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São Tomé and Príncipe national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see São Tomé and Príncipe women's national football team.

São Tomé and Príncipe
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Seleção dos Falcões e Papagaios
(Falcons and True Parrots Team)
Guerreiros do Equador
(Warriors of the Equator)
AssociationFederação Santomense de Futebol (FSF)
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationUNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Head coachRicardo Monsanto
CaptainLuís Leal
Most capsJoazhifel Soares (36)
Top scorerLuís Leal (11)
Home stadiumEstádio Nacional 12 de Julho
FIFA codeSTP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 189 Increase 1 (28 November 2024)[1]
Highest115 (March 2012)
Lowest200 (September – October 2007)
First international
 Gabon 6–1 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Libreville, Gabon; 2 May 1976)
Biggest win
 São Tomé and Príncipe 2–0 Equatorial Guinea 
(Libreville, Gabon; 14 November 1999)
 São Tomé and Príncipe 2–0 Sierra Leone 
(São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe; 8 April 2000)
 Mauritius 1–3 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Belle Vue Harel, Mauritius; 9 October 2019)
Biggest defeat
 Congo 11–0 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Libreville, Gabon; 7 July 1976)

The São Tomé and Príncipe national football team is the national association football team of São Tomé and Príncipe and is controlled by the São Toméan Football Federation. It is a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA.[3]

History

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São Tomé and Príncipe's first ever match was a friendly against Gabon in May 1976. They lost by a score of 6–1. Their next game, during the 1976 Central African Games, was a horrendous 11–0 loss to Congo, São Tomé's largest loss to date. São Tomé rounded off the competition with a 2–1 loss to Central African Republic and a 5–0 loss to Chad.

The following year, São Tomé picked up their first win, in a friendly versus Rwanda. In both 1978 and 1987 they achieved a draw at home to Angola.

The Green and Yellows took an eleven year break, before a string of matches including their first entry to a FIFA sanctioned tournament. At the UNIFAC Cup in 1999, they achieved their second win, 2–0 against Equatorial Guinea. They won the next game after that, against Sierra Leone, 2–0. This two-in-a-row streak accompanied with a draw a few matches later placed them at their highest FIFA ranking to date, 179.

In 2003, São Tomé lost to Libya 1–0 and 8–0, which was a major blow to their previous success.[4] São Tomé did not participate in the qualification for the 2010 World Cup, withdrawing before their first match, leaving them unranked in the FIFA rankings because they did not play any matches for four years.

On 11 November 2011, after an eight-year hiatus, São Tomé and Príncipe participated in the qualification for the 2014 World Cup, losing to Congo 5–0, then drawing 1–1 with the same team four days later. São Tomé were reinstated in the FIFA rankings on 23 November 2011, entering at number 192.

In January 2012, in the preliminary round of 2013 AFCON Qualifiers, São Tomé achieved their first ever aggregate win, defeating Lesotho 1–0 at home then successfully defending a 0–0 draw in Maseru seven days later. In the next round, São Tomé only narrowly lost 5–4 on aggregate to Sierra Leone. In the following years, São Tomé continued to show promise with impressive wins at home to Ethiopia and Libya but poor away results prevented them from advancing again.

On 9 October 2019, São Tomé defeated Mauritius 1–3 away from home in the first leg of their preliminary round tie of 2021 AFCON Qualifiers. This was São Tomé and Príncipe's first away win in a competitive match ever. Four days later, São Tomé won 2–1 at home to advance 5–2 on aggregate and enter Group C, facing Ghana, South Africa and Sudan, where they finished bottom with zero points.

During the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, São Tomé faced Mauritius, winning the first leg 1–0 before drawing the second leg 3–3 to advance to the group stages. Following the fixtures CAF sanctioned São Tomé for their first leg victory as they hadn't followed COVID protocol for Luis Leal, giving Mauritius a 3–0 victory and eliminating São Tomé from the competition.[5] São Tomé appealed the decision and, following an initial unsuccessful ruling, they were reinstated by CAF a week before the first qualifying group game.[6]

Results and fixtures

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Main article: São Tomé and Príncipe 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

