Australia 31-0 American Samoa
Encyclopedia
On April 11, 2001, the Australian and American Samoa national football teams faced each other in a qualifying match
for the 2002 FIFA World Cup
. The match was played at the International Sports Stadium
in Coffs Harbour
, Australia
. Australia set a world record
for the largest victory in an international football match, winning the game 31–0. Australia's Archie Thompson
also broke the record for most goals scored by a player in an international match by scoring 13 goals. In addition, David Zdrilic
, the scorer of eight goals in the match, achieved the second highest number of goals in an international match since World War I
.
The outcome of the match led to debates about the format of qualification tournaments, with the Australian coach and Thompson feeling that preliminary rounds should be introduced to avoid such unbalanced matches, views shared by the international footballing body FIFA
. It eventually led to an introduction of a preliminary round in the Oceanian zone qualification
for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
.
) had organized a separate qualification round
for the Oceania zone
. Previously, Oceania teams had entered a joint qualification round with the teams from Asian zone
. In 2002, ten teams entered the World Cup qualification round
for the Oceania zone. The ten teams were divided into two groups of five teams, where each team played against each other once. The two group winners would advance to the final round and played against each other in a home and away format. The winner of the Oceania Zone would advance to the intercontinental play-off round against the fifth best team in the South American zone
for a place in the World Cup
. Australia and American Samoa were placed in Group 1 along with Fiji
, Samoa
and Tonga
with the matches scheduled to be played at Coffs Harbour
, Australia
during April 2001.
Australia, along with New Zealand, were widely recognized as the strongest teams in the Oceania zone. They were the only teams to have won the OFC Nations Cup
, and the only ones to have qualified for the World Cup
: Australia had qualified in 1974
and New Zealand in 1982
. American Samoa, on the other hand, were one of the weakest teams in the world, having lost all of their official international matches since they had joined FIFA in 1998. Prior to the match, Australia was ranked 75th in the FIFA World Rankings
, while American Samoa was ranked 203rd, the lowest of all FIFA members.
Two days before the match, Australia recorded a 22–0 win over Tonga, breaking the previous record for the largest win in an international match, held by Kuwait
who had won 20–0 against Bhutan
in 2000. On the other hand, American Samoa had suffered two losses prior to the match, a 13–0 loss to Fiji and a 8–0 loss to Samoa.
Australia fielded a team filled with several rarely-used players as many regulars were either rested or omitted from the team. Strikers John Aloisi
and Damian Mori
who combined for 10 goals in the 22–0 win over Tonga
were also omitted for this match.
The American Samoa team were troubled by passport issues, with only one member of their original 20-man senior team, goalkeeper Nicky Salapu
, eligible to play. American Samoa were also unable to call their under-20 players because most of them were involved in high school exams at the time. Therefore, they were forced to draft in their youth players, including three 15-year-old players, to put together a makeshift team with an average age of 18. According to team manager and Football Federation American Samoa
vice-president Tony Langkilde, most of the Samoan players never played a full 90-minute game before the match with Australia.
American Samoa held Australia scoreless for the first ten minutes of play until Con Boutsianis
scored Australia's first goal from a corner kick. Archie Thompson
scored his first goal in the 12th minute, while his strike partner, David Zdrilic
, added his first goal a minute later. Tony Popovic
added two successive goals in the 17th and 19th minute to extend Australia's lead into 6–0. In the 25th minute, Zdrilic achieved a hat-trick
, making the score 9-0 for Australia. Thompson then scored 6 of the next 7 goals as Australia led 16–0 at the half. Thompson led Australia in scoring with 8 goals at halftime, with Zdrilic trailing with 4 goals.
Boutsianis, who scored the first goal of the first half, scored the first goal of the second half in the 50th minute. Boutsianis later added another goal to complete his hat-trick. Thompson and Zdrilic added 5 and 4 goals to finish with 13 and 8 goals respectively. Boutsianis finished with 3 goals, while Popovic, Aurelio Vidmar
and Simon Colosimo
scored 2 goals each, and substitute Fausto De Amicis
scored one goal. In the 86th minute, despite being down by 29 goals, American Samoa managed to launch an attack towards Australia's goal when Pati Feagiai had a shot, which was saved by Michael Petkovic
. That shot was American Samoa's first and only shot on Australia's goal.
