Guam national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Guam

Nickname(s)	Matao (The Noblemen)
Association	Guam Football Association (GFA)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	EAFF (East Asia)
Head coach	Ross Awa
Captain	Jason Cunliffe
Most caps	Jason Cunliffe (68)
Top scorer	Jason Cunliffe (26)
Home stadium	GFA National Training Center
FIFA code	GUM
First colors Second colors
FIFA ranking
Current	192 (7 February 2019)
Highest	146 (August–September 2015)
Lowest	207 (March 2022)
Elo ranking
Current	207 (3 March 2019)
Highest	96 (June 2015)
Lowest	108 (March 2007)
First international
Guam 1–5 Solomon Islands  (Tumon, Guam; 2 August 1975)
Biggest win
Unofficial  Guam 16–1 Pohnpei  (Koror City, Palau; 27 July 1998)  Guam 15–0 Yap  (Koror City, Palau; 31 July 1998) Official  Guam 9–0 Northern Mariana Islands  (Hagåtña, Guam; 1 April 2007)
Biggest defeat
North Korea 21–0 Guam  (Taipei, Taiwan; 11 March 2005)
Pacific Games
Appearances	5 (first in 1975)
Best result	Sixth place (1979)
Micronesian Games
Appearances	1 (first in 1998)
Best result	Runners-up (1998)

The Guam national football team plays for Guam in men's international football games. Guam is an overseas territory of the United States. The team is managed by the Guam Football Association. Guam joined FIFA in 1996 and the AFC in 1991.

In 2015, Guam reached its highest ever spot in the FIFA World Ranking, placing 146th. This happened after they won games against Turkmenistan and India. Guam's first ever FIFA World Cup qualification match was played against Iran national football team in Tabriz.

History of Guam Football

How it All Started (1960s–1990s)

Football in Guam began in the 1960s. Two important people helped start it: Tony Gillespie, an Irish priest, and Charles Whang, who owned a construction company. Charles Whang moved to Guam and created the Guam Soccer Cup. He later became the first president of the Guam Football Association in 1975.

Guam played its first international game at the 1975 Pacific Games. They lost 5–1 to the Solomon Islands. After that, they lost 11–0 to Fiji and were out of the competition. In the 1979 Games, Guam lost again to New Caledonia (11–1) and New Hebrides (5–0).

However, in a special tournament called the Consolation Tournament, Guam got their first wins! They beat Western Samoa 4–2 and Tuvalu 7–2. They then lost to New Hebrides again, 5–1.

Joining AFC and FIFA (1991–2011)

Even though Guam was seen as part of Oceania, they joined the AFC in 1991. They still played in the Pacific Games. In 1996, Guam became a full member of both the AFC and FIFA. This was a big step for their football team.

As a full member, Guam played its first games against Asian teams in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification. They lost all three matches. They lost to South Korea (9–0), Vietnam (9–0), and Chinese Taipei (9–2).

In 1998, Guam played in the Micronesian Games. This was a special 9-a-side tournament with shorter matches. Guam finished first in their group but lost 3–0 to Northern Mariana Islands in the final game. Guam also played in the 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification. They finished last in their group, losing to Vietnam (11–0), China (19–0), and Philippines (2–0).

In 2002, Guam helped start the East Asian Football Federation. They played in the first 2003 East Asian Football Championship qualifiers but finished last without scoring any goals. The same happened in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification, where they lost to Bhutan and Mongolia. For the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Guam was supposed to play Nepal. However, both teams pulled out because of money problems.

In the 2005 East Asian Football Championship qualifiers, Guam lost all four games by a lot. They lost to Chinese Taipei (9–0), Hong Kong (15–0), Mongolia (4–1), and North Korea (21–0). After these losses, Guam joined the 2006 AFC Challenge Cup. This competition was made to help "emerging nations" improve their football. Guam lost all three matches there too, to Palestine (11–0), Bangladesh (3–0), and Cambodia (3–0).

Guam moved to the second stage of qualifying in the 2008 East Asian Football Championship. They beat Northern Marianas 12–2 over two games. But they were then knocked out by Chinese Taipei (10–0) and Hong Kong (15–1). In the 2010 East Asian Football Championship qualifiers, Guam got its first win against a FIFA member team, beating Mongolia 1–0. They finished first in their group but were eliminated in the next stage. Guam returned to the 2011 Pacific Games after 16 years. They only managed to beat American Samoa 2–0, finishing second to last and not moving to the next round.

