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Papua New Guinea

Nickname(s)	Lakatois (Motuan sailing vessel)
Association	Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA)
Confederation	OFC (Oceania)
Head coach	Spencer Prior
Captain	Meagen Gunemba
Most caps	Deslyn Siniu (43)
Top scorer	Meagen Gunemba (28)
Home stadium	Sir Hubert Murray Stadium
FIFA code	PNG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	56 (13 December 2024)
Highest	46 (December 2019 – December 2020)
Lowest	60 (June – September 2005)
First international
Australia B 2–0 Papua New Guinea  (Brisbane, Australia; 26 March 1989)
Biggest win
Kiribati 0–13 Papua New Guinea  (Nausori, Fiji; 30 June 2003)
Biggest defeat
New Zealand 16–0 Papua New Guinea  (Sydney, Australia; 19 May 1991)
OFC Women's Nations Cup
Appearances	10 (first in 1989)
Best result	Champions (2022)

Papua New Guinea women's national soccer team

Medal record
OFC Women's Nations Cup
	2022 Fiji	Team
Pacific Games
	2003 Suva	Team
	2007 Apia	Team
	2011 Nouméa	Team
	2015 Port Moresby	Team
	2019 Apia	Team

The Papua New Guinea women's national soccer team is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA). Its nickname is the Lakatois, which is a Motuan sailing vessel. Their home ground is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, located in Port Moresby and their current manager is Peter Gunemba. Deslyn Siniu is the team's most capped player and top scorer.

Papua New Guinea has never qualified for a FIFA Women's World Cup or the Olympic Games, but won the Pacific Games Football Tournament on five occasions (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019) and won the 2022 OFC Women's Nations Cup and was runner up three times (2007, 2010 and 2014). They can be considered the second-best team in the Oceania Football Confederation after New Zealand.

Papua New Guinea's FIFA ranking as of December 2022 is 51. Their highest ever ranking was 46 in December 2019 and their worst ranking was 133 in September 2014.

History

1989–1998

Papua New Guinea played its first international game on 26 March 1989 in the Australian city of Brisbane facing the Australia B-side on the 1989 Oceania Cup. The match resulted in a 2–0 loss for the Papua New Guinean team. Geraldine Eka was Papua New Guinea's first scorer, in the lost game against Taiwan (6–1). In the two remaining matches, their rivals were New Zealand and Australia (senior team), with whom they lost both games. The Papua New Guineans finished on the bottom of the table, after being defeated in the four games.

The team participated on the 1991 and 1994 editions of the Oceania Cup, with the second being on home soil in the country's capital, Port Moresby. In both editions, they faced Australia and New Zealand, losing to them heavily. During that period, Papua New Guinea had its biggest loss, 16–0 with New Zealand. Both tournaments also served as the qualifiers for the first FIFA World Cup, held in China in 1991 and the second, in Sweden in 1995.

The Papua New Guineans won the 1996 Pacific Cup in Tonga with Miriam Lanta's help. In the same year, they managed to achieve their only draw with New Zealand.

The 1998 Oceania Cup in New Zealand saw a small improvement on the national team. They finished in the third position of the competition after beating Fiji 7–1 on the third place match. Other results include a victory over American Samoa and two defeats with Australia and New Zealand.

2000s

After 5 years without playing any games, Papua New Guinea re-appeared with coach Francis Moyap, in the 2003 Oceania Cup, celebrated in Australia during April 2003. The Papua New Guineans finished third once again. This edition included two new rivals: the Cook Islands and Samoa, teams which they defeated by 5–1 and 5–2, respectively. Midfielders Lydia Banabas and Glenda Matthies were notable players in this competition. Papua New Guinea had an average attendance of 412.5 people per match.

On the same year, the Papua New Guinean squad participated in the inaugural South Pacific Games women's football tournament, held in Fiji during June–July. This time, the national team achieved their biggest victory in their opening match, 13–0 over Kiribati, with Deslyn Siniu scoring a total of six goals for her country. With 13 points, thanks to four victories, one tie and one loss, Papua New Guinea won the gold medal in this competition. This time, the Papua New Guineans had an average attendance of 800 people per match.

Despite having won the Pacific Games tournament, the national team did a regular performance at the 2004 Olympic qualifying tournament, where it faced Australia and Fiji in a round-robin system competition.