The large number of goals created a confusion over the correct scoreline. At the end of the match, the scoreboard at the stadium showed a 32–0 and Thompson was credited with 14 goals. Only after the statistician did a recount, the 31–0 scoreline was announced, and Thompson's total goals count was reduced to 13. After the match, FIFA
went on to release the official statistics after receiving the official report from the referee and match officials, which confirm the 31–0 scoreline and Thompson's 13 goals.
style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align=center>
AMERICAN SAMOA:
|
GK
1
Nicky Salapu
DF
4
Lisi Leututu
DF
5
Soe Falimaua
DF
7
Lavalu Fatu
DF
8
Sulifou Faaloua
DF
9
Travis Sinapati
MF
13
Sam Mulipola
MF
15
Pati Feagiai
FW
16
Ben Falaniko
GK
18
Tiaoali Savea
MF
20
Young Im Min
Substitutes:
MF
11
Marshall Silao
FW
14
Soga Maina
FW
17
Darrell Ioane
MF
19
Richard Mariko
Coach:
Tunoa Lui
Assistant referees:
David Sau
Michel Angot
Fourth official:
Derek Rugg
, recorded two days earlier in the same competition. Both wins surpassed the previous record held by Kuwait
in a 20–0 win over Bhutan
in the 2000 Asian Cup qualification
. The match also broke the record for the largest win in a World Cup
qualification match. The previous record was held by Iran
in a 19–0 win over Guam
in 2002 World Cup qualification
.
Apart from team records, individual records were also broken in the match. Australia's Archie Thompson
, who only had two international caps
and one international goal prior to the match, scored 13 goals in the match and broke the record for most goals scored in an international match. David Zdrilic
scored 8 goals and was widely reported as having recorded the second most goals scored in an international match, after Thompson's 13 goals. In fact, his 8 was less than the previous record of 10 goals, which was achieved by Denmark
's Sophus Nielsen
at the 1908 Olympics
and Germany
's Gottfried Fuchs
at the 1912 Olympics
. Nevertheless, this made Zdrilic's total the second highest in well over 90 years. Thompson also equaled the world record for most goals scored in a recognized senior match, set in 1885 when John Petrie scored 13 goals in Abroath's 36–0 win over Bon Accord in a Scottish Cup
tournament. The previous record in a world cup qualifying match was seven goals and was jointly held by another Australian, Gary Cole
, who scored seven goals against Fiji
in the 1982 World Cup qualification
on August 14, 1981, and Iranian Karim Bagheri
, who also scored seven goals against Maldives
in the 1998 World Cup qualification
on June 2, 1997.
Australia's manager Frank Farina
criticised the qualification format and questioned the need for these kind of matches. Archie Thompson
, who scored a record-setting 13 goals, was delighted with his record, but he also agreed with Farina's comments. FIFA
spokesman Keith Cooper agreed with both comments and suggested a change in the qualification format, with the smaller teams entering a preliminary round. However, Oceania Football Confederation
chairman Basil Scarsella
, opposed both comments and claimed that the smaller teams have the right to face Australia and New Zealand, similar to Australia having the rights to face stronger opponents such as Brazil
and France
.
This match and the other lopsided victories in the qualification partially contributed towards the reintroduction of a preliminary round for smaller teams in the qualification
for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
, in order to avoid these one sided matches. The significant gap between the two top teams, Australia and New Zealand, and the rest of the teams in the Oceanian zone was one of the reasons behind Australia leaving the Oceania Football Confederation at the end of 2006 to join Asian Football Confederation
in order to increase the competitiveness. Starting in the 2010 World Cup qualification
, Australia participated in the Asian zone qualification rounds
.
The Samoan team was not feeling downhearted after the game, and even embraced and sang to the audience as the game finished. Salapu declared that he enjoyed the game. "I wasn't embarrassed because we all learned something from it. If we had all our players maybe it would have been only five or six goals, because I was without my best defenders and there was nothing I could do." Tony Langkilde also defended the goalkeeper, saying that he "kept the score down with a magnificent display". He also added that "now we are recognised by FIFA, it has really helped spark an interest in football on the islands". Samoan coach Tunoa Lui
complemented that football was being played in the Samoan elementary and high schools and "in five years we will be competitive."
with a 5–0 loss to Tonga
. American Samoa finished bottom of the groups with a -57 goal difference in four matches, without scoring a single goal in the qualifications.
