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Northern Mariana Islands national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Northern Mariana Islands women's national football team.

Northern Mariana Islands
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Blue Ayuyu
AssociationNorthern Mariana Islands Football Association
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationEAFF (East Asia)
Head coachVacant
CaptainJireh Yobech
Most capsNicolas Swaim (17)
Top scorerJoe Wang Miller (4)
Home stadiumOleai Sports Complex
FIFA codeMNP[1]
First colors
Second colors
FIFA ranking
CurrentN/R
First international
Unofficial
 Northern Mariana Islands 8–0 Yap 
(Koror, Palau; 28 July 1998)
Official
 Northern Mariana Islands 2–3 Guam 
(Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands; 25 March 2007)
Biggest win
Unofficial
 Palau 1–12 Northern Mariana Islands 
(Koror, Palau; 31 July 1998)
Official
 Northern Mariana Islands 4–0 American Samoa 
(Honiara, Solomon Islands; 27 November 2023)
Biggest defeat
 Fiji 10–0 Northern Mariana Islands 
(Honiara, Solomon Islands; 18 November 2023)
Pacific Games
Appearances1 (first in 2023)
Best resultTenth place (2023)
Micronesian Games/Micronesian Cup
Appearances2 (first in 1998)
Best resultChampions (1998)
Marianas Cup
Appearances10 (first in 2007)
Best resultChampions (2010, 2013, 2023, 2024)

The Northern Mariana Islands national football team represents the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in international men's football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in the Northern Mariana Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, which is a member of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) and since December 2020 a full member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The association is not a member of the world governing body FIFA, although it had applied for membership, and so while the national team is eligible to enter AFC and EAFF-run competitions, they are currently ineligible for global competitions such as the FIFA World Cup. As such, they do not have an official FIFA ranking. However, the team have been consistently ranked as one of the worst teams in the world on the Elo ratings and were in fact, in July 2016 rated as the worst men's senior international team in the world in a ratings system that also includes a number of other non-FIFA teams.

Following the completion of the preliminary qualifying round for the 2017 EAFF East Asian Cup the team have won only one official competitive match against international opposition and have a goal difference of −78 in official matches. The team have never qualified for the finals of a major tournament and beyond friendlies and qualifying matches, their only official competition has been in an exhibition tournament in the regional Micronesian Games in 1998, which they won, to date their only tournament success.

They are one of the youngest international teams, having played their first match in an exhibition tournament associated with the 1998 Micronesian Games. Following this appearance, they played only one more match, against the Federated States of Micronesia before the original governing body for football in the country, the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation, became defunct and the team withdrew from international competition. During the time of the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, eligibility criteria for the national team were quite lax, a minimum residency requirement of two years meant that the national team often included a number of contractors working on Saipan who were not of Northern Marianan heritage. Following the foundation of a new governing body, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, the national team was reestablished and, having resigned their associate membership of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), they joined the EAFF in 2006, becoming full members in 2008.

Since that date, their international appearances have mainly been restricted to qualifying competitions for the EAFF East Asian Cup, although they also attempted to qualify for the AFC Challenge Cup once, having been admitted as associate members in 2009, and have played several friendly matches against neighboring nation Guam, in which the two countries compete for the perpetual trophy, the Marianas Cup.

History

[edit]

1998 Micronesian Games

[edit]

The Northern Mariana Islands made their international debut in an exhibition football tournament associated with the 1998 Micronesia Games.[3] The original governing body for football in the Northern Mariana Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation had been accepted as an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation, but this was the first time records indicated they had participated in any international tournament.[3]

The tournament was officially called the W.C.T.C. Shell Soccer Exhibition and was a demonstration event only at the games, not having medal status.[4] Furthermore, the tournament did not meet established regulations; the matches played were only 9-a-side, the games lasted only 80 minutes and the pitch was smaller than regulation size.[4]

Nonetheless, the Northern Mariana Islands team performed well in the group stage playing against Guam, Palau, Yap (then considered essentially the Federated States of Micronesia national football team), a team representing the Micronesian state of Pohnpei and a "Palau B" team consisting of Bangladeshis living on Palau.[4] The team won their first two matches 8–0 against Palau B and Yap respectively. A 2–1 loss to Guam in their third game was quickly forgotten as they went on to record resounding victories in their final two group games defeating Palau 12–1 and Pohnpei 11–2 to finish second in the group with a +35 goal difference after their five games, qualifying for the final match.[4][5]