2024

[edit]
22 March 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification São Tomé and Príncipe  1–1  South Sudan Berkane, Morocco
19:00 UTC±0
  • Leal 50'
 Report
Stadium: Berkane Municipal Stadium
Referee: Alhasan Bass (Gambia)
26 March 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification South Sudan  0–0
(1–1 agg.)		  São Tomé and Príncipe Berkane, Morocco
17:00 UTC±0 Report Stadium: Berkane Municipal Stadium
Referee: Keren Yocette (Seychelles)
Note: 1–1 on aggregate; South Sudan won on away goals.
6 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Malawi  3–1  São Tomé and Príncipe Lilongwe, Malawi
15:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Bingu National Stadium
Referee: Ahmed Arajiga (Tanzania)
9 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification São Tomé and Príncipe  0–1  Liberia Oujda, Morocco
14:00 UTC+1 Report
Stadium: Stade municipal d'Oujda
Referee: Andofetra Rakotojaona (Madagascar)

Coaching history

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Players

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Current squad

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The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Malawi and Liberia on 6 and 9 June 2024.[citation needed]

Caps and goals correct as of 9 June 2024, after the match against Liberia

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Pedro Mateus (1996-09-27) 27 September 1996 (age 28) 4 0 Portugal Feirense
1GK Fehér (2004-01-27) 27 January 2004 (age 20) 2 0 Portugal Marinhais
2DF Adjakson (2002-10-08) 8 October 2002 (age 22) 10 0 Portugal Real Queluz
2DF Rogério Fernandes (2002-08-28) 28 August 2002 (age 22) 7 0 Portugal Real Queluz
2DF Gilberto (2000-12-02) 2 December 2000 (age 24) 5 0 São Tomé and Príncipe 6 de Setembro
2DF Ricardo Fernandes (2002-08-28) 28 August 2002 (age 22) 3 0 Portugal Estoril Praia
2DF Elias Varela (2000-05-19) 19 May 2000 (age 24) 3 0 Portugal GD Bragança
2DF Nuno Malheiro (1994-02-01) 1 February 1994 (age 30) 2 0 Iceland UMF Grindavík
3MF Marcos Barbeiro (1995-07-29) 29 July 1995 (age 29) 16 1 Spain Pontevedra
3MF Aldair (1989-09-04) 4 September 1989 (age 35) 14 0 Belgium RSD Jette
3MF Iniesta (1992-10-21) 21 October 1992 (age 32) 13 2 São Tomé and Príncipe Rei Amador
3MF Joel Neves (1994-05-01) 1 May 1994 (age 30) 12 0 Portugal Interoeste
3MF Denilson (1998-07-02) 2 July 1998 (age 26) 8 1 Croatia Omladinac Gornja Vrba
3MF Mauro Vilhete (1993-05-10) 10 May 1993 (age 31) 4 0 England Hornchurch
3MF João Silva (2005-06-15) 15 June 2005 (age 19) 2 0 England Stocksbridge Park Steels
4FW Luís Leal (1987-05-29) 29 May 1987 (age 37) 29 11 Argentina Almagro
4FW Eba Viegas (1999-10-08) 8 October 1999 (age 25) 16 0 Portugal Amora
4FW Mimi (1996-10-07) 7 October 1996 (age 28) 13 0 Bulgaria Chernomorets Balchik
4FW Ronaldo Afonso (2000-07-11) 11 July 2000 (age 24) 12 0 Portugal Vitória de Guimarães B
4FW Edmílson Viegas (1996-10-29) 29 October 1996 (age 28) 9 1 Iceland Íþróttafélagið Höttur
4FW Gué (2001-09-23) 23 September 2001 (age 23) 8 2 Finland KPV
4FW Sérgio Malé (2004-05-08) 8 May 2004 (age 20) 2 0 Portugal Sacavenense

Recent call ups

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The following players were also named to a squad in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
DF Lúcio Oliveira (1992-11-26) 26 November 1992 (age 32) 9 0 Portugal Lagoa v.  Namibia; 21 November 2023
DF Auleocárcio (1998-07-10) 10 July 1998 (age 26) 2 0 Portugal Imortal v.  Namibia; 21 November 2023
FW Kelve Semedo (2004-05-09) 9 May 2004 (age 20) 5 0 Portugal Académico de Viseu U23 v.  Namibia; 21 November 2023
FW Álvaro (1998-04-23) 23 April 1998 (age 26) 2 0 Portugal Barreirense v.  Namibia; 21 November 2023

Player records

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As of 9 June 2024[7]
Players in bold are still active with São Tomé and Príncipe.