Australia continued their qualification campaign
with a 2–0 win over Fiji
and 11–0 win over Samoa
. Australia finished first in the group with a +66 goal difference in four matches, without conceding a single goal. Australia then defeated New Zealand, the other group winner, with an aggregate score of 6–1. By winning the Oceanian zone, Australia advanced to the intercontinental play-off round against Uruguay
, the fifth best team in the South American zone
, where Australia was defeated with an aggregate score of 1–3, therefore failing to qualify for the 2002 World Cup
.
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
A total of 199 teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. and , as the co-hosts, and , as the defending champions, qualified automatically, leaving 29 spots open for competition....
for the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
. The match was played at the International Sports Stadium
BCU International Stadium
BCU International Stadium is an Australian stadium located in the coastal city of Coffs Harbour, New South Wales....
in Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
-History:By the early 1900s, the Coffs Harbour area had become an important timber production centre. Before the opening of the North Coast Railway Line, the only way to transport large items of heavy but low value, such as timber, was by coastal shipping. This meant sawmillers on the North Coast...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Australia set a world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
for the largest victory in an international football match, winning the game 31–0. Australia's Archie Thompson
Archie Thompson
Archibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
also broke the record for most goals scored by a player in an international match by scoring 13 goals. In addition, David Zdrilic
David Zdrilic
David Allen Zdrilic is a Croatian Australian football player. He is currently playing for Sydney United in the NSW Premier League. He previously played for in the A-League and has also played in Switzerland, Germany, England and Scotland...
, the scorer of eight goals in the match, achieved the second highest number of goals in an international match since World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
The outcome of the match led to debates about the format of qualification tournaments, with the Australian coach and Thompson feeling that preliminary rounds should be introduced to avoid such unbalanced matches, views shared by the international footballing body FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
. It eventually led to an introduction of a preliminary round in the Oceanian zone qualification
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for Oceania. 12 teams took part, competing for a place in the intercontinental play-off against the fifth-placed team from South America...
for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
.
Background
Since 1986, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFAFIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
) had organized a separate qualification round
FIFA World Cup qualification
The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals. The FIFA World Cup is a global event, so qualification is required to reduce the large field of participants from about 200 to 32.Qualifying tournaments...
for the Oceania zone
Oceania Football Confederation
The Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...
. Previously, Oceania teams had entered a joint qualification round with the teams from Asian zone
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
. In 2002, ten teams entered the World Cup qualification round
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Oceanian zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification....
for the Oceania zone. The ten teams were divided into two groups of five teams, where each team played against each other once. The two group winners would advance to the final round and played against each other in a home and away format. The winner of the Oceania Zone would advance to the intercontinental play-off round against the fifth best team in the South American zone
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification....
for a place in the World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
. Australia and American Samoa were placed in Group 1 along with Fiji
Fiji national football team
The Fiji national football team is the national team of Fiji and is controlled by the Fiji Football Association. Their best finish in the OFC Nations Cup was third in 1998 and 2008.-World Cup record:*1930 to 1978 - Did not enter...
, Samoa
Samoa national football team
The Samoa national association football team represents Samoa in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation Samoa, the governing body for football in Samoa. Samoa's home ground is Toleafoa J.S Blatter Soccer Stadium in Apia. It was known as the Western Samoa national...
and Tonga
Tonga national football team
The Tonga national football team is the national team of Tonga and is controlled by the Tonga Football Association.-Football in Tonga:Tonga's greatest football triumph to date was their triumph in the first ever Polynesian Cup held in 1993 over Samoa and the Cook Islands...
with the matches scheduled to be played at Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
-History:By the early 1900s, the Coffs Harbour area had become an important timber production centre. Before the opening of the North Coast Railway Line, the only way to transport large items of heavy but low value, such as timber, was by coastal shipping. This meant sawmillers on the North Coast...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
during April 2001.
