Guam national football team

History

Beginnings (1960s–1990s)

Football in Guam began in the 1960s, on the initiative of two pioneers: an Irish priest, Tony Gillespie, and an owner of a construction company, Charles Whang, who settled in Guam and created the Guam Soccer Cup before becoming the first president of the Guam Football Association in 1975.

Guam played its first international match at the 1975 Pacific Games against Solomon Islands, losing 5–1. This result was followed by an 11–0 loss to Fiji, eliminating them from the competition. In the 1979 Games, Guam again lost twice to New Caledonia 11–1 and New Hebrides 5–0. Progressing to the Consolation Tournament, Guam registered their first victories, beating Western Samoa 4–2, and Tuvalu 7–2 before losing again to New Hebrides, 5–1.

AFC and FIFA Member (1991–2011)

Despite being considered part of Oceania, and having never faced an Asian team to that point, Guam became an associate member of the AFC in 1991 but continued to participate in the Pacific Games. In 1996, Guam became both a full member of the AFC and of FIFA.

As a full member of the AFC and FIFA, Guam played its first matches against Asian teams as part of the 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification losing all three matches against South Korea (9–0), Vietnam (9–0), and Chinese Taipei (9–2).

In 1998, Guam played in the Micronesian Games, though the tournament was a 9-a-side competition with 80 minute matches. Guam finished top of the group stage but lost 3–0 to Northern Mariana Islands in the final. Guam entered the 2000 Asian Cup qualification but finished last in their group again, losing to Vietnam (11–0), China (19–0), and Philippines (2–0).

Guam became one of the founding members of the East Asian Football Federation in 2002 and participated in the qualifiers for the inaugural 2003 East Asian Football Championship, finishing last again without registering a goal. The same is true for the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification, beaten by Bhutan and Mongolia. For the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Guam entered and was scheduled to face Nepal in the first round but both Nepal and Guam withdrew for financial reasons before their first match.

In the 2005 East Asian Football Championship qualifiers, Guam lost all four matches heavily, against Chinese Taipei (9–0), Hong Kong (15–0), Mongolia (4–1), and North Korea (21–0). Following these defeats, Guam entered the 2006 AFC Challenge Cup, a competition designed for emerging nations to help develop their football. Guam again lost all three matches to Palestine (11–0), Bangladesh (3–0), and Cambodia (3–0).

Guam advanced to the second stage of qualifying in the 2008 East Asian Football Championship by beating Northern Marianas 12–2 over two legs but they were eliminated in the next round by Chinese Taipei (10–0), and Hong Kong (15–1). In the 2010 East Asian Football Championship qualifiers, Guam managed to get its first victory over a FIFA member, beating Mongolia 1–0. They would go on to top the group before being eliminated at the next stage. Guam returned to the 2011 Pacific Games after a sixteen-year absence, but only managed to beat American Samoa 2–0, finishing second last and failing to advance to the knock-out stages.

Building the football structure (2012–present)

Gary White became Guam's manager in 2012 and called-up players of Guamanian origin based in the United States like Ryan Guy and A. J. DeLaGarza to improve the level of his team. In the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup, Matao managed to advance past the first round by beating Northern Marianas (3–1) and Macao (3–0). Guam then participated in the 2012 Philippine Peace Cup, replacing Hong Kong, losing against Philippines (1–0) and Chinese Taipei (2–0) but beat Macao (3–0) in its final group game to finish third. Guam advanced to the second qualifying stage of both the 2015 and 2017 EAFF Championship finishing third and fourth respectively and failing to advance the final competition. | mark-size1 = 16 | Dededo | Hagåtña | Tumon | Yona

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In 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, Guam beat Turkmenistan (1–0) and India (2–1), finishing fourth in their group and qualifying for the 2019 Asian Cup third round qualifiers, although Guam withdrew before the draw took place. Guam then failed to progress past the first qualifying round for the 2019 EAFF Championship.

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Guam beat Bhutan 5–1 over two legs but lost all eight of their second round matches and finished bottom of their group, scoring two goals and conceding 32.

After nearly not playing an international match for a year, Guam participated in the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Singapore, where they would ultimately lost 3–1 on aggregate.

During the 2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship preliminary, Guam won their first match against Macau on 14 December 2024 in a 2–1 win, its the first time they won against different opponents aside from Northern Mariana Islands.

Competition under FIFA

In November 2025, FIFA announced that Guam will participated in the 2026 FIFA Series held in Bayamón alongside U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and host Puerto Rico

Team image

Nicknames

Until 2011, the nickname of the Guamanian selection was Chamorros, in reference to the local population of Guam. When Gary White took charge of Guam, the team has changed their nickname to Matao, referring to highest social class in ancient Chamorro society in the Chamorro language. White also promoted the use of the Guam pledge before each match of the selection, referred to as the Inifresi.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Guam 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.

2024

• Cheng
• Morimoto
• Taitague
• Philip
• Benavides
• Everton
• Dudu
• Bechani
• Suzuki
• Casteneda
• Lopez
• Gomez
• Manibusan
• Cruz
• Castaneda

2026

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship preliminary competition.

Caps and goals correct as of December 14, 2024, after the match against Macau.

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Guam squad within last 12 months.

INJ Withdrew due to injury

PRE Preliminary squad

RET Retired from the national team

SUS Serving suspension

Coaching staff

Coaching history

• NIR Willie McFaul (1999–2003)
• JPN Sugao Kambe (2003–2005)
• JPN Norio Tsukitate (2005–2009)
• JPN Kazuo Uchida (2011–2012)
• ENG Gary White (2012–2016)
• USA Darren Sawatzky (2016–2017)
• AUS Karl Dodd (2017–2021)
• KOR Seo Dong-won (2021)
• KOR Kim Sang-hoon (2021–2023)
• GUM Ross Awa (2023–present)

Player records

:Players in bold are still active with Guam.

Most appearances

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

Main article: Guam national football team results

FIFA World Cup

AFC Asian Cup

• 2019 – Withdrew from the third tournament due to financial constraints.

East Asian Football Championship

AFC Challenge Cup

Pacific Games

Pacific Mini Games

Micronesian Games

Head-to-head record

As of 14 December 2024

Honours

Regional

• Micronesian Games
  • Runners-up (1): 1998

Friendly

• Marianas Cup (3): 2007, 2008, 2010

References

References

1. Mike Nauta Jr.. (1 June 2012). "Guam men's national soccer team now known as 'Matao'". Marianas Variety.
2. (6 August 2015). "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking − Guam Men's Ranking". FIFA.
3. "Biggest margin victories/losses".
4. "HISTORY OF GFA".
5. "Micronesian Games 1998".
6. (March 24, 2016). "Interview with Gary White".
7. "Gary White: Life in Guam, coaching in Japan and dreams of England".
8. "Head Coach Kim calls up 22 to Matao for AFC Asian Cup Playoff". Guam FA.