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East Timor national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Timor-Leste women's national football team.
Quick facts for kids
Timor-Leste
Nickname(s) Lafaek (The Crocodiles)
O Sol Nascente
(The Rising Sun)
Association Federação de Futebol de Timor-Leste
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation AFF (Southeast Asia)
Head coach Park Soon-tae
Captain João Pedro da Silva Freitas
Most caps Anggisu Barbosa (30)
Top scorer Rufino Gama (7)
Home stadium Municipal Stadium of Dili
FIFA code TLS
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 196 Steady (7 February 2019)
Highest 146 (June 2015)
Lowest 206 (October 2012)
Elo ranking
Current 227 Decrease 1 (3 March 2019)
Highest 214 (November 2015)
Lowest 230 (November 2016)
First international
 Sri Lanka 3–2 East Timor 
(Colombo, Sri Lanka; 21 March 2003)
Biggest win
 Cambodia 1–5 East Timor 
(Yangon, Myanmar; 5 October 2012)
Biggest defeat
 East Timor 0–10 Saudi Arabia 
(Dili, Timor Leste; 17 November 2015)
AFC Solidarity Cup
Appearances 1 (first in 2016)
Best result Group stage (2016)
AFF Championship
Appearances 3 (first in 2004)
Best result Group Stage (2004, 2018, 2020)

The East Timor national football team (Portuguese: Seleção Timorense de Futebol, recognized as Timor-Leste by FIFA) is the national team of East Timor and is controlled by the Federação de Futebol de Timor-Leste (FFTL). They joined FIFA on 12 September 2005.

Timor-Leste's international debut was in the preliminary round of the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification in March 2003, when they lost 3–2 to Sri Lanka and 3–0 to Chinese Taipei. They also participated in the 2004 AFF Championship. Timor-Leste's participation in Southeast Asia's premier international football event in 2004 was announced after an Asian Football Confederation council meeting in Petaling Jaya. Although not yet a member of the AFC, the FFTL was invited to sit in on the meeting, where they were represented by FA president Francia Kalbuadi.

Timor-Leste won their first international match on 5 October 2012 against Cambodia with a score of 5–1.

History

Early history (2003–2017)

Football was established in East Timor during the Portuguese colonial era, when many of the locals and the Portuguese officials played amateur football. After Portugal ended its colonial rule, Indonesia invaded and occupied the island, East Timor eventually gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, which resulted in a long running battle against Jakarta-led forces.

The East Timor Football Federation was accepted as an associate member of AFC at the 20th AFC Congress in 2002. Their international debut came in March 2003 when they participated in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification campaign for the 2004 AFC Asian Cup in China. Given their history, it was no surprise that they crashed out with defeats against the likes of Sri Lanka and Chinese Taipei. They then entered the regional competition for the first time in 2004 as they played in the 2004 AFF Championship as an invited member. They finished in last place, showing that they had a long way to go before they could compete even on the regional stage.

They again had no success in the 2007 AFF Championship qualification, with four heavy losses, including a 7–0 trouncing by the Philippines. The following year in the 2008 AFF Championship qualification, Timor-Leste surprisingly drew against Cambodia; this feat was reported in international news.

First win

In the 2012 AFF Championship qualification, the country's football federation (FFTL) reportedly selected their foreign based players, who played in Brazil, Portugal, Australia and elsewhere, to fortify the team as they also did at the 2011 SEA Games.

Coach Emerson Alcantara
Emerson Alcântara leads East Timor to a famous 5–1 victory over Cambodia in their first ever win in their history.

On 5 October 2012, Timor-Leste won their first international match in a 5–1 victory against Cambodia with goals coming from Murilo de Almeida who scored a brace, Adelino Trindade and Alan Leandro. On 9 October 2012, the team won another match against Laos in the qualification round as Murilo de Almeida scored a penalty at 43' minutes of the first half of the match. Later Adelino Trindade extended the Timorese advantage with a header early in the second half and then Alan Leandro added the third goal on the 83rd minute. After winning the second match against Laos, head coach Emerson Alcântara stated "This is a win for the people of East Timor. They had to wait a long time for our team to win their first match in this competition but now we have two wins and this was an important victory for Timor-Leste. "I think that about 70 percent of people in Timor Leste are poor so it is very important to get this result for them because they love football and the people can get confidence and take pride in this result. It is very important for us to motivate our people and to help to change their lives." With a win needed in the final fixture, Timor-Leste subsequently lost to Brunei 2–1 and finished in third place in the group, one point away from runners-up of the group, Laos as they went on to qualify for the 2012 AFF Championship. In the 2014 AFF Championship qualification, Timor-Leste secured a victory against Brunei winning them 4–2 in the process. In the next match, they caused an upset to Myanmar on 14 October 2014 which ended up in a goalless draw but that wasn't enough as Timor-Leste didn't make it to the 2014 AFC Championship.

