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| Nickname(s) | Toa Aito (Les guerriers de fer; Iron Warriors) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Tahitian Football Federation | ||
| Confederation | OFC (Oceania) | ||
| Head coach | Samuel Garcia[1] | ||
| Captain | Stanley Atani | ||
| Most caps | Angelo Tchen (34) | ||
| Top scorer | Teaonui Tehau (24) | ||
| Home stadium | Stade Pater Te Hono Nui | ||
| FIFA code | TAH | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 161  (10 December 2020)[2] | ||
| Highest | 111 (August 2002) | ||
| Lowest | 196 (April–May 2016) | ||
| First international | |||
 French Polynesia 2–2 New Zealand  (Papeete, Tahiti; 21 September 1952) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Tahiti 30–0 Cook Islands  (Papeete, Tahiti; 2 September 1971) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
New Zealand 10–0 Tahiti  (Adelaide, Australia; 4 June 2004)  Spain 10–0 Tahiti (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 20 June 2013) | |||
| OFC Nations Cup | |||
| Appearances | 9 (first in 1973) | ||
| Best result | Winners, 2012 | ||
| Confederations Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2013) | ||
| Best result | Group stage, 2013 | ||
The Tahiti national football team (French: Équipe nationale de football de Tahiti) represents French Polynesia[4][5][6][7] and is controlled by the Fédération Tahitienne de Football. The team consists of a selection of players from French Polynesia, not just Tahiti, and has competed in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) since 1990.
Tahiti is traditionally one of the stronger footballing nations of the Pacific Islands, with the second-best record at the football section of the South Pacific Games, with five victories. They were runners-up in the first three instalments of the Nations Cup (1973, 1980 and 1996). The nation went through a period of less success, but showed promise when it qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. This success was followed up with the title of 2012 OFC Nations Cup, becoming the first team other than Australia and New Zealand to win the competition.
History
Tahiti played its first full match on 21 September 1952, at home against New Zealand, drawing 2–2. Seven days later, the two teams played again and New Zealand won 5–3. On 30 September, they played each other for a third time, and Tahiti gained its first victory, by 2–0. However, it is unknown whether this was a full international match.[8]
In September 1953, Tahiti played three matches in New Caledonia against its national side, losing the first 5–0 and the later two 4–1. They then travelled to the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) and beat its national side 4–2 twice. In 1989, under the leadership of Napoleon Spitz, the official federation was created.
Tahiti entered its first World Cup qualification with the aim of reaching the 1994 World Cup, held in the United States. They were placed in Group A alongside Australia and the Solomon Islands, and played their first match away to the Solomon Islands in Honiara on 11 July 1992. Eric Etaeta equalised for Tahiti to make it 1–1 in the 76th minute. On 11 September, Tahiti hosted Australia in Papeete and lost 3–0. The next fixture was again against Australia, and resulted in a 2–0 away defeat in Brisbane on 20 September. On 9 October, in Papeete, Tahiti defeated the Solomon Islands 4–2. Tahiti's first goal was scored as an 8th-minute penalty from Reynald Temarii, a politician and current president of the OFC. However, Tahiti finished second to Australia in the group and did not advance.
2012 OFC Nations Cup
In 2012, the new edition of the tournament occurred in the Solomon Islands with the host country, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Tahiti, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Samoa (winner of the qualifying tournament) playing the competition. Tahiti defeated New Caledonia in the final in Lawson Tama Stadium 1–0 with a goal by Steevy Chong Hue and became the first team other than Australia (no longer part of OFC) and New Zealand to be crowned Oceania champions.[9]
2013 Confederations Cup
By winning the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, Tahiti qualified for the 2013 Confederations Cup, held in Brazil, for the first time.[10] Tahiti is the first – and so far only – team which has participated in the Confederations Cup but has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. On 17 June 2013, Tahiti lost 1–6 to Nigeria in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Belo Horizonte, with Jonathan Tehau scoring the goal for Tahiti in the second half with a header from a corner; Tahiti fans still rejoiced in the prospect of scoring a goal in an international tournament.[11] On 20 June, Tahiti lost 10–0 against Spain to equal their largest ever loss against New Zealand nine years earlier.[12] On 23 June 2013, Tahiti was beaten 8–0 by Uruguay.[13]
In all, Tahiti conceded 24 goals and scored 1 to end with a goal differential of −23, the worst of any national team in any major competition.[14] However, even with the poor record and heavy defeats, Tahiti's underdog qualities gathered significant respect from the people of Brazil, who always cheered for them in every match.[15] Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque, and strikers Fernando Torres and David Villa – who scored four and three goals respectively against Tahiti – complimented the team's fair play.[16]
| 17 June 2013 | Tahiti | 1–6 |  Nigeria | Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte |
| 16:00 | J. Tehau  54' | Report | Vallar 5' (o.g.) Oduamadi 10', 26', 76'J. Tehau 69' (o.g.)Echiéjilé 80' | Attendance: 20,187 Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador) |
| 20 June 2013 | Spain | 10–0 | Tahiti | Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro |
