Guam national football team

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Guam

Nickname(s)	Matao (The Noblemen)[1]
Association	Guam Football Association
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	EAFF (East Asian)
Head coach	Ross Awa
Captain	Jason Cunliffe
Most caps	Jason Cunliffe (66)
Top scorer	Jason Cunliffe (26)
Home stadium	GFA National Training Center
FIFA code	GUM
First colors Second colors
FIFA ranking
Current	203 Steady (19 December 2024)[2]
Highest	146 (August–September 2015)
Lowest	207 (March 2022)
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)
Pacific Mini Games
Appearances	1 (first in 1993 )
Best result	Group stage (1993)
Micronesian Games
Appearances	1 (first in 1998 )
Best result	Runners-up (1998)

The Guam national football team represents Guam, an overseas territory of the United States, in international football and is controlled by the Guam Football Association. They are affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation's East Asian Football Federation region.

Guam reached its highest ever position in the FIFA World Ranking at 146th in 2015 after victories over Turkmenistan and India.^[4] Guam's first FIFA World Cup qualification match was played against Iran national football team at Tabriz.^[5]

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.

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.^[6] 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.^[7] 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.

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.

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 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 lose 3–1 on aggregate.

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.^{[8] [9]}

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	Name
Head coach	Guam Ross Awa
Assistant coach	Guam Jefferson Piliping
Assistant coach	Guam Augustine Salvatierra
Goalkeeper coach	Guam Ted Escudero
Video Analyst	Guam Jefferson Piliping
Team Doctor	Guam Dr. Luis Cruz
Physiotherapist	Guam Simeon Piñón
Physiotherapist	Guam Gilbert Robles
Team Manager	Guam Vance Manibusan
High Performance Manager	Guam Irving Buhay
Media Officer	Guam Jill Espiritu
Equipment Director	Guam Thomas Castro

The following players were called up for the 2025 EAFF E-1 Football Championship preliminary competition.^[10]

Caps and goals 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年01月01日) January 1, 2004 (age 21)	1	0	United States University of West Florida
18	1GK	Josiah Jones	(2006年11月28日) November 28, 2006 (age 18)	0	0	Guam Bank of Guam Strykers FC
1GK	Dallas Jaye	(1993年06月19日) June 19, 1993 (age 31)	22	0	free agent
1GK	Zaine Rocca	(2007年06月28日) June 28, 2007 (age 17)	0	0	United States Total Futbol Academy
2	2DF	Morgan McKenna	(2003年01月16日) January 16, 2003 (age 22)	1	0	United States Muskingum University
3	2DF	Takumi Ito	(2000年02月03日) February 3, 2000 (age 25)	4	0	Laos Ezra
4	2DF	Kyle Halehale	(2002年06月03日) June 3, 2002 (age 22)	11	0	United States Mercyhurst University
5	2DF	Leon Morimoto	(2001年12月18日) December 18, 2001 (age 23)	5	1	Philippines Loyola
13	2DF	Anthony Quidachay	(2002年06月11日) June 11, 2002 (age 22)	2	0	United States Chatham Cougars
15	2DF	Shane Healy	(1998年07月03日) July 3, 1998 (age 26)	3	0	Guam Bank of Guam Strykers FC
20	2DF	Levi Buckwalter	(2004年12月29日) December 29, 2004 (age 20)	2	0	Guam Wings FC
2DF	Isiah Lagutang	(1997年08月03日) August 3, 1997 (age 27)	13	1	Guam Bank of Guam Strykers FC
2DF	Jonahan Romero	(1988年03月17日) March 17, 1988 (age 36)	34	0	United States SYC United
2DF	Nate Lee	(1994年05月06日) May 6, 1994 (age 30)	11	0	United States FC Frederick
2DF	Dane Agustin	(2006年01月23日) January 23, 2006 (age 19)	2	0	United States San Antonio FC Academy
6	3MF	Joey Ciochetto	(1996年10月22日) October 22, 1996 (age 28)	4	0	United States Irvine Zeta
8	3MF	Alec Taitague	(2000年05月09日) May 9, 2000 (age 24)	31	3	United States Roanoke Maroons
10	3MF	Jason Cunliffe (captain)	(1983年10月23日) October 23, 1983 (age 41)	67	26	Guam Bank of Guam Strykers FC
11	3MF	Nainoa Norton	(2004年04月03日) April 3, 2004 (age 20)	2	0	United States Olivet Nazarene University
12	3MF	Nathan Sablan	(1993年08月10日) August 10, 1993 (age 31)	0	0	Guam Rovers FC
14	3MF	Jason Castro	(2007年07月06日) July 6, 2007 (age 17)	1	0	United States Strikers FC Irvine
3MF	John Matkin	(1986年04月20日) April 20, 1986 (age 38)	30	2	Free agent
3MF	Jude Bischoff	(1992年04月26日) April 26, 1992 (age 32)	1	0	Guam Guam Shipyard
3MF	Travis Nicklaw	(1993年12月21日) December 21, 1993 (age 31)	36	1	Free agent
7	4FW	James Gomez	(2004年09月15日) September 15, 2004 (age 20)	3	0	United States Claremont McKenna College
9	4FW	Oz Rocca	(2004年08月10日) August 10, 2004 (age 20)	3	0	United States Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners
16	4FW	Levi Berg	(2008年04月15日) April 15, 2008 (age 16)	1	0	Guam Guam Shipyard
17	4FW	Shuntaro Suzuki	(2005年10月21日) October 21, 2005 (age 19)	1	0	Guam Wings FC
19	4FW	Daniel Glasscock	(2004年05月19日) May 19, 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Guam Manhoben Lalahi FC
4FW	Marcus López	(1992年02月09日) February 9, 1992 (age 33)	37	6	Guam Bank of Guam Strykers FC
4FW	Eddie Na	(1996年02月12日) February 12, 1996 (age 29)	8	0	United States Tacoma Stars
4FW	Ka'eo Gonsalves	(2005年01月06日) January 6, 2005 (age 20)	2	0	United States Richmond Kickers