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round

Timor-Leste then participated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification first round facing Mongolia where on 12 March 2015, they secured their first ever win against a country outside of Southeast Asia in a 4–1 win at the National Stadium of East Timor. In the second leg, Timor-Leste travelled to Ulaanbaatar where they won 1–0 putting them on an aggregate of 5–2 seeing them advancing to the second round however on 12 December 2017, FIFA awarded both matches 3–0 to Mongolia due to Timor-Leste fielding numerous ineligible players. However, this was long after the Second round had been played, so Timor-Leste advanced and Mongolia were not reinstated. Timor-Leste were then grouped with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Palestine and Malaysia in Group A. On 11 June 2015, Ramon Saro scored in the 90+3' minute stoppage time which cause a huge upsets to Malaysia in a 1–1 draw at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium which Timor-Leste got their first ever point in the campaign. On 8 October 2015 while playing at home, Ramon Saro break the deadlock as they lead against Palestine however in the dying minute of the match, Ahmad Abu Nahyeh equalise for Palestine in 1–1 draw as it gains media attention from the Southeast Asia region. However, Timor-Leste has to forfeited five of their group matches due to fielding numerous ineligible players. Since their last match against Saudi Arabia on 17 November 2015, Timor-Leste has been playing their home match overboard as their National Stadium of East Timor in Dili failed to meet FIFA standards which also see them finishing at the bottom of the table. During the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification match, Timor-Leste played their home match at the Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium in Johor Bahru playing against Malaysia.

Timor-Leste then participated in the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup held in Kuching where they snatched a goalless draw against Nepal. They were also invited to the 2017 CTFA International Tournament where in the match against the Philippines, Silveiro Garcia scored the only goal in the match as Timor-Leste gains a win in the tournament.

Back-to-back AFF Championship tournament (2018–present)

Timor-Leste then qualified to the 2018 AFF Championship for the first time in 14 years winning the 2018 AFF Championship qualification against Brunei on an aggregate of 3–2. They will play their designated "home" match against Thailand at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, while their home tie against the Philippines will be played at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium in Malaysia due to the incomplete floodlighting of the National Stadium of East Timor. Timor-Leste then qualified to the 2020 AFF Championship automatically after the withdrawal of Brunei in the qualification play-off.

Team image

Kit manufacturers

Period Manufacturer
2008–2010 Japan Tiger
2012 United States Nike
2013–2014 United Kingdom Mitre
2015–2017 Singapore Kubba Sportswear
2018– Indonesia Narrow

The team's kit manufacturer was Kubba Sportswear from June 2014 to February 2017.

Since 2018, the kits are made by Narrow, an Indonesian apparel. The home kit is red shirts, black shorts, and red socks, with black as a secondary color. The away kit all white. From 2008 to 2010, their away kits were yellow but at 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification, the away kits changed back into all whites. Their kits were made by Nike in 2012. Previous kit makers include Mitre, Joma, Nike and Tiger.

Home stadium

Timor Leste's home ground is the National Stadium of East Timor in Dili. The stadium capacity is 5,000. The first official match played in the stadium was a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Mongolia on 12 March 2015. Timor-Leste played their last match at the National Stadium of East Timor against Saudi Arabia on 17 November 2015 and since then used their stadium as a neutral ground all over Asia.

Timor Leste national football team home stadiums
Image Stadium Capacity Location Last match
Timor Leste Nacional Stadion.jpg National Stadium of East Timor 13,000 Dili v   Saudi Arabia
(17 November 2015; 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification)

Neutral venue

List of neutral venue grounds for East Timor in the FIFA World Cup qualifications, AFC Asian Cup qualifications and AFF Championship qualifications.

Timor Leste neutral home stadiums
Image Stadium Capacity Location Last match
Bukit Jalil National Stadium-26.jpg Bukit Jalil National Stadium 87,411 Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia v   Malaysia
(11 June 2019; 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification)
The Main Stadium for 2009 World Games panorama.jpg Kaohsiung National Stadium 55,000 Zuoying, Kaohsiung, Taiwan v   Chinese Taipei
(17 October 2023; 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification)
Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.jpg Rajamangala Stadium 51,552 Bang Kapi, Bangkok, Thailand v   Thailand
(9 November 2018; 2018 AFF Championship)
Stadium Larkin.jpg Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium 30,000 Larkin, Johor Bahru, Malaysia v   Malaysia
(6 June 2016; 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification)
Aerial View of Kuala Lumpur Stadium.png Kuala Lumpur Stadium 18,000 Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia v   Philippines
(17 November 2018; 2018 AFF Championship)
Track & Field Sports Complex 01.jpg Track & Field Sports Complex 1,700 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei v   Brunei
(8 November 2022; 2022 AFF Championship qualification)