The team avenged their earlier group stage defeat to Guam in the final, beating them 3–0 to claim the tournament title.[4] Charles Kewo and Christopher Guerrero scored in the opening quarter of an hour to give the Northern Mariana Islands a 2–0 half time lead, a lead they extended in the second half through an unknown goalscorer (although other sources suggest Guerrero was the scorer[3]) to seal their victory.[4]

1999 Micronesian Cup

[edit]

The following year, the team travelled to Yap to compete the first Micronesian Soccer Cup.[6] This was a three team tournament consisting of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and an international team known as Crushers (or Crusaders according to other sources).[6] Their performance here was less successful than at the Micronesian Games the previous year. In their first game, they lost 7–0 to the Federated States of Micronesia.[6] It is not recorded whether they played their other group match against Crushers / Crusaders, but given that the final was contested between the Federated States of Micronesia and Crushers / Crusaders, it can be extrapolated that if the match did take place, the best result the Northern Mariana Islands could have achieved was a draw.

Hiatus

[edit]

The country then entered something of a hiatus in footballing terms. The original governing body for football in the country, the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation became defunct sometime between 2002 and 2003 and after that, no international competition took place until the current governing body, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association (NMIFA) was founded in 2005.[3] Around this time, reports indicate that there was no official men's football of any kind in the country. In 2006, discussions were held with the NMIFA concerning the establishment of an official men's league.[7] At the time it was hoped that the establishment of an official men's competition would provide the means by which players who could meet the citizenship and eligibility criteria to represent the country at future tournaments might become involved.[7] Under the auspices of the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation, teams entered into tournaments such as the 1998 Micronesian Games included a number of foreign players working on Saipan as contractors. This was not uncommon in the area at this time and some other teams also included players of similar status. For the Northern Mariana Islands specifically, the only eligibility requirements players needed to fulfill was a two-year residency.[3]

Return

[edit]

In December 2006, the East Asian Football Federation admitted the Northern Mariana Islands as a provisional member.[3] This membership entitled them to a $120,000 annual grant from the EAFF to further football development in the country.[8] The EAFF then granted full membership in September 2008.[9]

Marianas Cup (2007–2008)

[edit]

Following their acceptance as an associate member of the EAFF, their first participation in EAFF competition was in the 2008 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary Round, a two legged tie against Guam. The first leg, played in Saipan, resulted in a 3–2 loss for the Northern Mariana Islands[10] Mark McDonald twice equalized after Guam had taken the lead only for Zachary Pangelinan to score the winning goal in the 72nd minute.[10] Nonetheless, the performance of the home team was positively received and was still remarked upon a year later.[11] Unfortunately the return leg in Hagatna a week later produced a much more one-sided result as Guam were victorious 9–0, Pangelinan scoring five times and four other players scoring once[10] to ensure that Guam not only progressed to the next round of the EAFF competition but also that they were the winners of the inaugural Marianas Cup, a perpetual trophy contested each time the two nations play each other.[11]

The two teams met again the following year in Saipan and for the third time in a row, Guam were the victors.[12] Guam took the lead halfway through the first half through David Manibusan, but Joe Wang Miller equalized four minutes later and the teams went into half time tied at 1–1.[12] Guam again took the lead in the 52nd minute through and own goal but the Northern Mariana Islands equalized with ten minutes left in normal time through Steven McKagen.[12] With the teams tied at the end of 90 minutes, two periods of extra time of seven and a half minutes were played and in the 95th minute, Matthew Cruz scored the deciding goal with Guam running out victors 3–2 and retaining the Marianas Cup.[12] Although there was disappointment in not winning, national newspapers commented that the performance was an improvement over the "shocking" 9–0 defeat in their previous encounter.[12]

AFC membership (2009–present)

[edit]

Prior to their AFC membership being accepted, the team made the short trip to Yona, Guam to compete in the preliminary round of the 2010 East Asian Football Championship. This time, instead of the two-legged playoffs against Guam contested in the previous edition, the Northern Mariana Islands took part in a four team group, the winner of which would advance to the next round. The team was drawn against hosts Guam, Mongolia and Macau.[13] The team prepared for the tournament for several months prior to departing for Guam, although in that time, they were only able to train with new coach Sugao Kambe for a month.[14] It was acknowledged by their coach prior to their departure that they would be the least experienced of the four teams competing at this stage[14] and this was to prove true as they lost all three of their games: 6–1 to Macau, 2–1 to Guam (a third successive Marianas Cup victory for Guam) and 4–1 to Mongolia.[13] The team returned home without a positive result, although it was noted in the national press that they had been able to score in each of their three games.[15]