The team appeared in the 2005 Arafura Games tournament, and finished with poor results.

Without Australia in the OFC, Papua New Guinea hosted the Oceania Cup again in 2007. All the games were played in Lae. This time, the team won against their neighbors, the Solomon Islands and Tonga (in fact, by an own goal scored by Tonga's Mele Vaisioa Mahe Niukapu). In the last game, the team lost the chance of qualifying to the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China after losing to New Zealand.

The Papua New Guineans won their second gold medal in Samoa in the 2007 South Pacific Games. In the group stage, the team had very impressive victories (6–0 against American Samoa; 4–0 against the Solomon Islands; 4–1 against the Cook Islands) and a narrow loss (1–0 against Fiji). It advanced to the semi-finals along with Tahiti, and won 5–0, allowing them to advance to the final game, where they confronted Tonga at the Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex. After a hard game, Papua New Guinea won 3–1 after extra time with the help of Daisy Winas, Ara Midi and Lydia Banabas. The aforementioned was the national team's top scorer again, with a total of eight goals. Thanks to this result, the Papua New Guineans qualified for a play-off against New Zealand to determine Oceania's representative at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Papua New Guinea played the Olympic play-off qualifier on 8 March 2008, but they lost 2–0.

2010s

With an attendance of 60 people, the Lakatois started their 2010 Oceania Cup campaign facing Fiji at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Papua New Guinea won the game 3–0 with a scoreline of 1–0 in the half-time. Both the second and third matches (2–1 against the Solomon Islands and 3–0 against Tonga, with an own goal of the Tongan goalkeeper Lupe Likiliki) resulted in victories. Papua New Guinea advanced to the semi-finals to beat the Cook Islands by 1–0. The final, played on 8 October 2010, saw the Kiwis and the Papua New Guineans struggling once again for the Oceania Cup title in front of an audience of 900 people. New Zealand finished as the champion for the fourth time, after thrashing Papua New Guinea 11–0. Zeena Limbai had a brilliant participation, after scoring four goals for PNG.

With one goal from Miriam Louma against Tahiti, the Papua New Guinean team started their 2011 Pacific Games road in New Caledonia, coached by Steven Mune. They achieved a second victory, against American Samoa, by 8–0, including an own goal. It was followed by a loss against the hosts, New Caledonia (2–1) and a victory over the Solomon Islands (1–0). The national team advanced to the semi-finals, where they faced Fiji, winning the game 4–0. In the gold medal/final game, the Papua New Guinean squad confronted the New Caledonians for the second time in the tournament. Christelle Wahnawe scored for the New Caledonians and Ara Midi and Linah Honeakii for the Papua New Guinean team, thus making 2–1 the final result. PNG received the gold medal for the third time.

PNG failed to qualify for the London 2012 Summer Olympics despite having a very good performance on the first stage of the qualifiers, played in Tonga from March to April 2012. They had an attendance average of 973.8 people per match.

With the former Australian footballer Gary Phillips as the squad's manager, Papua New Guinea started the 2014 OFC Nations Cup winning 4–1 on home soil, at the Kalabond Oval in Kokopo against the Cook Islands. The Lakatois were defeated by the Kiwis 3–0 in the second game. The tournament finished with a 3–0 win to Tonga. Meagen Gunemba was PNG's top scorer, with four goals, and goalkeeper Fidelma Watpore was awarded with the Golden Gloves.

The Lakatois had a tour on Southeast Asia in March 2015. They faced Singapore and Thailand.

The national team finished first in the Group B of the 2015 Pacific Games (on home soil), and had a victory against Samoa to advance to the final match, facing New Caledonia. Marie Kaipu gave the Papua New Guineans a fourth gold medal after scoring in the 21st minute.

The Lakatois' latest game was the 2016 Olympic qualifier against the Kiwis, which resulted in a 7–1 loss. A second leg was supposed to be played, but the Papua New Guinean team couldn't travel to New Zealand due to visa issues.

Team image

Nicknames

The Papua New Guinea women's national soccer team has been known or nicknamed as the "Lakatois (Motuan sailing vessel)".

