Solomon Islands national football team

Solomon Islands

Nickname(s)	Bonitos
Association	Solomon Islands Football Federation
Confederation	OFC (Oceania)
Head coach	Josh Smith
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	141 8 (18 July 2024)[1]
Highest	120 (October 2007, April 2008)
Lowest	200 (January–March 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	8 (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.^[3]

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.^[4]

In 2019, they went on a three-week training tour in Netherlands.^[5]

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.

Kit lier	Period
Lotto	2004–2012
Pasifika	2013–2016
Veto	2016–2021
UCAN	2022–

• Lotto
• Telekom
• Capo Apparel

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

Position
Head coach	Jacob Moli[7]
Assistant coach	Stanley Waita[7]
Goalkeeper coach	Tibon Oge
Kit Manager	Augustine Hou
Team Manager	Dixion Lauia Anga

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

The following 23 players were called up for the 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup.^[10]

Caps and goals correct as of 18 June 2024, after the match against  New Zealand

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Philip Mango	(1995-08-28) August 28, 1995 (age 29)	41	0	Central Coast
	1GK	Michael Laulae	(2002-05-20) May 20, 2002 (age 22)	3	0	Henderson Eels
	1GK	Harold Nauania	(1997-10-10) October 10, 1997 (age 26)	1	0	Real Kakamora
	2DF	Javin Wae	(2002-11-17) November 17, 2002 (age 21)	20	0	Central Coast
	2DF	Leon Kofana	(2002-06-22) June 22, 2002 (age 22)	19	0	Rewa
	2DF	Allen Peter	(1995-09-11) September 11, 1995 (age 29)	18	0	Solomon Warriors
	2DF	David Supa	(2000-12-21) December 21, 2000 (age 23)	14	0	Central Coast
	2DF	Calvin Ohasio	(2000-04-05) April 5, 2000 (age 24)	10	0	Central Coast
	2DF	Junior David	(2001-09-22) September 22, 2001 (age 22)	8	0	Central Coast
	2DF	Prince Tahanipue	(1995-01-13) January 13, 1995 (age 29)	8	0	Central Coast
	2DF	Steven Koti	(2000-06-10) June 10, 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Kossa
	3MF	Atkin Kaua	(1996-04-04) April 4, 1996 (age 28)	38	5	Laugu United
	3MF	Tigi Molea	(1992-09-24) September 24, 1992 (age 31)	9	3	Solomon Warriors
	3MF	Marlon Tahioa	(1998-11-28) November 28, 1998 (age 25)	9	0	Central Coast
	3MF	Hudson Oreinima	(1988-07-24) July 24, 1988 (age 36)	2	0	Central Coast
	3MF	Hadyn Irodao	(2002-10-29) October 29, 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Central Coast
	4FW	Joses Nawo	(1988-05-03) May 3, 1988 (age 36)	54	8	Real Kakamora
	4FW	Gagame Feni	(1992-08-21) August 21, 1992 (age 32)	35	19	Kossa
	4FW	Alvin Hou	(1996-09-18) September 18, 1996 (age 27)	25	7	Solomon Warriors
	4FW	Raphael Lea'i	(2003-09-09) September 9, 2003 (age 21)	20	12	Adelaide City
	4FW	John Orobulu	(2000-08-29) August 29, 2000 (age 24)	11	8	Henderson Eels
	4FW	Bobby Leslie	(2000-03-03) March 3, 2000 (age 24)	10	2	Central Coast
	4FW	Junior Fordney	(1999-11-26) November 26, 1999 (age 24)	1	0	Central Coast

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) December 30, 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Honiara City	v.  Fiji, 20 March 2024
GK	Timothy Mae'arasia	(1995-06-19) June 19, 1995 (age 29)	2	0	Solomon Warriors	2023 Pacific Games
DF	Alick Stanton	(1998-05-25) May 25, 1998 (age 26)	8	0	Central Coast	v.  Fiji, 20 March 2024
DF	Hadisi Aengari	(1988-10-23) October 23, 1988 (age 35)	44	0	Solomon Warriors	v. Fiji, 20 March 2024
DF	Loea Taisara	(1989-06-02) June 2, 1989 (age 35)	3	0	Solomon Warriors	2023 Pacific Games
MF	William Komasi	(2000-06-10) June 10, 2000 (age 24)	19	1	Nadroga	v.  Fiji, 20 March 2024
MF	Molis Gagame	(1989-09-21) September 21, 1989 (age 34)	14	0	Kossa	v.  Fiji, 20 March 2024
MF	Don Keana	(2000-09-09) September 9, 2000 (age 24)	4	0	Waneagu United	v.  Fiji, 20 March 2024
FW	Micah Lea'alafa	(1991-06-01) June 1, 1991 (age 33)	26	8	FK Beograd	2023 Pacific Games
FW	Norman Ngafu	(1997-07-16) July 16, 1997 (age 27)	1	0	Marist	2023 Pacific GamesPRE

