São Tomé and Príncipe national football team
 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Seleção dos Falcões e Papagaios (Falcons and True Parrots Team) Guerreiros do Equador (Warriors of the Equator) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Federação Santomense de Futebol (FSF) | ||
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
| Sub-confederation | UNIFFAC (Central Africa) | ||
| Head coach | Ricardo Monsanto | ||
| Captain | Luís Leal | ||
| Most caps | Joazhifel Soares (36) | ||
| Top scorer | Luís Leal (11) | ||
| Home stadium | Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho | ||
| FIFA code | STP | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 189  (19 December 2024)[1] | ||
| Highest | 115 (March 2012) | ||
| Lowest | 200 (September – October 2007) | ||
| First international | |||
 Gabon 6–1 São Tomé and Príncipe  (Libreville, Gabon; 2 May 1976) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
São Tomé and Príncipe 2–0 Equatorial Guinea  (Libreville, Gabon; 14 November 1999) São Tomé and Príncipe 2–0 Sierra Leone  (São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe; 8 April 2000)  Mauritius 1–3 São Tomé and Príncipe (Belle Vue Harel, Mauritius; 9 October 2019) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Congo 11–0 São Tomé and Príncipe (Libreville, Gabon; 7 July 1976) | |||
The São Tomé and Príncipe national football team is the national association football team of São Tomé and Príncipe and is controlled by the São Toméan Football Federation. It is a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA.[3]
History
[edit]São Tomé and Príncipe's first ever match was a friendly against Gabon in May 1976. They lost by a score of 6–1. Their next game, during the 1976 Central African Games, was a horrendous 11–0 loss to Congo, São Tomé's largest loss to date. São Tomé rounded off the competition with a 2–1 loss to Central African Republic and a 5–0 loss to Chad.
The following year, São Tomé picked up their first win, in a friendly versus Rwanda. In both 1978 and 1987 they achieved a draw at home to Angola.
The Green and Yellows took an eleven year break, before a string of matches including their first entry to a FIFA sanctioned tournament. At the UNIFAC Cup in 1999, they achieved their second win, 2–0 against Equatorial Guinea. They won the next game after that, against Sierra Leone, 2–0. This two-in-a-row streak accompanied with a draw a few matches later placed them at their highest FIFA ranking to date, 179.
In 2003, São Tomé lost to Libya 1–0 and 8–0, which was a major blow to their previous success.[4] São Tomé did not participate in the qualification for the 2010 World Cup, withdrawing before their first match, leaving them unranked in the FIFA rankings because they did not play any matches for four years.
On 11 November 2011, after an eight-year hiatus, São Tomé and Príncipe participated in the qualification for the 2014 World Cup, losing to Congo 5–0, then drawing 1–1 with the same team four days later. São Tomé were reinstated in the FIFA rankings on 23 November 2011, entering at number 192.
In January 2012, in the preliminary round of 2013 AFCON Qualifiers, São Tomé achieved their first ever aggregate win, defeating Lesotho 1–0 at home then successfully defending a 0–0 draw in Maseru seven days later. In the next round, São Tomé only narrowly lost 5–4 on aggregate to Sierra Leone. In the following years, São Tomé continued to show promise with impressive wins at home to Ethiopia and Libya but poor away results prevented them from advancing again.
On 9 October 2019, São Tomé defeated Mauritius 1–3 away from home in the first leg of their preliminary round tie of 2021 AFCON Qualifiers. This was São Tomé and Príncipe's first away win in a competitive match ever. Four days later, São Tomé won 2–1 at home to advance 5–2 on aggregate and enter Group C, facing Ghana, South Africa and Sudan, where they finished bottom with zero points.