In July 2009, the AFC Executive Committee agreed to accept the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association (NMIFA) as an associate member of the Asian Football Confederation,[16] after the association received permission for release from the Oceania Football Confederation in June 2009, paving the way to join AFC.[17] It was the NMIFA which resigned from the OFC, despite it being the earlier governing body, the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation which had become a member in the first place.[3]

First draw

[edit]

On 19 June 2010, Northern Mariana Islands earned a 1–1 draw with neighbor Guam in the 2010 Marianas Cup.[3] The match ended in a draw as there was insufficient lighting to continue the match after the end of regulation. Joe Wang Miller scored for the NMI in the 68th minute and Jason Cunliffe answered in the 89th minute to salvage a draw for Guam.

Despite the efforts of the NMIFA, delays in decision making around whether the 2011 Pacific Games football tournament would double as a FIFA World Cup qualifying event meant that the national team were unable to enter.[18] As a result, no games were played for the next two years until July 2012 when The Blue Ayuyus entered the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup First Preliminary Round, hosted again by Guam.[19] New coach Chikashi Suzuki was conscious of the need to snap the losing run of matches against Guam, had recognized that previous squads had contained a large number of veteran players and called up a number of younger players such as Lucas Knecht and Bo Barry who were playing college and high school football respectively in the United States.[19] However, the team still included a wide age range of players, Enrico del Rosario and Brian Lee were the youngest at 15 with Dan Westphal the oldest at 42.[20]

Optimism that the team might finally be able to beat Guam appeared well placed when Joe Wang Miller opened the scoring for the Northern Mariana Islands, but two fouls from William Dunn allowed Guam to score through a penalty and a free kick before a handball from Kirk Schuler gifted Guam their third goal[21] confirming a fourth defeat out of five games against Guam.[3] Despite the result, the team expressed confidence that they would be able to beat Macau, the other team in the three team qualification group, who still had to play Guam, and potentially secure the single qualifying berth for the next round.[22] However, this confidence was to be misplaced. Macau took a 2–0 lead at half time, despite resolute defending from the Blue Ayuyus in the first twenty minutes, and although Kirk Schuler was able to halve the deficit in the 51st minute, Macau scored three more goals, including a penalty to eliminate the Northern Mariana Islands at the first hurdle for the third consecutive time.[23]

In 2013, the team played their first ever series of matches against opposition from outside the EAFF, taking part in the qualifying rounds for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup.[24] With the football federation founded only a year prior to the inaugural edition of the AFC Challenge Cup, the team not only had to acclimatize to the elevated environment in which they would be playing, they would also have to face some very strong teams in the shape of Palestine, Bangladesh and Nepal[24]

In their opening game against Nepal, they were dominated from the start, with Bharat Khawas opening the scoring in the fourth minute and completing his hat trick in the 72nd, with three other Nepalese players completing a 6–0 rout.[25] In their second match they fared even worse, losing 9–0 to Palestine, the middle-eastern team scoring four times in the first half and five in the second.[26] Despite already being eliminated following their initial two defeats, the Blue Ayuyus defense performed well in their final game, despite losing 4–0 to Bangladesh, the team managed to keep the scoreline respectable with the result flattering Bangladesh as they scored two very late goals.[27]

First victory

[edit]

2014 saw a return to EAFF Cup qualifying for the fourth time, drawn again in a qualifying group containing the weakest four nations in terms of ranking: Guam, Mongolia and Macau.[28] Following an initial 4–0 loss to Mongolia,[28] on 23 July 2014, the Northern Mariana Islands recorded their first ever international win in a match against Macau. Nicolas Swaim and Kirk Schuler scored to beat Macau, 2–1.[29] Following the historic victory, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association held a celebratory dinner in honour of the team's victory.[30] Younger players commented to national media about how proud they were to be a part of the victory, while older players reflected on how their first matches consisted of a team of veteran players trying to achieve a respectable result and that the victory was the result of years of hard work behind the scenes.[30] Unfortunately, the team was not able to carry this momentum into their final game and again lost to Guam, this time 5–0.[28] They were again eliminated at the first hurdle.