Australia, along with New Zealand, were widely recognized as the strongest teams in the Oceania zone. They were the only teams to have won the OFC Nations Cup
OFC Nations Cup
The OFC Nations Cup is an international association football tournament held among the Oceania Football Confederation member nations. It was held every two years from 1996 to 2004; before 1996 there were two other tournaments held at irregular intervals, under the name Oceania Nations Cup...
, and the only ones to have qualified for the World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
: Australia had qualified in 1974
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
and New Zealand in 1982
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final.-Host selection:...
. American Samoa, on the other hand, were one of the weakest teams in the world, having lost all of their official international matches since they had joined FIFA in 1998. Prior to the match, Australia was ranked 75th in the FIFA World Rankings
FIFA World Rankings
The FIFA World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, currently led by Spain. The teams of the member nations of FIFA , football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest...
, while American Samoa was ranked 203rd, the lowest of all FIFA members.
Two days before the match, Australia recorded a 22–0 win over Tonga, breaking the previous record for the largest win in an international match, held by Kuwait
Kuwait national football team
The Kuwait National Football Team is the national team of Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. They made one World Cup Finals appearance, in 1982, managing a draw with Czechoslovakia but losing to England and France. During the match against France, France scored a goal...
who had won 20–0 against Bhutan
Bhutan national football team
The Bhutan national football team is the national team of Bhutan and is controlled by the Bhutan Football Federation.- History :While a Bhutanese National football team has existed since the 1970s, it was officially founded in 1983 and joined FIFA in 2000....
in 2000. On the other hand, American Samoa had suffered two losses prior to the match, a 13–0 loss to Fiji and a 8–0 loss to Samoa.
Match summary
John Aloisi
John Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....
and Damian Mori
Damian Mori
Damian Mori is an Australian football player who is the top scorer for the Socceroos...
who combined for 10 goals in the 22–0 win over Tonga
Tonga national football team
The Tonga national football team is the national team of Tonga and is controlled by the Tonga Football Association.-Football in Tonga:Tonga's greatest football triumph to date was their triumph in the first ever Polynesian Cup held in 1993 over Samoa and the Cook Islands...
were also omitted for this match.
The American Samoa team were troubled by passport issues, with only one member of their original 20-man senior team, goalkeeper Nicky Salapu
Nicky Salapu
Nicky Salapu is an American Samoan association football goalkeeper who previously played for PanSa East. He left the club in December 2008. He also played for SC Mauerbach in the lower divisions of Austrian league....
, eligible to play. American Samoa were also unable to call their under-20 players because most of them were involved in high school exams at the time. Therefore, they were forced to draft in their youth players, including three 15-year-old players, to put together a makeshift team with an average age of 18. According to team manager and Football Federation American Samoa
Football Federation American Samoa
Football Federation American Samoa is the governing body for association football in American Samoa. It came into existence following inaugural elections held in late 2007. The new general secretariat took office under newly elected FFAS President Iuli Alex Godinet in the first elections for the...
vice-president Tony Langkilde, most of the Samoan players never played a full 90-minute game before the match with Australia.
American Samoa held Australia scoreless for the first ten minutes of play until Con Boutsianis
Con Boutsianis
Con Boutsianis is an Australian Football player and former International, noted for his ability in dead ball situations. Con is known affectionately by fans as 'Boutsi'....
scored Australia's first goal from a corner kick. Archie Thompson
Archie Thompson
Archibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
scored his first goal in the 12th minute, while his strike partner, David Zdrilic
David Zdrilic
David Allen Zdrilic is a Croatian Australian football player. He is currently playing for Sydney United in the NSW Premier League. He previously played for in the A-League and has also played in Switzerland, Germany, England and Scotland...
, added his first goal a minute later. Tony Popovic
Tony Popovic
Anthony Popovic is a Croatian Australian former football player. He last played for Sydney FC. He is currently the First Team Coach of Crystal Palace. Popovic grew up in Fairfield, New South Wales.-Early career:...
added two successive goals in the 17th and 19th minute to extend Australia's lead into 6–0. In the 25th minute, Zdrilic achieved a hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
, making the score 9-0 for Australia. Thompson then scored 6 of the next 7 goals as Australia led 16–0 at the half. Thompson led Australia in scoring with 8 goals at halftime, with Zdrilic trailing with 4 goals.