During the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, São Tomé faced Mauritius, winning the first leg 1–0 before drawing the second leg 3–3 to advance to the group stages. Following the fixtures CAF sanctioned São Tomé for their first leg victory as they hadn't followed COVID protocol for Luis Leal, giving Mauritius a 3–0 victory and eliminating São Tomé from the competition.[5] São Tomé appealed the decision and, following an initial unsuccessful ruling, they were reinstated by CAF a week before the first qualifying group game.[6]
Results and fixtures
[edit]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
2024
[edit]| 22 March 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | São Tomé and Príncipe | 1–1 |  South Sudan | Berkane, Morocco |
| 19:00 UTC±0 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Berkane Municipal Stadium Referee: Alhasan Bass (Gambia) |
| 26 March 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | South Sudan | 0–0 (1–1 agg.) | São Tomé and Príncipe | Berkane, Morocco |
| 17:00 UTC±0 | Report | Stadium: Berkane Municipal Stadium Referee: Keren Yocette (Seychelles) | ||
| Note: 1–1 on aggregate; South Sudan won on away goals. | ||||
| 6 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | Malawi  | 3–1 | São Tomé and Príncipe | Lilongwe, Malawi |
| 15:00 UTC+2 | Report |
|
Stadium: Bingu National Stadium Referee: Ahmed Arajiga (Tanzania) |
| 9 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | São Tomé and Príncipe | 0–1 |  Liberia | Oujda, Morocco |
| 14:00 UTC+1 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stade municipal d'Oujda Referee: Andofetra Rakotojaona (Madagascar) |
Coaching history
[edit]
Rudi Gutendorf (1984)
Juvenal Correia (1998)- Eduardo de Sousa (2000)
Antônio Dumas (2000–2001)
Jose Ferraz (2003–2005)- Osvaldo Lima (2011)
Gustave Clément Nyoumba (2011–2015)- António do Rosário (2015–2017)
- Gustave Clément Nyoumba (2017–2019)
- Adriano Eusébio (2019–present)
Players
[edit]Current squad
[edit]The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Malawi and Liberia on 6 and 9 June 2024.[citation needed]
Caps and goals correct as of 9 June 2024, after the match against Liberia
Recent call ups
[edit]The following players were also named to a squad in the last 12 months.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF | Lúcio Oliveira | 26 November 1992 | 9 | 0 |  Lagoa
|
v.  Namibia; 21 November 2023
|
| DF | Auleocárcio | 10 July 1998 | 2 | 0 | Imortal
|
v. Namibia; 21 November 2023
|
| FW | Kelve Semedo | 9 May 2004 | 5 | 0 | Académico de Viseu U23
|
v. Namibia; 21 November 2023
|
| FW | Álvaro | 23 April 1998 | 2 | 0 | Barreirense
|
v. Namibia; 21 November 2023
|
Player records
[edit]- As of 9 June 2024[7]
- Players in bold are still active with São Tomé and Príncipe.
Most appearances
[edit]| Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joazhifel Soares | 36 | 1 | 2011–present |
| 2 | Luís Leal | 29 | 11 | 2012–present |
| 3 | Ivonaldo | 26 | 0 | 2014–present |
| 4 | Zé | 20 | 3 | 2011–2021 |
| 5 | Francisco do Nascimento | 18 | 0 | 2011–2018 |
| 6 | Harramiz | 17 | 2 | 2015–present |
| 7 | Marcos Barbeiro | 16 | 1 | 2016–present |
| Eba Viegas | 16 | 0 | 2021–present | |
| Leonildo Soares | 16 | 0 | 2016–present | |
| 10 | Aldair Santos | 14 | 0 | 2016–present |
Top goalscorers
[edit]
| Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luís Leal | 11 | 29 | 0.38 | 2012–present |
| 2 | Jair Nunes | 4 | 12 | 0.33 | 2011–2016 |
| 3 | Zé | 3 | 20 | 0.15 | 2011–2021 |
| 4 | Amilcar | 2 | 3 | 0.67 | 2000 |
| Gué | 2 | 8 | 0.25 | 2021–present | |
| Iniesta | 2 | 13 | 0.15 | 2017–present | |
| Harramiz | 2 | 17 | 0.12 | 2015–present |
Competition records
[edit]FIFA World Cup
[edit]| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1930 to 1974 | Part of Portugal
|
Part of Portugal
| |||||||||||||
| 1978 to 1986 | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | |||||||||||||
 1990
|
Did not enter | Declined participation | |||||||||||||
 1994
|
Withdrew | Withdrew | |||||||||||||
 1998
|
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
  2002
|
Did not qualify | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||||||
 2006
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | |||||||||
 2010
|
Withdrew | Withdrew | |||||||||||||
 2014
|
Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||
 2018
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
 2022
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||
  2026
|
To be determined | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | ||||||||
  2030
|
To be determined | ||||||||||||||
 2034
| |||||||||||||||
| Total | - | 0/9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 35 | |
Africa Cup of Nations