No further international matches were played until the 2017 EAFF East Asian Cup qualifying competition. During the send off to the competition, Ralph Torres, the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands committed to the team that the government would provide a new pitch in Koblerville, the ground breaking for which it took place in October 2016.[31] The team was not able to repeat the comparative successes of the previous qualifying campaign however, losing all three games and being eliminated at the first stage again. the team lost their first match against Chinese Taipei 8–1, a result made all the more easy for their opponents once striker Joe Wang Miller was sent off for a second yellow card in added time at the end of the first half.[32] A second loss followed against Macau, 3–1[33] before the campaign was rounded out with a third loss, 8–0, to Mongolia.[34] The team were not aided in their qualifying campaign by a pre-tournament training camp in the Philippines which saw a large number of the squad taken ill.[35] The team played three friendly matches against club sides. Prior to their second match, five of the squad were in hospital and a further five or six were recovering from a bacterial infection that had struck the squad.[35] Nonetheless, they fulfilled all three matches. The results of the first two were not released, but the final match was a 5–1 loss to Kaya.[35]

Bid for FIFA membership (2020–present)

[edit]

On 9 December 2020 during the 30th AFC Congress, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association (NMIFA) became the 47th full AFC member association.[36] FIFA Head of Member Association (MA) Governance, Rolf Tanner, announced at the 11th Northern Mariana Islands Football Association Ordinary Congress on 29 October 2021 that the global football governing organization received the islands' application for membership.[37]

Northern Mariana Islands would then have competed in their first-ever 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification playoff round,[38] but the AFC excluded them from the draw.[39]

2023 Pacific Games

[edit]

The Northern Mariana Islands competed in football at the Pacific Games for the first time in the 2023 edition of the tournament. The team was drawn into Group C along with Tahiti and Fiji. These matches would be the first time ever competing against Pacific island nations that are members of the Oceania Football Confederation.[40] On 27 November 2023, Northern Mariana Islands records their second victory against FIFA-Affiliated team by winning 4-0 against American Samoa. The result was also the team's first-ever victory in the Pacific Games. Captain Jireh Yobech scored the team's first-ever goal in the regional tournament.[41]

Home stadium

[edit]
Main article: Oleai Sports Complex

The Northern Mariana Islands play their home matches at the Oleai Sports Complex, a multi-use stadium in Saipan. It is currently used mostly for football matches and has a capacity of 2,000 people.[42][43] The surface is grass with an athletics track around the perimeter.[43][44]

Team image

[edit]

Colors

[edit]

The Northern Mariana Islands current home kit is all sky blue shirts, shorts and socks, with a white pattern on the shirt.[45] Their away kit is the mirror image of this, all white shirts, shorts and socks with the pattern on the shirt in sky blue.[46]

Kit history

[edit]
[edit]

The Northern Mariana Islands men's national football team shares the same logo as the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association. The logo consists of three elements in addition to the name of the federation. In the background is a Latte stone, a pillar (Chamorro language: haligi) capped by a hemispherical stone capital (tasa) with the flat side facing up. Used as building supports by the ancient Chamorro people, they are found throughout most of the Mariana Islands. In modern times, the latte stone is seen as a sign of Chamorro identity and is used in many different contexts.[52] Overlaid on this is a football and overlaid again on this is a two-tone wave mirroring the colours of the national flag.

Nickname

[edit]

The team is nicknamed the "Blue Ayuyu".[35] The Ayuyu is the name given in the Mariana Islands to the Coconut crab,[53] also known as the Robber crab.[54]

Results and fixtures

[edit]
Main article: Northern Mariana Islands national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

[edit]
18 November 2023 (2023-11-18) 2023 Pacific Games Fiji  10–0  Northern Mariana Islands Honiara, Solomon Islands
19:00 UTC+11
Report Stadium: SIFF Academy Field
Referee: Timothy Niu (Solomon Islands)
24 November 2023 Pacific Games Northern Mariana Islands  0–5  Tahiti Honiara, Solomon Islands
19:00 UTC+11 Report
Stadium: SIFF Academy Field
Referee: Timothy Niu (Solomon Islands)
27 November 2023 2023 Pacific Games Northern Mariana Islands  4–0  American Samoa Honiara, Solomon Islands
10:00 UTC+11
Report Stadium: SIFF Academy Field
Referee: Torika Delai (Fiji)
30 November 2023 2023 Pacific Games Northern Mariana Islands  1–4  Tuvalu Honiara, Solomon Islands
13:00 UTC+11
Report
Stadium: SIFF Academy Field
Referee: Torika Delai (Fiji)

2024

[edit]
April 6 2024 Marianas Cup Northern Mariana Islands  2–2  Guam Koblerville, Northern Mariana Islands
--:-- UTC+11
Report
Stadium: NMI Training Center
April 7 2024 Marianas Cup Northern Mariana Islands  2–1  Guam Koblerville, Northern Mariana Islands
--:-- UTC+11
Report
Stadium: NMI Training Center