| 16:00 | Torres 5', 33', 57', 78' Silva 31', 89'Villa 39', 49', 64'Mata 66' | Report | Attendance: 71,806 Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (Algeria) |
| 23 June 2013 | Uruguay  | 8–0 | Tahiti | Arena Pernambuco, Recife |
| 16:00 | Hernández 2', 24', 45+1', 67' (pen.) Pérez 27'Lodeiro 61'Suárez 82', 90' | Report | Attendance: 22,047 Referee: Pedro Proença (Portugal) |
Kit sponsorship
| Kit lier | Period |
|---|---|
 Adidas | 2000–2002 |
 Lotto | 2004–2012 |
 Nike | 2013– |
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
| FIFA World Cup record | FIFA World Cup qualification record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1930 to 1954 | Did not exist | Did not exist | |||||||||||||
| 1958 to 1990 | Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
| 1994 | Did not qualify | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | ||||||||
| 1998 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 12 | |||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small}  2002 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | |||||||||
| 2006 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 25 | |||||||||
 2010 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||
 2014 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 17 | |||||||||
 2018 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 7 | |||||||||
 2022 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||
.svg.png){kind=small}  2026 | |||||||||||||||
| Total | 0/21 | 43 | 17 | 7 | 19 | 65 | 81 | ||||||||
Fixtures and results
Recent results
Forthcoming fixtures
2021
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification.[17]
Caps and goals updated as of 18 July 2019 after the game against American Samoa.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Teave Teamotuaitau | 17 April 1992 | 7 | 0 | Vénus Mahina |
| 16 | GK | Benjamin Tardivel | 3 December 1987 | 1 | 0 | A.S. Dragon |
| DF | Viritua Tiaiho | 23 January 1992 | 2 | 0 | Tefana | |
| DF | Victor Snow | 27 October 1991 | 0 | 0 | A.S. Dragon | |
| DF | Hennel Tehaamoana | 12 April 1999 | 0 | 0 | A.S. Dragon | |
| DF | François Hapipi | 10 March 1999 | 0 | 0 | Mérignac-Arlac | |
| 2 | DF | Farearii Tuteina | 12 May 1998 | 4 | 0 | Tefana |
| 4 | DF | Jean-Claude Paraue | 24 May 1989 | 5 | 0 | Vénus Mahina |
| 6 | DF | Tefai Faehau | 26 February 1988 | 4 | 0 | Vénus Mahina |
| 7 | DF | Marama Amau | 13 January 1991 | 10 | 0 | Vénus Mahina |
| 15 | DF | Matatia Paama | 3 October 1992 | 9 | 0 | Manu Ura |
| 20 | DF | Rico Haring | 7 July 1997 | 7 | 0 | Tiare Tahiti |
| MF | Terai Bremond | 16 May 2001 | 0 | 0 | Toulouse | |
| MF | Tauhiti Keck | 1 August 1994 | 6 | 2 | Vénus Mahina | |
| MF | François Decoret | 0 | 0 | Taravao | ||
| MF | Gervais Chan Kat | 16 December 1993 | 1 | 0 | Pirae | |
| MF | Yann Pannequin Lebras | 10 January 1994 | 0 | 0 | Vénus Mahina | |
| DF | Heirauarii Salem | 28 April 1998 | 0 | 0 | Pirae | |
| MF | Benoit Mathon | 5 April 1989 | 0 | 0 | Tefana | |
| 3 | MF | Kevin Barbe | 2 September 1997 | 7 | 1 | Vénus Mahina |
| 8 | MF | Rooarii Roo | 11 December 1989 | 6 | 1 | Manu-Ura |
| 13 | MF | Stanley Atani (captain) | 27 January 1990 | 21 | 5 | Vénus Mahina |
| 14 | MF | Tamatoa Tetauira | 17 April 1996 | 11 | 5 | Vénus |
| FW | Roonui Tehau | 15 December 1999 | 0 | 0 | A.S. Dragon | |
| DF | Roonui Tinirauarii | 14 March 1997 | 0 | 0 | Pirae | |
| DF | Rainui Tze Yu | 26 February 1992 | 2 | 0 | A.S. Dragon | |
| FW | Abdel Kader Lazreg | 29 March 1995 | 0 | 0 | Lelanois | |
| FW | Manarii Porlier | 1 December 1989 | 4 | 0 | Tiare Tahiti | |
| 10 | FW | Teaonui Tehau | 1 September 1992 | 31 | 24 | Vénus Mahina |
List of coaches
Francois Vernaudon (1973)
Umberto Mottini (1995–1996)- Gerard Kautai (1996)
- Richard Vansam (1997)
- Alain Rousseau/Eddy Rousseau (1997–1998)
.svg.png)
Leon Gardikiotis (1999–2000)- Patrick Jacquemet (2001–2002)
- Gérard Kautai (2004–2007)
- Eddy Etaeta (2010–2015)
Patrice Flaccadori (2015)- Ludovic Graugnard (2015–2018)
- Naea Bennett (2018–2019)
- Samuel Garcia (2019–Present)
.svg.png){kind=small}
See also
References
- ^ "Sélection de Tahiti: Samuel Garcia est le nouvel entreineur". Fedération Tahitienne de Football. FTF. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ "Trophies in paradise". The Football Ramble. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ "Tahiti ready for Confederations Cup". The Scotsman. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ "IN THE LAND OF GIANTS – Tahiti set for Confederations Cup adventure". Football Republik. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ "Tahiti national football team". Road To Brazil. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ "Tahiti International Matches". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ^ "Glorious Tahiti claim maiden Oceania crown". FIFA.com. FIFA. 10 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- ^ "Proud Tahiti No1 aims to enjoy Brazil challenge". FIFA.com. FIFA. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Nigeria 6−1 Tahiti". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- ^ "Spain 10−0 Tahiti". BBC Sport. BBC. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- ^ "Uruguay 8−0 Tahiti". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- ^ "FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil 2013 - Statistics - Teams - Top goals". FIFA.com. FIFA. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "Técnico confirma 'carisma' do Taiti e cumprimenta jornalistas na despedida". UOL Esporte (in Portuguese). 23 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- ^ "Nada de pancadaria: 'fair play' do Taiti em goleada arranca elogios da Fúria". Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 21 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- ^ https://www.ftf.pf/selection-a-convocation-aux-prochains-regroupements/