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

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension

As of October 17, 2023

Players in bold are still active with Guam.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Jason Cunliffe	66	26	2006–present
2	Ian Mariano	42	3	2007–present
3	Dylan Naputi	40	4	2011–present
	Marcus Lopez	40	6	2012–present
5	Dominic Gadia	36	0	2003–present
	Mark Chargualaf	36	0	2007–present
7	Shawn Nicklaw	35	2	2012–2019
	Travis Nicklaw	35	1	2012–present
9	Ryan Guy	33	4	2012–2016
	Micah Paulino	33	0	2008–2016

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Jason Cunliffe	26	66	0.39	2006–present
2	Matthew Naputi	13	—	—	1998–2005
3	Zachary Pangelinan	8	12	0.67	2005–2008
4	Marcus Lopez	6	40	0.15	2012–present
5	Joshua Borja	5	15	0.33	2009–2013
6	Christopher Mendiola	4	11	0.36	2007–2009
	Shane Malcolm	4	29	0.14	2014–present
	Ryan Guy	4	33	0.12	2012–2016
	Dylan Naputi	4	40	0.1	2011–present
10	Elias Merfalen	3	19	0.16	2005–2012
	Ian Mariano	3	42	0.07	2007–present

FIFA World Cup									Qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Pld	W	D	L	F	A
1930 to 1998	Not a FIFA member								Not a FIFA member
South Korea Japan 2002	Did not qualify								2	0	0	2	0	35
Germany 2006	Withdrew								Withdrew
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018	Did not qualify								8	2	1	5	3	16
Qatar 2022									10	1	0	9	7	33
Canada Mexico United States 2026									2	0	0	2	1	3
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030	To be determined									To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total	0/7	22	3	1	18	11	87

AFC Asian Cup									AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
Hong Kong 1956	Not a member of the AFC								Not a member of the AFC
South Korea 1960
Israel 1964
Iran 1968
Thailand 1972
Iran 1976
Kuwait 1980
Singapore 1984
Qatar 1988
Japan 1992	Did not enter								Did not enter
United Arab Emirates 1996	Did not qualify								3	0	0	3	2	27
Lebanon 2000									3	0	0	3	0	32
China 2004									2	0	0	2	0	11
Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Vietnam 2007	Did not enter								Did not enter
Qatar 2011	Did not qualify								AFC Challenge Cup
Australia 2015
United Arab Emirates 2019	Withdrew during qualification								8	2	1	5	3	16
Qatar 2023	Did not qualify								12	1	0	11	8	36
Saudi Arabia 2027	Excluded during qualification								2	0	0	2	1	3
Total	0/18	—							30	3	1	25	14	125