Coaching history

[edit]
As of 10 April 2022[3]
Head coach Dates Pld W D L Win % Competitions
Northern Mariana Islands Stefan Bossler 1998–1999 7 5 0 2 071.4 1998 Micronesian Games
1999 Micronesian Cup
United States Jeff Korytoski 2007 2 0 0 2 000.0 2008 East Asian Football Championship
Northern Mariana Islands Nicolas Swaim 2008 1 0 0 1 000.0 Marianas Cup
Japan Sugao Kambe 2009 3 0 0 3 000.0 2010 East Asian Football Championship
Northern Mariana Islands Nicolas Swaim 2010 1 0 1 0 000.0 Marianas Cup
Japan Chikashi Suzuki 2012 3 0 0 3 000.0 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup
Malaysia Koo Luam Khen 2013 3 0 0 3 000.0 2014 AFC Challenge Cup
Japan Kiyoshi Sekiguchi 2014–2017 6 1 0 5 016.7 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup
2017 EAFF East Asian Cup
Japan Michiteru Mita 2017–2023 5 0 1 4 000.0 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship

Players

[edit]

Current squad

[edit]

The following players were called up for the 2024 Marianas Cup.[55]

Caps and goals are correct as of 7 April 2024, after the match against Guam.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Christopher Aninzo (2000-01-06) 6 January 2000 (age 24) 6 0 Northern Mariana Islands MP United
12 1GK John Bucayo (2001-03-10) 10 March 2001 (age 23) 1 0 Northern Mariana Islands MP United
25 1GK Toves Merrick (2004-12-01) 1 December 2004 (age 20) 4 0 Northern Mariana Islands Kanoa
2 2DF Kohtaro Goto (2004-05-23) 23 May 2004 (age 20) 2 0 United States Park University
3 2DF Jerald Aquino (2004-10-25) 25 October 2004 (age 20) 5 0 Philippines Tuloy
4 2DF Ocanada Ronnel (2001-02-26) 26 February 2001 (age 23) 6 0 Northern Mariana Islands MP United
5 2DF Jehn Joyner (1997-10-09) 9 October 1997 (age 27) 10 0 Guam Bank of Guam Strykers
6 2DF Lucas Knecht (1993-03-30) 30 March 1993 (age 31) 11 0 United States Georgia Southwestern State University
14 2DF Enrico del Rosario (1997-03-21) 21 March 1997 (age 27) 6 0 United States Northern Kentucky Nitro
16 2DF Dai Podziewski (2001-08-31) 31 August 2001 (age 23) 2 0 United States Suffolk University
20 2DF Euly Ermitanio (2000-03-30) 30 March 2000 (age 24) 3 0 Guam University of Guam
21 2DF Jeremiah Diaz (2004-01-12) 12 January 2004 (age 20) 1 0 United States Park University
7 3MF Anthony Fruit (2001-01-10) 10 January 2001 (age 23) 2 0 Germany SG Aumund-Vegesack
8 3MF Michael Barry (1995-11-10) 10 November 1995 (age 29) 10 0 United States Saint Leo University
10 3MF Ryu Tanzawa (1998-03-04) 4 March 1998 (age 26) 3 0 Japan Nihon University
13 3MF Jireh Yobech (1996-07-08) 8 July 1996 (age 28) 12 1 Northern Mariana Islands Inter Godfather's
17 3MF Ariel Narvaez Jr. unknown 5 1 Northern Mariana Islands Eleven Tiger
18 3MF Dev Bachani (2005-05-04) 4 May 2005 (age 19) 6 0 Philippines Tuloy
25 3MF Markus Toves (2007-05-27) 27 May 2007 (age 17) 6 2 Northern Mariana Islands Kanoa
9 4FW Nolan Ngewakl (2008-07-08) 8 July 2008 (age 16) 4 1 Northern Mariana Islands Latte
11 4FW Taka Borja (2003-11-20) 20 November 2003 (age 21) 2 1 Northern Mariana Islands Teen Ayuyu
15 4FW Sunjoon Tenorio (2001-05-20) 20 May 2001 (age 23) 3 1 United States Warner Pacific Knights
19 4FW Michah Griffin (1997-10-26) 26 October 1997 (age 27) 3 1 Northern Mariana Islands MP United
22 4FW Ruben Guerrero unknown 4 2 Northern Mariana Islands Kanoa
23 4FW Richard Steele (2004-03-30) 30 March 2004 (age 20) 1 0 United States Park–Gilbert Buccaneers
24 4FW Joe Wang Miller (1989-02-03) 3 February 1989 (age 35) 17 4 Guam Guam Shipyard

Player records

[edit]
As of 30 November 2023
Players in bold are still active with Northern Mariana Islands.