Building the Team (2012–Present)

Gary White became Guam's manager in 2012. He brought in players of Guamanian background who lived in the United States, like Ryan Guy and A. J. DeLaGarza. This helped make the team stronger. In the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup, the Matao team moved past the first round. They beat Northern Marianas (3–1) and Macao (3–0). Guam also played in the 2012 Philippine Peace Cup. They lost to Philippines (1–0) and Chinese Taipei (2–0). However, they beat Macao (3–0) in their last group game and finished third. Guam also reached the second qualifying stage of both the 2015 and 2017 EAFF Championship. They finished third and fourth, so they did not reach the final competition.

In the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Guam won against Turkmenistan (1–0) and India (2–1). They finished fourth in their group. This meant they qualified for the 2019 Asian Cup third round qualifiers. However, Guam decided to withdraw before the draw for those games happened. Guam then did not get past the first qualifying round for the 2019 EAFF Championship.

During the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, Guam beat Bhutan 5–1 over two games. But they lost all eight of their second-round matches. They finished last in their group, scoring two goals and letting in 32.

After almost a year without playing an international match, Guam took part in the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification. They played against Singapore and lost 3–1 overall.

Team Nickname

Before 2011, the Guam team was called Chamorros. This name referred to the local people of Guam. When Gary White became the coach, the team changed its nickname to Matao. Matao means the highest social class in the old Chamorro society. Coach White also encouraged the team to say the Guam pledge, called the Inifresi, before each game.

Recent Games and Schedule

Here are the results of matches played in the last year, and any games that are planned.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2024 Matches

Northern Mariana Islands  v  Guam

6 April 2024 Friendly	Northern Mariana Islands	2–2	Guam
--:-- UTC+11	M. Toves  8' ???  71' (o.g.)		Manibusan  48' Stenson  60'

Northern Mariana Islands  v  Guam

7 April 2024 Friendly	Northern Mariana Islands	2–1	Guam
--:-- UTC+11	Narvaez Jr.  6' Lizama  68'		Harmon  74'

Macau  v  Guam

14 December 2024 2025 EAFF E-1 preliminary	Macau	1–2	Guam	Kowloon, Hong Kong
14:00 UTC+8	Cheng  41' (pen.)		Morimoto  31' Taitague  73'	Stadium: Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground Attendance: 534 Referee: Tam Ping Wun (Hong Kong)

Guam  v  Hong Kong

17 December 2024 2025 EAFF E-1 preliminary	Guam	0–5	Hong Kong	So Kon Po, Hong Kong
20:00 UTC+8			Philip  2', 53' Benavides  12' Everton  50' Dudu  78'	Stadium: Hong Kong Stadium Attendance: 8,236 Referee: Wiwat Jumpaoon (Thailand)

Northern Mariana Islands  v  Guam

21 December 2024 Friendly	Northern Mariana Islands	1–2	Guam	Koblerville, Northern Mariana Islands
	Bechani  72'		Suzuki  53' Casteneda  60'	Stadium: NMI Soccer Training Center

Northern Mariana Islands  v  Guam

22 December 2024 Friendly	Northern Mariana Islands	0–8	Guam	Koblerville, Northern Mariana Islands
			Lopez  7' Gomez  18', 70', 72' Manibusan  47', 61' Cruz  74' Castaneda  88'	Stadium: NMI Soccer Training Center

Team Staff

Current Coaching Staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Ross Awa
Assistant coach	Christopher Malenab
Assistant coach	Manfred Preschern
Goalkeeper coach	Jeroen Bos
Video Analyst	Christopher Malenab
Team Doctor	Dr. Luis Cruz
Physiotherapist	Dr. Jon Thompson
Physiotherapist	Walfred Javier
Team Manager	Vance Manibusan
High Performance Manager	Pavel Gubenko
Media Officer	Jill Espiritu
Equipment Director	Thomas Castro

Coaching History

Players

Current Squad

These players were chosen for the 2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship preliminary competition.