Boutsianis, who scored the first goal of the first half, scored the first goal of the second half in the 50th minute. Boutsianis later added another goal to complete his hat-trick. Thompson and Zdrilic added 5 and 4 goals to finish with 13 and 8 goals respectively. Boutsianis finished with 3 goals, while Popovic, Aurelio Vidmar
Aurelio Vidmar
Aurelio Vidmar is an Australian football player and former captain of the Australian national team. He is currently not tied to any A-league club...
and Simon Colosimo
Simon Colosimo
Simon Colosimo is an Australian football player who plays as a central defender for Melbourne Heart. He has represented the Australia national team on over twenty-five occasions.-Club career:...
scored 2 goals each, and substitute Fausto De Amicis
Fausto De Amicis
Fausto De Amicis is a former Australian soccer player. He was a member of the Australian team that scored a record 31 goals against American Samoa in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. Overall, De Amicis was involved in four National Soccer League title winning sides, twice with the Melbourne Knights,...
scored one goal. In the 86th minute, despite being down by 29 goals, American Samoa managed to launch an attack towards Australia's goal when Pati Feagiai had a shot, which was saved by Michael Petkovic
Michael Petkovic
Michael Petkovic is a former Australian football player.Petkovic last played as a goalkeeper for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League...
. That shot was American Samoa's first and only shot on Australia's goal.
The large number of goals created a confusion over the correct scoreline. At the end of the match, the scoreboard at the stadium showed a 32–0 and Thompson was credited with 14 goals. Only after the statistician did a recount, the 31–0 scoreline was announced, and Thompson's total goals count was reduced to 13. After the match, FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
went on to release the official statistics after receiving the official report from the referee and match officials, which confirm the 31–0 scoreline and Thompson's 13 goals.
Match details
| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> |  AUSTRALIA: |
|||
| GK | 1 | Michael Petkovic Michael Petkovic Michael Petkovic is a former Australian football player.Petkovic last played as a goalkeeper for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League... |
||
| DF | 2 | Kevin Muscat Kevin Muscat Kevin Muscat is an Australian football player who currently plays for Victorian State League Division 1 side Sunshine George Cross and is assistant coach of Melbourne Victory... (c) |
||
| DF | 3 | Craig Moore Craig Moore Craig Andrew Moore , is a retired Australian soccer defender.Moore is best known for his two spells with Scottish Premier Division / Scottish Premier League club Rangers... |
||
| DF | 4 | Tony Popovic Tony Popovic Anthony Popovic is a Croatian Australian former football player. He last played for Sydney FC. He is currently the First Team Coach of Crystal Palace. Popovic grew up in Fairfield, New South Wales.-Early career:... |
||
| DF | 5 | Tony Vidmar Tony Vidmar Anthony "Tony" Vidmar is an Australian former professional football player of Slovenian origin. He was a member of the Australian national team, competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona for his native country, and is currently Australia's third highest capped player... |
||
| MF | 7 | Aurelio Vidmar Aurelio Vidmar Aurelio Vidmar is an Australian football player and former captain of the Australian national team. He is currently not tied to any A-league club... |
||
| FW | 11 | David Zdrilic David Zdrilic David Allen Zdrilic is a Croatian Australian football player. He is currently playing for Sydney United in the NSW Premier League. He previously played for in the A-League and has also played in Switzerland, Germany, England and Scotland... |
||
| MF | 12 | Steve Horvat | ||
| MF | 13 | Con Boutsianis Con Boutsianis Con Boutsianis is an Australian Football player and former International, noted for his ability in dead ball situations. Con is known affectionately by fans as 'Boutsi'.... |
||
| MF | 14 | Simon Colosimo Simon Colosimo Simon Colosimo is an Australian football player who plays as a central defender for Melbourne Heart. He has represented the Australia national team on over twenty-five occasions.-Club career:... |
||
| FW | 20 | Archie Thompson Archie Thompson Archibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record... |
||
| Substitutes: | ||||
| DF | 6 | Hayden Foxe Hayden Foxe Hayden Vernon Foxe is a former Australian football player. He last played with A-League club Sydney FC.-Europe:... |
||
| MF | 8 | Scott Chipperfield Scott Chipperfield Scott Kenneth Chipperfield is an Australian international football player who currently plays as a midfielder for FC Basel in the Swiss Super League.-Personal life:... |
||
| FW | 9 | John Aloisi John Aloisi John Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart.... |
||