Most appearances

[edit]
Rank Player Caps Goals Period
1 Nicolas Swaim 17 2 2009–2018
2 Joe Wang Miller 15 4 2008–2016
3 Jireh Yobech 12 1 2012–present
4 Lucas Knecht 11 0 2007–2014
5 Michael Barry 10 0 2012–2018
Trey Dunn 10 0 2012–2016
Joel Fruit 10 0 2012–2018
Jehn Joyner 10 0 2013–2018
Steven McKagen 10 1 2009–2013
10 Peter Loken 9 1 2009–2016
Johann Neutzel 9 0 2012–2016
Jonathan Takano 9 0 2014–2020
Kirk Schuler 9 3 2010–2016

Top goalscorers

[edit]
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Period
1 Joe Wang Miller 4 15 0.27 2009–2016
2 Kirk Schuler 3 9 0.33 2010–2016
3 Mark McDonald 2 2 1 2007
Ruben Guerrero 2 4 0.5 2023–present
Nicolas Swaim 2 17 0.12 2009–2018

Youngest appearances

[edit]

Statistically, the Northern Mariana Islands have given senior international debuts in competitive matches to a larger number of very young players, those under 16 years of age, and more caps to veteran players, those over the age of forty, than any other nation.[56]

Of the nine players globally who have made their international debuts before their fifteenth birthdays, three of them are from the Northern Mariana Islands. Both Joel Fruit and Kennedy Izuka made their international debuts in the 8–0 friendly loss to Guam in 2012. Izuka was aged 14 years and 242 days and is the seventh youngest debutant in history, while Fruit was the younger at 14 years and 177 days, the fourth youngest player recorded.[56] However, Lucas Knecht featured for the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association on 1 April 2007 in an East Asian Football Federation Championship Qualifier, again versus Guam. Knecht was 14 years and 2 days old at the time making him the youngest male player to ever appear in an international match, 91 days younger than the previous record holder, Myanmar player Aung Kyaw Tun.[56] In addition to the three fourteen year old debutants, three other players: Enrico del Rosario, Jehn Joyner and Scott Kim all made their debut prior to their sixteenth birthdays.[56]

Youngest players[56]
Name Age Birth date Debut date Competition Opponent Result
Lucas Knecht 14 years and 2 days 30 March 1993 1 April 2007 2008 EAFF Championship /
Marianas Cup 		 Guam 0–9
Joel Fruit 14 years and 177 days 31 March 1998 24 November 2012 Friendly  Guam 0–8
Kennedy Izuka 14 years and 242 days 27 March 1998 24 November 2012 Friendly  Guam 0–8
Enrico del Rosario 15 years and 119 days 21 March 1997 18 July 2012 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup  Guam 1–3
Jehn Joyner 15 years and 144 days 9 October 1997 2 March 2013 2014 AFC Challenge Cup    Nepal 0–6
Scott Kim 15 years and 155 days 22 June 1997 24 November 2012 Friendly  Guam 0–8

Note: It is possible that Michael Barry may also have made a senior international appearance in the teams 1–1 Marianas Cup match against Guam in 2010 aged 14 years and 251 days, which would make him the eighth youngest debutant in history. However, although it is known that he was named in the match squad, it is not known whether he actually played in the game.[56]

Oldest appearances

[edit]

In addition to being the national team to have given the most senior team debuts to under sixteen players, they are also the team to have given the most international caps to players aged over 40, of the 88 players confirmed to have played an international football match after their fortieth birthdays, 11 of them are from the Northern Mariana Islands. Of these players Wesley Bogdan is the nation's current oldest player when he made his first senior international appearance in 2007 EAFF Championship qualifying match against Guam aged 48 years and 243 days.[56] Only two players have made international appearances at an older age: Greek midfielder Giorgos Koudas, who played in a 2–0 defeat to Yugoslavia in 1995 aged 48 years and 301 days and Barrie Dewsbury, who played in Sark's 16–0 loss to Greenland at the 2003 Island Games aged 52 years and 11 days.[56]

