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Solomon Islands national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Solomon Islands women's national football team.
Quick facts for kids
Solomon Islands
Nickname(s) Bonitos
Association Solomon Islands Football Federation
Confederation OFC (Oceania)
Head coach Felipe Vega-Arango
Captain Joses Nawo
Most caps Henry Fa'arodo (64)
Top scorer Commins Menapi (34)
Home stadium National Stadium,
Lawson Tama Stadium
FIFA code SOL
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 143 Increase 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest 120 (October 2007, April 2008)
Lowest 200 (January–March 2016)
Elo ranking
Current 160 Increase 3 (3 March 2019)
Highest 109 (September 2005)
Lowest 177 (November 2016)
First international
 Solomon Islands 6–3 New Hebrides 
(Suva, Fiji; 30 August 1963)
Biggest win
 Solomon Islands 16–0 Cook Islands 
(Papeete, Tahiti; 21 August 1995)
Biggest defeat
 Tahiti 18–0 Solomon Islands 
(Suva, Fiji; 8 December 1963)
OFC Nations Cup
Appearances 7 (first in 1980)
Best result Runners-up, 2004

The Solomon Islands men's national football team is the national football team of Solomon Islands, administered by the Solomon Islands Football Federation. The Solomon Islands national football team was founded in 1978. They were officially recognised by FIFA a decade later, in 1988.

History

During the 2004 Oceania World Cup qualification/Oceania Cup the team drew 2–2 with Australia and qualified for the second leg. In the second leg, the Solomon Islands national men's team were thrashed by Australia 5–1 and 6–0 in the two matches, with Australia qualifying for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

The Solomons got a second chance against the Socceroos in a two-legged series in September 2005, this time with the winner advancing to a two-legged series against CONMEBOL's fifth-place finisher for a berth in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and the team was thrashed by Australia 7–0 on the first leg and 2–1 in the second played at home.

The Solomons were knocked out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup – having got off to a good start winning every game in their qualifying group and comfortably progressing to the knockout rounds, defeats to New Caledonia and then to Vanuatu saw them knocked out of the competition.

In 2012, the Solomon Islands held the 2012 OFC Nations Cup which was also the second round of World Cup qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup where they finished in fourth place after qualifying through to the knockout stage by defeating Papua New Guinea and having draws against Fiji and New Zealand. They lost in the semi-final after they lost to the champions Tahiti after Jonathan Tehau scored the only goal. They later lost to New Zealand in the third-place playoff. The third round of World Cup qualifying saw the team finish bottom of the group after only taking one win against Tahiti.

After first taking charge of the team in 2017, Spaniard Felipe Vega-Arango was appointed for his second stint in June 2021.

In 2019, they went on a three-week training tour in Netherlands.

In June 2023, Solomon Islands played their friendly match against Southeast Asia countries, Singapore and Malaysia. Solomon Island won the 2023 MSG Prime Minister's Cup after winning against Papua New Guinea (3–1), Vanuatu (1–0) and New Caledonia (1–0) as Raphael Lea'i clinch the golden boots as the tournament top scorer with four goals.

Team image

Kit sponsorship

Kit lier Period
Italy Lotto 2004–2012
New Zealand Pasifika 2013–2016
Australia Veto 2016–2021
China UCAN 2022–

Sponsors

  • Italy Lotto
  • Malaysia Telekom
  • Malaysia Capo Apparel

Results and fixtures

Main articles: Solomon Islands national football team results (1963–1999) and Solomon Islands national football team results (2000–present)

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

2024

Coaching staff

Position
Head coach Spain Felipe Vega-Arango
Assistant coach Solomon Islands Eddie Marahare
Goalkeeper coach Solomon Islands Zantas Kabini
Kit Manager Solomon Islands Augustine Hou
Team Manager Solomon Islands Patrick Miniti

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
  • Solomon Islands Edward Ngara (1995–1996)
  • Solomon Islands Wilson Maelaua (1996)
  • Scotland George Cowie (2000–2003)
  • England Alan Gillett (2004–2005)
  • Brazil Airton Andrioli (2006–2009)
  • Solomon Islands Jacob Moli (2010–2014)
  • Solomon Islands Moses Toata (2015–2016)
  • Spain Felipe Vega-Arango (2017–2018)
  • Solomon Islands Moses Toata (2018–2019)
  • Netherlands Wim Rijsbergen (2019)
  • Solomon Islands Stanley Waita (2020–2021)
  • Spain Felipe Vega-Arango (2021–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 Pacific Games.

Caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2023, after the match against  New Caledonia

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Philip Mango (1995-08-28) August 28, 1995 (age 29) 33 0 Solomon Islands Central Coast
1GK Michael Laulae (2002-05-20) May 20, 2002 (age 22) 1 0 Solomon Islands Henderson Eels
1GK Timothy Mae'arasia (1995-06-19) June 19, 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors
2DF Leon Kofana (2002-06-22) June 22, 2002 (age 22) 11 0 Solomon Islands Henderson Eels
2DF Allen Peter (1995-09-11) September 11, 1995 (age 29) 11 0 Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors
2DF Javin Wae (2002-11-17) November 17, 2002 (age 22) 10 0 Solomon Islands Central Coast
2DF Calvin Ohasio (2000-04-05) April 5, 2000 (age 24) 3 0 Solomon Islands Marist
2DF Alick Stanton (1998-05-25) May 25, 1998 (age 26) 3 0 Solomon Islands Central Coast
2DF David Supa (2000-12-21) December 21, 2000 (age 23) 4 0 Solomon Islands Central Coast
2DF Aengari Gagame (2000-04-15) April 15, 2000 (age 24) 3 0 Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors
2DF Leoa Mani (1989-06-02) June 2, 1989 (age 35) 0 0 Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors
3MF Joses Nawo (1988-05-03) May 3, 1988 (age 36) 41 8 Solomon Islands Kossa
3MF Atkin Kaua (1996-04-04) April 4, 1996 (age 28) 27 5 Solomon Islands Laugu United
3MF Alvin Hou (1996-09-18) September 18, 1996 (age 28) 13 6 Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors
3MF William Komasi (2000-06-10) June 10, 2000 (age 24) 10 1 Solomon Islands Central Coast
3MF Molis Gagame (1989-09-21) September 21, 1989 (age 35) 7 0 Solomon Islands Kossa
3MF Tigi Molea (1992-09-24) September 24, 1992 (age 32) 3 0 Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors
4FW Gagame Feni (1992-08-21) August 21, 1992 (age 32) 29 16 Solomon Islands Kossa
4FW Micah Lea'alafa (1991-06-01) 1 June 1991 (age 33) 15 7 Australia FK Beograd
4FW Raphael Lea'i (2003-09-09) September 9, 2003 (age 21) 12 10 Bosnia and Herzegovina Velež Mostar
4FW Bobby Leslie (2000-03-03) March 3, 2000 (age 24) 3 1 Solomon Islands Waneagu United
4FW John Orobulu (2000-08-29) August 29, 2000 (age 24) 1 0 Solomon Islands Southern United

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up within the last twelve months.


Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Junior Petua (2003-12-30) 30 December 2003 (age 20) 0 0 Solomon Islands Honiara City FC 2023 Pacific GamesPRE
GK James Do'oro (1995-06-19) 19 June 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Solomon Islands Sosa FC v.  Singapore, 18 June 2023
DF Iani Lagwai Kalu (1999-07-16) 16 July 1999 (age 25) 10 0 New Zealand Napier City Rovers v.  Singapore, 18 June 2023
DF Junior Aengari (2000-04-15) 15 April 2000 (age 24) 2 0 Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors v.  Singapore, 18 June 2023
DF Junior David (2001-09-22) 22 September 2001 (age 23) 3 0 Solomon Islands Central Coast v.  Singapore, 18 June 2023
MF Don Keana (2000-09-09) 9 September 2000 (age 24) 4 0 Solomon Islands Waneagu United 2023 Pacific GamesPRE
MF Patrick Taroga (2000-05-25) 25 May 2000 (age 24) 2 1 Solomon Islands Henderson Eels v.  Singapore, 18 June 2023
MF Ben Fox (2001-07-06) 6 July 2001 (age 23) 0 0 Solomon Islands Marist F.C. v.  Singapore, 18 June 2023
FW Junior Fordney (1999-11-26) November 26, 1999 (age 24) 1 0 Solomon Islands Central Coast 2023 Pacific GamesPRE
FW Norman Ngafu (1997-07-16) July 16, 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Solomon Islands Marist 2023 Pacific GamesPRE
FW Mohammad Mekawir (2000-07-27) 27 July 2000 (age 24) 4 0 Solomon Islands Waneagu United v.  Singapore, 18 June 2023

Player records

Players in bold are still active with Solomon Islands.

Most appearances

Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1 Henry Fa'arodo 64 20 2002–2017
2 Benjamin Totori 52 29 2007–2019
3 Joses Nawo 50 7 2011–present
4 Hadisi Aengari 43 0 2011–present
5 Nelson Sale Kilifa 37 0 2004–2017
Philip Mango 37 0 2016–present
7 Commins Menapi 36 34 2000–2007
Batram Suri 36 14 1995–2005
9 Atkin Kaua 34 5 2016–present
10 Gagame Feni 33 19 2012–present

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Commins Menapi 34 36 0.94 2000–2007
2 Benjamin Totori 29 52 0.56 2007–2019
3 Henry Fa'arodo 20 64 0.31 2002–2017
4 Gagame Feni 19 33 0.58 2012–present
5 Batram Suri 14 36 0.39 1995–2005
6 Raphael Lea'i 12 15 0.8 2022–present
7 Noel Berry 10 14 0.71 1995–2000
8 Micah Lea'alafa 8 25 0.32 2016–present
9 Joses Nawo 7 50 0.14 2011–present
10 John Orobulu 6 6 1 2018–present
Alwin Hou 6 14 0.43 2018–present
Robert Seni 6 14 0.43 1996–2003
Alick Maemae 6 19 0.32 2004–2007
Jack Samani 6 28 0.21 2000–2007