| MF | 10 | Steve Corica Steve Corica Stephen Christopher Corica is a former Australian football player who last played for Australian A-League team Sydney FC. A technically gifted and skillful player playing primarily as an attacking midfielder, he is very versatile, able to play both centrally or out wide, or even pushed up as a... |
||
| DF | 15 | Fausto De Amicis Fausto De Amicis Fausto De Amicis is a former Australian soccer player. He was a member of the Australian team that scored a record 31 goals against American Samoa in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. Overall, De Amicis was involved in four National Soccer League title winning sides, twice with the Melbourne Knights,... |
||
| MF | 16 | Lindsay Wilson Lindsay Wilson (footballer) Lindsay Wilson is an Australian former international soccer player who played professionally in Australia, the Netherlands, and Scotland, as a defender... |
||
| DF | 17 | Scott Miller Scott Miller (footballer) Scott "Scotty" Miller was an Australian football player.He last played as a left full back for the Australian A-League club Perth Glory. He earned 2 caps for the Australian national team and was an inaugural player for the Perth Glory in 1996.-External links:*... |
||
| GK | 18 | Clint Bolton Clint Bolton Clint Brian Bolton is an Australian football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Melbourne Heart in the Australian A-League. He was one of the most experienced goalkeepers in the history of the National Soccer League, which preceded the A-League... |
||
| FW | 19 | Damian Mori Damian Mori Damian Mori is an Australian football player who is the top scorer for the Socceroos... |
||
| Coach: | ||||
 Frank FarinaFrank Farina Frank Farina OAM is a retired Australian football player. He most currently coaches the Papua New Guinea national football team.... |
||||
AMERICAN SAMOA:
Nicky Salapu
Nicky Salapu is an American Samoan association football goalkeeper who previously played for PanSa East. He left the club in December 2008. He also played for SC Mauerbach in the lower divisions of Austrian league....
Lisi Leututu
Lisi Leututu is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:...
Soe Falimaua
Soe Falimaua is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:*...
Lavalu Fatu
Lavalu Fatu is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:*...
Sulifou Faaloua
Sulifou Faaloua is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:*...
Sam Mulipola
Sam Mulipola is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:...
Pati Feagiai
Pati Feagiai is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.He was a player who was involved in the 31-0 loss to Australia on April 11, 2001-References:*...
Ben Falaniko
Ben Falaniko is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:*...
Tiaoali Savea
Tiaoali Savea is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:*...
Im-Min Young
Im-Min Young is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:*...
Marshall Silao
Marshall Silao is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:*...
Soga Maina
Soga Maina is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:*...
Darrell Ioane
Darrell Ioane is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:*...
Richard Mariko
Richard Mariko is an American Samoan football player. He has played for American Samoa national team.-References:*...
Tunoa LuiTunoa Lui
Tunoa lui is a former American Samoan football coach who trained the national team of American Samoa for a period of one year. He left office in 2002.- Biography :The team lost in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup with a score of 31-0 against the Australia....
Assistant referees:
David Sau Michel AngotFourth official:
Derek RuggRecords
Australia's 31–0 win broke the record for the largest win in an international match. The previous record was Australia's 22–0 win over TongaTonga national football team
The Tonga national football team is the national team of Tonga and is controlled by the Tonga Football Association.-Football in Tonga:Tonga's greatest football triumph to date was their triumph in the first ever Polynesian Cup held in 1993 over Samoa and the Cook Islands...
, recorded two days earlier in the same competition. Both wins surpassed the previous record held by Kuwait
Kuwait national football team
The Kuwait National Football Team is the national team of Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. They made one World Cup Finals appearance, in 1982, managing a draw with Czechoslovakia but losing to England and France. During the match against France, France scored a goal...
in a 20–0 win over Bhutan
Bhutan national football team
The Bhutan national football team is the national team of Bhutan and is controlled by the Bhutan Football Federation.- History :While a Bhutanese National football team has existed since the 1970s, it was officially founded in 1983 and joined FIFA in 2000....
in the 2000 Asian Cup qualification
2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
- Group 1 :All matches were held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.--------------------- Group 2 :Played in Damascus, Syria.--------------------Played in Tehran, Iran.--------------------- Group 3 :...