Oldest players[56]
Name Age Birth date Appearance date Competition Opponent Result
Wesley Bogdan 48 years and 243 days 1 August 1958 1 April 2007 2008 EAFF Championship /
Marianas Cup 		 Guam 0–9
Vince Stravino 43 years and 320 days 16 May 1963 1 April 2007 2008 EAFF Championship /
Marianas Cup 		 Guam 0–9
David Dueñas 43 years and 94 days 11 December 1965 15 March 2009 2010 EAFF Championship  Mongolia 1–4
Daniel Westphal 42 years and 355 days 5 April 1970 6 March 2013 2014 AFC Challenge Cup  Bangladesh 0–4
Bruce Berline 42 years and 176 days 7 October 1964 1 April 2007 2008 EAFF Championship /
Marianas Cup 		 Guam 0–9
Dale Roberts 42 years and 144 days 22 October 1966 15 March 2009 2010 EAFF Championship  Mongolia 1–4
Christopher Guerrero 41 years and 301 days 1 July 1966 27 April 2008 2008 EAFF Championship /
Marianas Cup 		 Guam 2–3
José Dueñas 41 years and 207 days 20 August 1967 15 March 2009 2010 EAFF Championship  Mongolia 1–4
Mike Hall 41 years and 106 days 16 December 1965 1 April 2007 2008 EAFF Championship /
Marianas Cup 		 Guam 0–9
Greg Elliott 40 years and 247 days 15 October 1969 19 June 2010 Marianas Cup  Guam 1–1
Tyce Mister 40 years and 15 days 10 March 1967 25 March 2007 Marianas Cup  Guam 2–3

Competitive record

[edit]

The Northern Mariana Islands have only entered three formal international competitions, the AFC Challenge Cup, the EAFF East Asian Championship and the Micronesian Games. As non-FIFA members seeking admission, they are not yet entitled to enter the FIFA World Cup. The Marianas Cup is not noted as a separate competition in this section as it is the name given to a perennial trophy contested each time the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam meet.

AFC Asian Cup

[edit]

The team were eligible to enter the AFC Asian Cup through the AFC Challenge Cup from 2011. However, they did not enter the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup so they did not qualify. In failing to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, they also failed to qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

AFC Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GS GA Pld W D* L GF GA
Hong Kong 1956 Not a member of the AFC Not a member of the AFC
South Korea 1960
Israel 1964
Iran 1968
Thailand 1972
Iran 1976
Kuwait 1980
Singapore 1984
Qatar 1988
Japan 1992
United Arab Emirates 1996
Lebanon 2000
China 2004
Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Vietnam 2007
Qatar 2011 Did not enter Did not enter
Australia 2015 Did not qualify AFC Challenge Cup
United Arab Emirates 2019 Did not enter** Did not enter**
Qatar 2023
Saudi Arabia 2027 Excluded Excluded
Total — 0/18 – – – – – – 0 0 0 0 0 0

**: As the first two rounds of qualifying for the 2019 and 2023 AFC Asian Cups were also the first two rounds of qualifying for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, the Northern Mariana Islands were ineligible. Starting with the qualifying playoff round of the 2027 Asian Cup, they are allowed to qualify for the Asian Cup only.

AFC Challenge Cup

[edit]

Having been accepted as an associate member in 2009, the Blue Ayuyus attempted to qualify for the AFC Challenge Cup once, in 2013. They were unsuccessful in qualification, losing all three matches without scoring a goal. The AFC Challenge Cup was discontinued by the AFC, with all nations now entering qualifying for the Asian Cup due to the expansion of the Asian Cup to the 24-nation format from the 16-nation one after the 2015 edition.[57][58]

AFC Challenge Cup Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GS GA Pld W D* L GF GA
Bangladesh 2006 Did not enter Did not enter
India 2008
Sri Lanka 2010
Nepal 2012
Maldives 2014 Did not qualify 3 0 0 3 0 19
Total — 0/5 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 19

EAFF E-1 Football Championship

[edit]

The EAFF E-1 Football Championship is the primary source of competitive football for the Northern Mariana Islands since they reemerged onto the international scene and were accepted as a member of the EAFF. They have attempted to qualify for each edition of the EAFF E-1 Championship since they were admitted to the federation, each time without success.