Caps (games played) and goals are correct as of December 14, 2024, after the match against Macau.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	John-Michael Guidroz	(2004-01-01) January 1, 2004 (age 21)	1	0	University of West Florida
18	1GK	Josiah Jones	(2006-11-28) November 28, 2006 (age 18)	1	0	Bank of Guam Strykers FC
21	1GK	Dallas Jaye	(1993-06-19) June 19, 1993 (age 32)	22	0	free agent
	1GK	Zaine Rocca	(2007-06-28) June 28, 2007 (age 18)	0	0	Total Futbol Academy
2	2DF	Morgan McKenna	(2003-01-16) January 16, 2003 (age 22)	3	0	Muskingum University
3	2DF	Takumi Ito	(2000-02-03) February 3, 2000 (age 25)	4	0	Ezra
4	2DF	Kyle Halehale	(2002-06-03) June 3, 2002 (age 23)	13	0	Mercyhurst University
5	2DF	Leon Morimoto	(2001-12-18) December 18, 2001 (age 23)	5	1	Loyola
13	2DF	Anthony Quidachay	(2002-06-11) June 11, 2002 (age 23)	2	0	Chatham Cougars
15	2DF	Shane Healy	(1998-07-03) July 3, 1998 (age 27)	3	0	Bank of Guam Strykers FC
20	2DF	Levi Buckwalter	(2004-12-29) December 29, 2004 (age 20)	2	0	Wings FC
22	2DF	Isiah Lagutang	(1997-08-03) August 3, 1997 (age 28)	13	1	Bank of Guam Strykers FC
23	2DF	Jonahan Romero	(1988-03-17) March 17, 1988 (age 37)	34	0	SYC United
	2DF	Nate Lee	(1994-05-06) May 6, 1994 (age 31)	11	0	FC Frederick
	2DF	Dane Agustin	(2006-01-23) January 23, 2006 (age 19)	2	0	San Antonio FC Academy
6	3MF	Joey Ciochetto	(1996-10-22) October 22, 1996 (age 28)	4	0	Irvine Zeta
8	3MF	Alec Taitague	(2000-05-09) May 9, 2000 (age 25)	31	3	Roanoke Maroons
10	3MF	Jason Cunliffe (captain)	(1983-10-23) October 23, 1983 (age 41)	69	26	Bank of Guam Strykers FC
11	3MF	Nainoa Norton	(2004-04-03) April 3, 2004 (age 21)	2	0	Olivet Nazarene University
12	3MF	Nathan Sablan	(1993-08-10) August 10, 1993 (age 32)	2	0	Rovers FC
14	3MF	Jason Castro	(2007-07-06) July 6, 2007 (age 18)	1	0	Strikers FC Irvine
	3MF	John Matkin	(1986-04-20) April 20, 1986 (age 39)	30	2	Free agent
	3MF	Jude Bischoff	(1992-04-26) April 26, 1992 (age 33)	2	0	Guam Shipyard
	3MF	Travis Nicklaw	(1993-12-21) December 21, 1993 (age 31)	36	1	Free agent
7	4FW	James Gomez	(2004-09-15) September 15, 2004 (age 20)	5	3	Claremont McKenna College
9	4FW	Oz Rocca	(2004-08-10) August 10, 2004 (age 21)	3	0	Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners
16	4FW	Levi Berg	(2008-04-15) April 15, 2008 (age 17)	1	0	Guam Shipyard
17	4FW	Shuntaro Suzuki	(2005-10-21) October 21, 2005 (age 19)	3	1	Wings FC
19	4FW	Daniel Glasscock	(2004-05-19) May 19, 2004 (age 21)	1	0	Manhoben Lalahi FC
	4FW	Marcus Lopez	(1992-02-09) February 9, 1992 (age 33)	39	7	Bank of Guam Strykers FC
	4FW	Eddie Na	(1996-02-12) February 12, 1996 (age 29)	8	0	Tacoma Stars
	4FW	Ka'eo Gonsalves	(2005-01-06) January 6, 2005 (age 20)	2	0	Richmond Kickers

Recent Player Call-ups

These players have also been called to the Guam team in the last 12 months.

Player Records

Players in bold are still playing for Guam.

Most Games Played

Jason Cunliffe has played the most games and scored the most goals for Guam.

Top Goal Scorers

Ryan Guy scored four goals for Guam.

Team Achievements

Friendly Cups

• Marianas Cup (3): 2007, 2008, 2010

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Guam para niños