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

East Asian Football Championship record									Preliminary competition
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
East Asian Football Championship
Japan 2003	Did not qualify								4	0	0	4	0	22
South Korea 2005									4	0	0	4	1	49
China 2008									4	2	0	2	13	27
Japan 2010									6	2	1	3	9	28
EAFF East Asian Cup
South Korea 2013	Did not qualify								6	2	1	3	8	18
China 2015									6	3	2	1	10	6
EAFF E-1 Football Championship
Japan 2017	Did not qualify								3	0	0	3	2	7
South Korea 2019									3	1	1	1	5	3
Japan 2022	Did not participate								Not held
South Korea 2025	Did not qualify								2	1	0	1	2	6
Total	–	0/9	0	0	0	0	0	0	38	11	5	22	50	166

AFC Challenge Cup record									Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
Bangladesh 2006	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	0	17	No qualification
India 2008	Did not qualify								3	0	0	3	4	18
Sri Lanka 2010	Did not enter								Did not enter
Nepal 2012
Maldives 2014	Did not qualify								3	1	0	2	3	9
Total	Group stage	1/5	3	0	0	3	0	17	6	1	0	5	7	27

Micronesian Games record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GS	GA
Palau 1998	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	0	1	52	7
Pohnpei State 2014	Did not enter
Yap State 2018
Marshall Islands 2022	To be determined
Total	Runners-up	1/3	6	5	0	1	43	5

As of 14 December 2024

Opponent	First	Last	Played	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Confederation
American Samoa	2011	2011	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	OFC
Aruba	2014	2014	2	0	1	1	2	4	–2	CONCACAF
Australia	2012	2012	1	0	0	1	0	9	–9	AFC
Bangladesh	2006	2006	1	0	0	1	0	3	–3	AFC
Bhutan	2003	2019	3	1	0	2	5	7	–2	AFC
Cambodia	2006	2021	4	1	0	3	3	6	–3	AFC
China	2000	2021	3	0	0	3	0	33	–33	AFC
Chinese Taipei	1996	2016	12	2	1	5	13	52	–39	AFC
Fiji	1975	1996	2	0	0	2	1	19	–18	OFC
Hong Kong	2003	2024	9	0	1	8	4	64	–60	AFC
India	2013	2015	3	1	0	2	2	6	–4	AFC
Iran	2000	2015	3	0	0	3	0	31	–31	AFC
North Korea	2005	2016	5	0	0	5	3	42	–39	AFC
South Korea	1996	1996	1	0	0	1	0	9	–9	AFC
Laos	2013	2013	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	AFC
Macau	2003	2024	7	3	2	2	10	7	3	AFC
Maldives	2019	2019	2	0	0	2	1	4	–3	AFC
Mongolia	2003	2018	7	2	1	4	7	17	–17	AFC
Myanmar	2013	2013	1	0	0	1	0	5	–5	AFC
New Caledonia	1979	2011	2	0	0	2	1	20	–19	OFC
Northern Mariana Islands	2007	2024	15	11	2	2	48	18	30	AFC
Oman	2015	2016	2	0	1	1	0	1	–1	AFC
Pakistan	2008	2008	1	0	0	1	2	9	–7	AFC
Palestine	2006	2006	1	0	0	1	0	11	–11	AFC
Papua New Guinea	1995	1995	1	0	0	1	0	9	–9	OFC
Philippines	2000	2021	5	0	0	5	1	13	–12	AFC
Singapore	2015	2023	3	0	1	2	3	5	–2	AFC
Solomon Islands	1975	2011	3	0	0	3	2	24	–22	OFC
Sri Lanka	2008	2008	1	0	0	1	1	5	–4	AFC
Syria	2019	2021	2	0	0	2	0	7	–7	AFC
Tahiti	1993	1993	1	0	0	1	0	11	–11	OFC
Tajikistan	2000	2000	1	0	0	1	0	16	–16	AFC
Turkmenistan	2015	2015	2	1	0	1	1	1	0	AFC
Vanuatu	1995	2011	2	0	0	2	0	2	–2	OFC
Vietnam	1996	2000	2	0	0	2	0	2	–20	AFC

• Mariana Cup
  • Champions (3): 2007, 2008, 2010

Media related to Guam national association football team at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (in English and Spanish)
• Guam at AFC
• Guam at FIFA

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