. The match also broke the record for the largest win in a World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
qualification match. The previous record was held by Iran
Iran national football team
The national football team of Iran represents Iran in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran...
in a 19–0 win over Guam
Guam national football team
The Guam national football team is the national team of Guam, an overseas territory of the United States in the Pacific Ocean, and is controlled by the Guam Football Association. They are affiliated to the Asian Football Confederation's East Asian Football Federation region.The team was founded in...
in 2002 World Cup qualification
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian Zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification....
.
Apart from team records, individual records were also broken in the match. Australia's Archie Thompson
Archie Thompson
Archibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
, who only had two international caps
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
and one international goal prior to the match, scored 13 goals in the match and broke the record for most goals scored in an international match. David Zdrilic
David Zdrilic
David Allen Zdrilic is a Croatian Australian football player. He is currently playing for Sydney United in the NSW Premier League. He previously played for in the A-League and has also played in Switzerland, Germany, England and Scotland...
scored 8 goals and was widely reported as having recorded the second most goals scored in an international match, after Thompson's 13 goals. In fact, his 8 was less than the previous record of 10 goals, which was achieved by Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
's Sophus Nielsen
Sophus Nielsen
Sophus Erhard "Krølben" Nielsen was a Danish amateur football player and manager, and the first player in history to score ten goals in a full national team match. Nielsen scored a total 16 goals in 20 games for the Denmark national football team, and won silver medals at the 1908 and 1912...
at the 1908 Olympics
Football at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Bohemia were forced to withdraw before the tournament started after losing their FIFA membership.-Semi-finals:-Bronze medal match:The French were so shocked by their humiliating 17-1 defeat against Denmark that they declined to play for the bronze medal; therefore, the Netherlands played Sweden for...
and Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
's Gottfried Fuchs
Gottfried Fuchs
Gottfried Fuchs was a German footballer. A German Jew, he fled Germany because of The Holocaust and emigrated to Canada...
at the 1912 Olympics
Football at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Football at the 1912 Summer Olympics was one of the 102 events at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. It was the fourth time football was on the Olympic schedule. The tournament was contested between 11 nations, all of them from Europe, with Great Britain winning the gold medals...
. Nevertheless, this made Zdrilic's total the second highest in well over 90 years. Thompson also equaled the world record for most goals scored in a recognized senior match, set in 1885 when John Petrie scored 13 goals in Abroath's 36–0 win over Bon Accord in a Scottish Cup
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,, commonly known as the Scottish Cup or the William Hill Scottish Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the main national cup competition in Scottish football. It is a knockout cup competition run by and named after the Scottish Football Association.The...
tournament. The previous record in a world cup qualifying match was seven goals and was jointly held by another Australian, Gary Cole
Gary Cole (footballer)
Gary Cole is an Australian football player, who played for the Australia national football team 40 times and scored 20 goals between 1975 and 1984...
, who scored seven goals against Fiji
Fiji national football team
The Fiji national football team is the national team of Fiji and is controlled by the Fiji Football Association. Their best finish in the OFC Nations Cup was third in 1998 and 2008.-World Cup record:*1930 to 1978 - Did not enter...
in the 1982 World Cup qualification
1982 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian and Oceanian zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification....
on August 14, 1981, and Iranian Karim Bagheri
Karim Bagheri
Karim Bagheri is a retired professional Iranian player, most notably playing for Persepolis in the Iran Pro League. He was known as a two-footed midfielder and is famous for his powerful and thundering long range shots and free kicks.-Early years:...
, who also scored seven goals against Maldives
Maldives national football team
The Maldives national football team is the national team of the Maldives and is controlled by the Football Association of Maldives. A member of the AFC, it qualified for the second stage of Asian qualifying for the 2006 World Cup, where it drew with South Korea at home 0–0.Maldives most significant...
in the 1998 World Cup qualification
1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Asian zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification....
on June 2, 1997.