Most appearances

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Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Joazhifel Soares 36 1 2011–present
2 Luís Leal 29 11 2012–present
3 Ivonaldo 26 0 2014–present
4 Zé 20 3 2011–2021
5 Francisco do Nascimento 18 0 2011–2018
6 Harramiz 17 2 2015–present
7 Marcos Barbeiro 16 1 2016–present
Eba Viegas 16 0 2021–present
Leonildo Soares 16 0 2016–present
10 Aldair Santos 14 0 2016–present

Top goalscorers

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Luís Leal is São Tomé and Príncipe's top scorer with 11 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Luís Leal 11 29 0.38 2012–present
2 Jair Nunes 4 12 0.33 2011–2016
3 Zé 3 20 0.15 2011–2021
4 Amilcar 2 3 0.67 2000
Gué 2 8 0.25 2021–present
Iniesta 2 13 0.15 2017–present
Harramiz 2 17 0.12 2015–present

Competition records

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FIFA World Cup

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FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1974 Part of  Portugal Part of  Portugal
1978 to 1986 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
Italy 1990 Did not enter Declined participation
United States 1994 Withdrew Withdrew
France 1998 Did not enter Did not enter
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 4
Germany 2006 2 0 0 2 0 9
South Africa 2010 Withdrew Withdrew
Brazil 2014 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 6
Russia 2018 2 1 0 1 1 3
Qatar 2022 2 0 0 2 1 3
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined 4 0 0 4 1 10
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total - 0/9 - - - - - - 14 2 1 11 6 35

Africa Cup of Nations

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Africa Cup of Nations record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Sudan 1957 Part of  Portugal Part of  Portugal
United Arab Republic 1959
Ethiopia 1962
Ghana 1963
Tunisia 1965
Ethiopia 1968
Sudan 1970
Cameroon 1972
Egypt 1974
Ethiopia 1976 Not affiliated to CAF Not affiliated to CAF
Ghana 1978
Nigeria 1980
Libya 1982
Ivory Coast 1984
Egypt 1986
Morocco 1988 Did not enter Did not enter
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992
Tunisia 1994
South Africa 1996
Burkina Faso 1998
Ghana Nigeria 2000 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 6
Mali 2002 2 0 1 1 2 5
Tunisia 2004 Withdrew Withdrew
Egypt 2006 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 9
Ghana 2008 Did not enter Did not enter
Angola 2010 Withdrew Withdrew
Equatorial Guinea Gabon 2012 Did not enter Did not enter
South Africa 2013 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 5 5
Equatorial Guinea 2015 2 0 0 2 0 4
Gabon 2017 6 1 0 5 4 19
Egypt 2019 2 0 0 2 2 4
Cameroon 2021 8 2 0 6 8 18
Ivory Coast 2023 6 1 2 3 7 22
Morocco 2025 2 0 2 0 1 1
Kenya Tanzania Uganda 2027 To be determined To be determined
2029
Total 0 titles 0/35 — — — — — — 36 6 6 24 29 93

Head-to-head record

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Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD WPCT
 Angola 4 0 1 3 6 12 −6 0.00
 Benin 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 0.00
 Cape Verde 2 0 0 2 2 9 −7 0.00
 Central African Republic 2 0 0 2 1 5 −4 0.00
 Chad 2 0 0 2 0 10 −10 0.00
 Congo 4 0 1 3 1 18 −17 0.00
 Equatorial Guinea 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 33.33
 Ethiopia 2 1 0 1 1 3 −2 50.00
 Gabon 4 0 1 3 3 12 −9 0.00
 Ghana 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 0.00
 Guinea-Bissau 5 0 0 5 2 10 −8 0.00
 Lesotho 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 50.00
 Liberia 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0.00
 Libya 4 1 0 3 2 14 −12 25.00
 Madagascar 2 0 0 2 2 4 −2 0.00
 Malawi 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 0.00
 Mauritius 4 3 1 0 9 5 +4 75.00
 Morocco 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 0.00
 Namibia 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0.00
 Nigeria 2 0 0 2 0 16 −16 0.00
 Rwanda 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 50.00
 Sierra Leone 6 2 1 3 7 12 −5 33.33
 South Africa 2 0 0 2 2 6 −4 0.00
 South Sudan 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 0.00
 Sudan 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6 0.00
 Togo 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6 0.00
 Tunisia 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4 0.00
 Uganda 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 0.00
Total 69 10 10 49 48 179 −131 14.49
Source: Results

References

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  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 December 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  3. ^ "BBC Sport − São Tomé e Príncipe rocket up Fifa rankings". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 7 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  4. ^ "São Tomé e Príncipe spring an unlikely surprise − World Soccer". worldsoccer.com. Time Inc. UK. 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  5. ^ Warshaw, Andrew. "Mauritius win 2023 AFCON qualifier slot after Sao Tome break covid rules". Inside World Football. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  6. ^ Shehu, Idris. "Mauritius out as CAF reinstates Sao Tome to Nigeria's group". The Cable. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Sao Tome and Principe". National Football Teams.
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