EAFF E-1 Football Championship Preliminary competition
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GS GA Pld W D* L GF GA
East Asian Football Championship
Japan 2003 Not a member of the EAFF Not a member of the EAFF
South Korea 2005
China 2008 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 2 12
Japan 2010 3 0 0 3 3 12
EAFF East Asian Cup
South Korea 2013 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 2 8
China 2015 3 1 0 2 2 10
EAFF E-1 Football Championship
Japan 2017 Did not qualify 3 0 0 3 2 19
South Korea 2019 3 0 1 2 1 14
Japan 2022 Did not participate Not held
South Korea 2025 Did not participate Not held
Total — 0/8 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 1 1 14 12 75

Micronesian Games

[edit]

Micronesia made their international debut at the 1998 Micronesia Games, though the tournament was not a formal part of the games, merely an exhibition. The formal name of the football tournament was the W.C.T.C. Shell Soccer Exhibition. The team were successful, winning the tournament, but have not entered since, although football has only sporadically been included in the games program.

Micronesian Games record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GS GA
Palau 1998 Champions 1st 6 5 0 1 43 5
Pohnpei State 2014 Did not enter
Yap State 2018
Marshall Islands 2024 To be determined
Total Champions 1/3 6 5 0 1 43 5
*Denotes draws includes knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. Red border indicates that the tournament was hosted on home soil. Gold, silver, bronze backgrounds indicates 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishes respectively. Bold text indicates best finish in tournament.

Micronesian Cup

[edit]
Micronesian Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Federated States of Micronesia 1999 Runners-up 2nd 1 0 0 1 0 7
Total Runners-up 1/1 1 0 0 1 0 7

Marianas Cup

[edit]
Marianas Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Northern Mariana Islands Guam 2007 Runners-up 2nd 2 0 0 2 2 12
Northern Mariana Islands 2008 Runners-up 2nd 1 0 0 1 2 3
Northern Mariana Islands 2010 Champions 1st 1 0 1 0 1 1
Guam 2012 Runners-up 2nd 1 0 0 1 0 8
Northern Mariana Islands 2024 Champions 1st 2 1 1 0 4 3
Total 2 titles 5/5 7 1 2 5 9 27

Remembering that only the tournaments that the senior national teams participated are counted.

World rankings

[edit]

FIFA

[edit]

The Northern Mariana Islands, although a member of the East Asian Football Federation are not members of FIFA and so are not ranked. Additionally, although full members of the AFC, they have yet to be included on their ranking list of member associations.

The islands have been seeking FIFA membership since October 2021.[37]

Elo rating

[edit]
Northern Mariana Islands National Football Team Historic Elo Ratings.

The team has steadily fallen down the Elo ratings since their first official game against international opposition versus Guam in the 1998 Micronesian Games, from a starting point of 214 to their current position of 238.[59] This is in part due to performance that has seen them gain only one win and one draw since their reemergence on the international scene in 2007 and part due to the fact that they have always been at or near the bottom of the rankings in a period where a number of new competing nations have emerged. Currently their ranking of 238 confirms their status as one of the world's worst senior international football teams.[60] They are ranked directly below their fellow non-FIFA teams of Kiribati and Tibet but above Palau, though this is perhaps somewhat skewed by the fact that all three of these teams are essentially in hibernation having not competed internationally for a number of years.[60] The nearest FIFA affiliated team to them is Eastern (American) Samoa, who are ranked 237th.[60]

Head-to-head record

[edit]

Up to matches played on 7 April 2024.

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD WPCT
 American Samoa 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 100.00
 Bangladesh 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4 0.00
 Chinese Taipei 1 0 0 1 1 8 −7 0.00
 Fiji 1 0 0 1 0 10 −10 0.00
 Guam 15 2 2 11 18 48 −30 13.33
 Macau 5 1 1 3 6 16 −10 20.00
 Micronesia 1 0 0 1 0 7 −7 0.00
 Mongolia 4 0 0 4 1 25 −24 0.00
   Nepal 1 0 0 1 0 6 −6 0.00
 Palau 1 1 0 0 12 1 +11 100.00
 Palestine 1 0 0 1 0 9 −9 0.00
 Pohnpei 1 1 0 0 11 2 +9 100.00
 Tahiti 1 0 0 1 0 5 −5 0.00
 Tuvalu 1 0 0 1 1 4 −3 0.00
 Yap 1 1 0 0 8 0 +8 100.00
Total 36 7 3 26 62 145 −83 19.44
Source: Results

Honors

[edit]

As of 2021, the Northern Mariana Islands have won one competition:

Regional

[edit]
  • 1998 Micronesian Games: 1st (according to AFC website profile, Guam is champion instead of Northern Mariana Islands.)
  • 2010 Marianas Cup (shared)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
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  5. ^ RSSSF records the two matches against Palau B and Pohnpei as unconfirmed results.
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[edit]
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