Match reactions
Frank Farina
Frank Farina OAM is a retired Australian football player. He most currently coaches the Papua New Guinea national football team....
criticised the qualification format and questioned the need for these kind of matches. Archie Thompson
Archie Thompson
Archibald Gerald Thompson is a New Zealand-born Australian professional football player, currently playing for Melbourne Victory in the Hyundai A-League, where he holds the League all time scoring record...
, who scored a record-setting 13 goals, was delighted with his record, but he also agreed with Farina's comments. FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
spokesman Keith Cooper agreed with both comments and suggested a change in the qualification format, with the smaller teams entering a preliminary round. However, Oceania Football Confederation
Oceania Football Confederation
The Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...
chairman Basil Scarsella
Basil Scarsella
Basil Scarsella is an Australian businessman. He is a former CEO of ETSA Utilities and Northern Gas Networks. He was also President of the Oceania Football Confederation between 2000 and 2003.-Early life:...
, opposed both comments and claimed that the smaller teams have the right to face Australia and New Zealand, similar to Australia having the rights to face stronger opponents such as Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
and France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
.
This match and the other lopsided victories in the qualification partially contributed towards the reintroduction of a preliminary round for smaller teams in the qualification
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for Oceania. 12 teams took part, competing for a place in the intercontinental play-off against the fifth-placed team from South America...
for the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, in order to avoid these one sided matches. The significant gap between the two top teams, Australia and New Zealand, and the rest of the teams in the Oceanian zone was one of the reasons behind Australia leaving the Oceania Football Confederation at the end of 2006 to join Asian Football Confederation
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...
in order to increase the competitiveness. Starting in the 2010 World Cup qualification
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
The qualification competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC , CAF , CONCACAF , CONMEBOL , OFC , and UEFA — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament...
, Australia participated in the Asian zone qualification rounds
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation was allocated four assured qualifying berths for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and one place in a play-off. 43 teams were in the running for these spots; Laos, Brunei and the Philippines did not attempt to qualify...
.
The Samoan team was not feeling downhearted after the game, and even embraced and sang to the audience as the game finished. Salapu declared that he enjoyed the game. "I wasn't embarrassed because we all learned something from it. If we had all our players maybe it would have been only five or six goals, because I was without my best defenders and there was nothing I could do." Tony Langkilde also defended the goalkeeper, saying that he "kept the score down with a magnificent display". He also added that "now we are recognised by FIFA, it has really helped spark an interest in football on the islands". Samoan coach Tunoa Lui
Tunoa Lui
Tunoa lui is a former American Samoan football coach who trained the national team of American Samoa for a period of one year. He left office in 2002.- Biography :The team lost in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup with a score of 31-0 against the Australia....
complemented that football was being played in the Samoan elementary and high schools and "in five years we will be competitive."
Post-match
American Samoa closed their qualification campaign2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Oceanian zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification....
with a 5–0 loss to Tonga
Tonga national football team
The Tonga national football team is the national team of Tonga and is controlled by the Tonga Football Association.-Football in Tonga:Tonga's greatest football triumph to date was their triumph in the first ever Polynesian Cup held in 1993 over Samoa and the Cook Islands...
. American Samoa finished bottom of the groups with a -57 goal difference in four matches, without scoring a single goal in the qualifications.
Australia continued their qualification campaign
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the Oceanian zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification....
with a 2–0 win over Fiji
Fiji national football team
The Fiji national football team is the national team of Fiji and is controlled by the Fiji Football Association. Their best finish in the OFC Nations Cup was third in 1998 and 2008.-World Cup record:*1930 to 1978 - Did not enter...
and 11–0 win over Samoa
Samoa national football team
The Samoa national association football team represents Samoa in association football and is controlled by the Football Federation Samoa, the governing body for football in Samoa. Samoa's home ground is Toleafoa J.S Blatter Soccer Stadium in Apia. It was known as the Western Samoa national...
. Australia finished first in the group with a +66 goal difference in four matches, without conceding a single goal. Australia then defeated New Zealand, the other group winner, with an aggregate score of 6–1. By winning the Oceanian zone, Australia advanced to the intercontinental play-off round against Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
, the fifth best team in the South American zone
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the South American zone . For an overview of the qualification rounds, see the article 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification....
, where Australia was defeated with an aggregate score of 1–3, therefore failing to qualify for the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
.