Results and fixtures

Main article: Timor-Leste 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

2022

2023

2024

Coaching staff

Position Name
Technical director
Head coach South Korea Park Soon-tae
Assistant coach
Goalkeeping coach
Physiotherapist
Media Officer
Administrator
Official
Kitman

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

  • The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
  • Match dates: 12 and 17 October 2023
  • Oppositions:  Chinese Taipei
  • Caps and goals correct as of: 17 October 2023, after the match against  Chinese Taipei
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Junildo Pereira (2003-06-04) 4 June 2003 (age 21) 9 0 East Timor Assalam
12 1GK Filonito Nogueira (2004-11-16) 16 November 2004 (age 20) 3 0 East Timor SLB Laulara
20 1GK Pablo de Jesus (2005-09-19) 19 September 2005 (age 19) 0 0 East Timor Ponta Leste
18 2DF Filomeno Junior (captain) (1998-06-21) 21 June 1998 (age 26) 19 0 Macau Benfica de Macau
4 2DF Anizo Correia (2003-05-23) 23 May 2003 (age 21) 8 0 South Korea Pyeongchang United
16 2DF João Bosco (2003-03-02) 2 March 2003 (age 21) 7 0 East Timor Ponta Leste
22 2DF Olagar Xavier (2003-05-18) 18 May 2003 (age 21) 5 0 Cambodia Siem Reap
2 2DF Ricardo Bianco (2006-01-15) 15 January 2006 (age 18) 2 0 East Timor Ponta Leste
3 2DF Fernando Carvalho (2004-02-18) 18 February 2004 (age 20) 0 0 East Timor SLB Laulara
23 3MF Cristevão Fernandes (2004-01-16) 16 January 2004 (age 20) 8 0 Cambodia Angkor City
8 3MF Freteliano (2004-08-09) 9 August 2004 (age 20) 2 0 East Timor Emmanuel
11 3MF Luis Pinto (2001-05-08) 8 May 2001 (age 23) 2 0 East Timor Santa Cruz
21 3MF Luis da Silva (2006-05-20) 20 May 2006 (age 18) 2 0 East Timor SLB Laulara
5 3MF Miguel Oliveira (2000-09-01) 1 September 2000 (age 24) 1 0 East Timor Porto Taibesse
14 3MF Jose de Andrade (1999-12-20) 20 December 1999 (age 24) 0 0 East Timor Ponta Leste
6 3MF Marques de Carvalho (2007-02-25) 25 February 2007 (age 17) 0 0 East Timor SLB Laulara
7 4FW João Pedro (1998-06-24) 24 June 1998 (age 26) 15 2 Indonesia PSM Makassar
9 4FW Elias Mesquita (2002-03-27) 27 March 2002 (age 22) 10 0 East Timor Lalenok United
19 4FW Mário Quintão (2004-02-18) 18 February 2004 (age 20) 4 0 East Timor Emmanuel
17 4FW Luis Figo Pereira (2005-04-17) 17 April 2005 (age 19) 2 0 East Timor Ponta Leste
15 4FW Alexandre Moreira (2001-09-24) 24 September 2001 (age 23) 2 0 East Timor Ponta Leste
13 4FW Lourenço Paulo (2000-08-10) 10 August 2000 (age 24) 2 0 East Timor Assalam

Previous squads

  • 2004 Tiger Cup squad
  • 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup squad
  • 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup squad
  • 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup squad

Player records

See also: Timor-Leste national football team records and statistics
Players in bold are still active with Timor-Leste.

Most appearances

Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1 Anggisu Barbosa 30 4 2008–2016
2 Adelino Trindade 27 3 2010–present
3 José Fonseca 26 0 2010–2017
4 Henrique Cruz 25 3 2015–present
5 Nataniel Reis 23 1 2014–present
6 Eusebio de Almeida 22 0 2007–2015
Rufino Gama 22 7 2016–present
8 Nelson Viegas 21 1 2016–present
9 Ramos Maxanches 20 0 2014–2016
Filipe Oliveira 20 0 2014–2017

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Rufino Gama 7 22 0.33 2016–present
2 Murilo de Almeida 6 7 0.86 2012–2014
3 Chiquito do Carmo 4 15 0.27 2010–2016
Anggisu Barbosa 4 30 0.13 2008–2016
5 Adélio Guterres 3 4 0.75 2006–2007
Alan Leandro 3 5 0.6 2012
Mouzinho 3 10 0.3 2019–present
Emilio da Silva 3 12 0.25 2004–2012
Henrique Cruz 3 25 0.12 2015–present
Adelino Trindade 3 27 0.11 2010–present