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup qualification
Year Host Round Pld W D L F A Pos Pld W D L F A
1930 to 1986 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
1990  Italy Did not enter Did not enter
1994  United States Did not qualify Group Stage 4 0 1 3 5 13
1998  France Group Stage 8 3 3 2 22 23
2002  South Korea
 Japan		 Group Stage 4 2 0 2 17 10
2006  Germany 2nd 11 6 2 3 24 16
2010  South Africa Knockout Stage 6 4 0 2 23 6
2014  Brazil 4th 9 2 2 5 7 22
2018  Russia 2nd 9 4 1 4 10 16
2022  Qatar 2nd 3 2 0 1 6 8
2026  Canada
 Mexico
 United States		 To be determined To be determined
2030  Morocco
 Portugal
 Spain
2034  Saudi Arabia
Total
—
 – – – – – – 0/9 57 23 9 25 118 121

OFC Nations Cup

Oceania Cup / OFC Nations Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA
New Zealand 1973 Did not enter Did not enter
New Caledonia 1980 Group stage 8th 3 0 0 3 3 21 N/A No qualification
Pacific Community 1996 Semi-finals 3rd 2 0 0 2 1 3 Squad 4 4 0 0 10 1
Australia 1998 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 8 7
French Polynesia 2000 Third place 3rd 4 2 0 2 7 10 Squad 4 2 1 1 10 9
New Zealand 2002 Group stage 6th 3 0 1 2 3 9 Squad Qualified automatically
Australia 2004 Runners-up 2nd 7 3 1 3 10 17 Squad 4 3 1 0 14 1
Pacific Community 2008 Did not qualify 6 4 0 2 23 6
Solomon Islands 2012 Fourth place 4th 5 1 2 2 5 6 Squad Qualified as host
Papua New Guinea 2016 Semi-finals 3rd 4 1 0 3 2 4 Squad Qualified automatically
Vanuatu 2024 Qualifield
Total Runners-up 7/10 28 7 4 17 31 70 — 22 15 3 4 65 24

Pacific Games

Pacific Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Fiji 1963 Fourth place 4th 3 1 0 2 6 26
New Caledonia 1966 Group stage 6th 2 0 1 1 4 12
Papua New Guinea 1969 Sixth place 6th 5 0 1 4 8 19
French Polynesia 1971 did not enter
Guam 1975 Third place 3rd 4 2 1 1 9 8
Fiji 1979 Third place 3rd 5 4 0 1 24 5
Samoa 1983 Group stage 10th 3 1 0 2 0 11
New Caledonia 1987 did not enter
Papua New Guinea 1991 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 1 0 12 3
French Polynesia 1995 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 0 2 34 10
Fiji 2003 Group stage 5th 4 2 1 1 14 4
Samoa 2007 Fourth place 4th 6 4 0 2 23 6
New Caledonia 2011 Runners-up 2nd 7 5 0 2 21 6
Papua New Guinea 2015 See Solomon Islands national under-23 football team
Samoa 2019 Group stage 7th 5 2 1 2 30 9
Total Runners-up 12/15 55 29 6 20 185 119

Wantok Cup

  • 2008 (July, 1st edition) – First place

Head-to-head record

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  American Samoa 3 3 0 0 29 1 +28 9
2  Australia 10 0 1 9 8 55 −47 1
3  Chinese Taipei 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
4  Cook Islands 5 5 0 0 37 2 +35 15
5  Fiji 38 6 16 16 42 71 −29 34
6  Guam 3 3 0 0 24 2 +22 9
7  Kiribati 1 1 0 0 7 0 +7 3
8  Macau 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3 3
9  Malaysia 1 0 0 1 1 4 −3 0
10  New Caledonia 27 11 2 14 31 53 −22 35
11  New Zealand 13 0 2 11 11 49 −38 2
12  Papua New Guinea 23 14 4 5 40 29 +11 46
13  Samoa 3 3 0 0 20 0 +20 9
14  Singapore 2 0 1 1 4 5 −1 1
15  Tahiti 24 5 3 16 26 76 −50 18
16  Tonga 5 5 0 0 31 0 +31 15
17  Tuvalu 4 4 0 0 29 1 +28 12
18  Vanuatu 35 22 7 6 77 37 +40 73
19  Wallis and Futuna 3 3 0 0 23 1 +22 9
Source: 1963–99 results and 2000–present results
Notes:

Honours

  • OFC Nations Cup
    • Runners-up (1): 2004
    • Third place (2): 1996, 2000
  • South Pacific Games
    • Runners-up (3): 1991, 1995, 2011
    • Third place (1): 1975, 1979
  • Wantok Cup
    • Winners (1): 2008

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de las Islas Salomón para niños

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