As of 18 June 2024^[11]

Players in bold are still active with Solomon Islands.

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Henry Fa'arodo	64	20	2002–2017
2	Joses Nawo	54	8	2011–present
3	Benjamin Totori	52	29	2007–2019
4	Hadisi Aengari	44	0	2011–present
5	Philip Mango	41	0	2016–present
6	Atkin Kaua	38	5	2016–present
7	Nelson Sale Kilifa	37	0	2004–2017
8	Commins Menapi	36	34	2000–2007
	Batram Suri	36	14	1995–2005
10	Gagame Feni	35	19	2012–present

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	35	0.54	2012–present
5	Batram Suri	14	36	0.39	1995–2005
6	Raphael Lea'i	12	20	0.6	2022–present
7	Noel Berry	10	15	0.67	1995–2000
8	John Orobulu	8	11	0.73	2018–present
	Micah Lea'alafa	8	26	0.31	2016–present
	Joses Nawo	8	54	0.15	2011–present

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

Oceania Cup / OFC Nations Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1973	Did not enter										Did not enter
1980	Group stage	8th	3	0	0	3	3	21	—		No qualification
1996	Semi-finals	3rd	2	0	0	2	1	3	Squad		4	4	0	0	10	1
1998	Did not qualify										4	2	1	1	8	7
2000	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2	7	10	Squad		4	2	1	1	10	9
2002	Group stage	6th	3	0	1	2	3	9	Squad		Qualified automatically
2004	Runners-up	2nd	7	3	1	3	10	17	Squad		4	3	1	0	14	1
2008	Did not qualify										6	4	0	2	23	6
2012	Fourth place	4th	5	1	2	2	5	6	Squad		Qualified automatically
2016	Semi-finals	3rd	4	1	0	3	2	4	Squad
2024	Group stage	6th	2	0	0	2	0	4	Squad
Total	Runners-up	8/11	30	7	4	19	31	74	—		22	15	3	4	65	24

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

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

As of 5 September 2024

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	WPCT
American Samoa	4	4	0	0	40	1	+39	100.00
Australia	10	0	1	9	8	55	−47	0.00
Chinese Taipei	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Cook Islands	5	5	0	0	37	2	+35	100.00
Fiji	42	8	16	18	46	75	−29	19.05
Guam	3	3	0	0	24	2	+22	100.00
Hong Kong	1	0	0	1	0	3	−3	0.00
Kiribati	1	1	0	0	7	0	+7	100.00
Macau	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3	100.00
Malaysia	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3	0.00
New Caledonia	28	11	3	14	33	55	−22	39.29
New Zealand	14	0	2	12	11	52	−41	0.00
Papua New Guinea	23	14	4	5	40	29	+11	60.87
Samoa[a]	4	4	0	0	21	0	+21	100.00
Singapore	2	0	1	1	4	5	−1	0.00
Tahiti	24	5	3	16	26	76	−50	20.83
Tonga	5	5	0	0	31	0	+31	100.00
Tuvalu	4	4	0	0	29	1	+28	100.00
Vanuatu[b]	35	22	7	6	77	37	+40	62.86
Wallis and Futuna	3	3	0	0	23	1	+22	100.00
Total	211	91	37	83	463	399	+64	43.13

• OFC Nations Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2004
  • Third place (1): 2000
  • Semi-finals (2): 1996, 2016
• South Pacific Games
  • Runners-up (3): 1991, 1995, 2011
  • Third place (1): 1975, 1979
• Wantok Cup
  • Winners (1): 2008

• Sarkar, Uttiyo (4 June 2023). "Hero Intercontinental Cup Rival Watch: Vanuatu". khelnow.com. Khel Now India. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.

• Solomon Islands Football Federation official website
• Solomon Islands at OFC
• Solomon Islands at FIFA