Competition records

Main article: Timor-Leste national football team results

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup Qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D* L F A Pld W D L F A
1930 to 1974 Part of  Portugal Part of  Portugal
1978 to 1998 Part of  Indonesia Part of  Indonesia
South Korea Japan 2002 Not member of FIFA Not member of FIFA
Germany 2006 Did not enter Did not enter
South Africa 2010 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 3 11
Brazil 2014 2 0 0 2 1 7
Russia 2018 10 0 0 10 0 50
Qatar 2022 2 0 0 2 2 12
Canada Mexico United States 2026 2 0 0 2 0 7
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total — 0/6 – – – – – – 18 0 0 18 6 87

Lusofonia Games

Jogos da Lusofonia
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Macau 2006 Group stage 9th 0 0 0 2 0 10
Portugal 2009 Did not enter
India 2014
Total Group stage 1/3 0 0 0 2 0 10
Lusofonia Games
Date Venue Opponents Score Year
4 October 2006 Macau University of Science and Technology Sports Field  Mozambique U-20 0–5 2006 Lusofonia Games
6 October 2006  Angola U-20 0–5

AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Hong Kong 1956 Part of  Portugal Part of  Portugal
South Korea 1960
Israel 1964
Iran 1968
Thailand 1972
Iran 1976 Part of  Indonesia Part of  Indonesia
Kuwait 1980
Singapore 1984
Qatar 1988
Japan 1992
United Arab Emirates 1996
Lebanon 2000 Did not exist, under United Nations Did not exist, under United Nations
China 2004 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 2 6
Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Vietnam 2007 Did not enter Did not enter
Qatar 2011
Australia 2015
United Arab Emirates 2019 Did not qualify 14 2 2 12 9 47
Qatar 2023 Disqualified Disqualified
Saudi Arabia 2027 To be determined To be determined
Total — — – – – – – – 16 2 2 14 11 53

AFC Challenge Cup

AFC Challenge Cup AFC Challenge Cup qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Bangladesh 2006 Did not participate Selected but removed
India 2008 Did not enter Did not enter
Sri Lanka 2010
Nepal 2012
Maldives 2014
Total — — – – – – – – – – – – – –
  • 2006 – Was originally selected to take part, but was then replaced
  • 2008 – Was selected to take part, but withdrew

AFC Solidarity Cup

AFC Solidarity Cup
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA
Malaysia 2016 Group stage 6th 2 0 1 1 0 4
Total Group stage 1/1 2 0 1 1 0 4

AFF Championship

AFF Championship Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Singapore 1996 Part of Indonesia Indonesia Part of  Indonesia
Vietnam 1998
Thailand 2000 Under United Nations Under United Nations
Indonesia Singapore 2002
Malaysia Vietnam 2004 Group stage 9th 4 0 0 4 2 18 No qualification
Singapore Thailand 2007 Did not qualify 4 0 0 4 5 17
Indonesia Thailand 2008 4 0 1 3 4 9
Indonesia Vietnam 2010 3 0 0 3 3 15
Malaysia Thailand 2012 4 2 0 2 10 6
Singapore Vietnam 2014 4 1 1 2 6 7
Myanmar Philippines 2016 3 0 0 3 4 7
ASEAN 2018 Group stage 10th 4 0 0 4 4 19 2 1 0 1 3 2
Singapore 2020 10th 4 0 0 4 0 13 Opponents withdrew
ASEAN 2022 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 3 6
Total Group stage 3/14 12 0 0 12 6 50 26 5 2 19 38 68

Head-to-head record

See also: Timor-Leste national football team records and statistics

As of 17 October 2023

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Brunei 10 3 0 7 15 25 −10 9
2  Cambodia 9 1 2 6 17 23 −6 5
3  Chinese Taipei 6 0 0 6 3 17 −14 0
4  Hong Kong 2 0 0 2 3 11 −8 0
5  Indonesia 6 0 0 6 2 21 −19 0
6  Laos 7 1 0 6 9 18 −9 3
7  Malaysia 7 0 1 6 3 25 −22 1
8  Mongolia 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4 6
9  Myanmar 4 0 1 3 2 7 −5 1
10    Nepal 4 0 2 2 3 9 −6 2
11  [[Palestinian National Authority {{{altlink}}}|Palestinian National Authority]] 2 0 1 1 1 8 −7 1
12  Philippines 8 1 0 7 5 29 −24 3
13  Saudi Arabia 2 0 0 2 0 17 −17 0
14  Singapore 2 0 0 2 1 8 −7 0
15  Sri Lanka 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1 0
16  Thailand 3 0 0 3 0 17 −17 0
17  United Arab Emirates 2 0 0 2 0 9 −9 0
Source: Results

See also

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