2017-09-11.
- "Women's soccer veteran hangs up boots to officiate". The National. 2015-05-09. Archived from the original on 2017-09-15.
- "M-Wey Services Tournament Reports". ultimatenzsoccer. Archived from the original on 2017-09-11.
- "Football VI Ladies Oceania Nations Cup 1998 - played in Auckland (NZL) +13 GMT - Winner Australia". todor66.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-11.
- "The RSSSF Archive - International Country Results - Women Tournaments". www.rsssf.com.
- https://www.oceaniafootball.com/archives-4425/
- "PAPUA NEW GUINEA WOMEN GRIND OUT GOLDEN RESULT". October 15, 2008. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008.
- "Oceania Football Confederation". March 3, 2016. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- "Oceania Football Confederation". March 3, 2016. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- "PNG women to tour SE Asia". March 3, 2015.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083137/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/a2755d84-5be9-495d-b9af-93c4bddefba9/language/en-US/Default.aspx
- https://web.archive.org/web/20160131020813/http://www.oceaniafootball.com/ofc/News/ViewArticle/tabid/125/Article/562e39a3-a939-482d-8105-33825acca85c/language/en-US/Default.aspx