[edit]| Africa Cup of Nations record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
 1957 |
Part of Portugal
|
Part of Portugal
| |||||||||||||
 1959
| |||||||||||||||
 1962
| |||||||||||||||
 1963
| |||||||||||||||
 1965
| |||||||||||||||
| 1968
| |||||||||||||||
| 1970
| |||||||||||||||
 1972
| |||||||||||||||
 1974
| |||||||||||||||
 1976 |
Not affiliated to CAF | Not affiliated to CAF | |||||||||||||
| 1978
| |||||||||||||||
 1980
| |||||||||||||||
 1982
| |||||||||||||||
 1984
| |||||||||||||||
 1986
| |||||||||||||||
| 1988 |
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
 1990
| |||||||||||||||
 1992
| |||||||||||||||
| 1994
| |||||||||||||||
| 1996
| |||||||||||||||
 1998
| |||||||||||||||
| 2000
|
Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
 2002
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||
 2004
|
Withdrew | Withdrew | |||||||||||||
| 2006 |
Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | ||||||||
| 2008
|
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
 2010
|
Withdrew | Withdrew | |||||||||||||
| 2012
|
Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
| 2013
|
Did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| 2015
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |||||||||
| 2017
|
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 19 | |||||||||
| 2019
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||
 2021
|
8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 18 | |||||||||
| 2023
|
6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 22 | |||||||||
| 2025
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
   2027
|
To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||
 2029
| |||||||||||||||
| Total | 0 titles | 0/35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 36 | 6 | 6 | 24 | 29 | 93 | |
Head-to-head record
[edit]| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | WPCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 0.00 |
 Benin
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0.00 |
 Cape Verde
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0.00 |
 Central African Republic
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
 Chad
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0.00 |
 Congo
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 18 | −17 | 0.00 |
| Equatorial Guinea
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 33.33 |
 Ethiopia
|
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 50.00 |
| Gabon
|
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 0.00 |
| Ghana
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0.00 |
 Guinea-Bissau
|
5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0.00 |
 Lesotho
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 50.00 |
| Liberia
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0.00 |
 Libya
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 25.00 |
 Madagascar
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Malawi
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Mauritius
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 75.00 |
| Morocco
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0.00 |
| Namibia
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Nigeria
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | −16 | 0.00 |
 Rwanda
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 50.00 |
| Sierra Leone
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 33.33 |
| South Africa
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0.00 |
| South Sudan
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
 Sudan
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0.00 |
 Togo
|
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0.00 |
| Tunisia
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0.00 |
| Uganda
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Total | 69 | 10 | 10 | 49 | 48 | 179 | −131 | 14.49 |
References
[edit]- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ "BBC Sport − São Tomé e Príncipe rocket up Fifa rankings". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 7 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
- ^ "São Tomé e Príncipe spring an unlikely surprise − World Soccer". worldsoccer.com. Time Inc. UK. 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
- ^ Warshaw, Andrew. "Mauritius win 2023 AFCON qualifier slot after Sao Tome break covid rules". Inside World Football. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ Shehu, Idris. "Mauritius out as CAF reinstates Sao Tome to Nigeria's group". The Cable. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ "Sao Tome and Principe". National Football Teams.
External links
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