Home stadium

Papua New Guinea play its home matches on the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

2023

23 February Friendly	Chinese Taipei	5–0	Papua New Guinea	Auckland, New Zealand
				Stadium: North Harbour Stadium

17 November 2023 (2023-11-17) 2023 Pacific Games GS	Papua New Guinea	9–0	American Samoa	Honiara, Solomon Islands
19:00	Padio 7', 34', 49', 53' (pen.), 78', 84' Elipas 50' Kaipu 58', 76'	Report		Stadium: SIFF Academy fields 1 & 2 Referee: Ben Ariel Aukwai (Solomon Islands)

20 November 2023 (2023-11-20) 2023 Pacific Games GS	Papua New Guinea	3–0	Cook Islands	Honiara, Solomon Islands
16:00	Padio 16', 26' Butubu 81'	Report		Stadium: SIFF Academy fields 1 & 2 Referee: Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)

23 November 2023 (2023-11-23) 2023 Pacific Games GS	New Caledonia	2–2	Papua New Guinea	Honiara, Solomon Islands
19:00	Wenessia 26' Hnaune 88'	Report	Ligneul 24' (o.g.) Butubu 50'	Stadium: SIFF Academy fields 1 & 2 Referee: Ben Ariel Aukwai (Solomon Islands)

27 November 2023 (2023-11-27) 2023 Pacific Games SF	Papua New Guinea	5–1	Samoa	Honiara, Solomon Islands
12:00	Padio 7', 26', 78' Kaipu 40', 64'	Report	Lyne-Lewis 56'	Stadium: Lawson Tama Stadium Referee: Bernard Mutukera (Solomon Islands)

1 December 2023 (2023-12-01) 2023 Pacific Games F	Papua New Guinea	4–1	Fiji	Honiara, Solomon Islands
19:00	Pala 20' Kaipu 72' Maneo 80', 90+8'	Report	Davis 90+2'	Stadium: Lawson Tama Stadium Referee: Calvin Berg (New Zealand)

2024

7 February 2024 (2024-02-07) 2024 Summer Olympic Qualification	Papua New Guinea	1–1	Solomon Islands	Apia, Samoa
17:00 UTC+13	Kalapai 69'	Report	Solosaia 30'	Stadium: FFS football stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)

10 February 2024 (2024-02-10) 2024 Summer Olympic Qualification	Papua New Guinea	3–4	Fiji	Apia, Samoa
17:00 UTC+13	Kalapai 39', 65' Maneo 67'	Report	Diyalowai 11' Leba 26', 43', 61' (pen.)	Stadium: FFS football stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand)

13 February 2024 (2024-02-13) 2024 Summer Olympic Qualification	American Samoa	0–9	Papua New Guinea	Apia, Samoa
13:00 UTC+13				Stadium: Apia Park

• Papua New Guinea Fixtures and Results – Soccerway.com

Head-to-head record

As of 8 October 2021

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD
American Samoa	3	3	0	0	23	0	+23
Australia	8	0	0	8	0	68	−68
Australia B	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Australia Defense Force	1	0	0	1	2	8	−6
Chinese Taipei	1	0	0	1	1	6	−5
Cook Islands	5	5	0	0	16	3	+13
Fiji	7	6	0	1	23	4	+19
Guam	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Kiribati	1	1	0	0	13	0	+13
New Caledonia	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1
New Zealand	15	0	1	14	2	96	−94
Northern Territory	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Philippines	2	0	0	2	1	14	−13
Samoa	3	3	0	0	15	4	+11
Singapore	3	1	1	1	5	5	0
Solomon Islands	4	4	0	0	13	2	+11
Tahiti	3	3	0	0	9	0	+9
Thailand	2	0	0	2	1	18	−17
Tonga	7	6	0	1	15	4	+11
United States	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5
Vanuatu	2	1	1	0	13	3	+10
Total	72	36	3	33	157	247	−90

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of 4 February 2023

Position	Name	Ref.
Head coach	Eric Komeng
Assistant Coach	Edna Thomas
Goalkeeping Coach	Godfrey Baniau

Manager history

Manager	Career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Competitions
Unknown	1989–2003	17	2	1	14	011.8	1989 OFC Championship – Third place 1991 OFC Championship – Third place 1994 OFC Championship – Third place 1998 OFC Championship – Third place
Francis Moyap	2003–2010	29	16	1	12	055.2	2003 OFC Championship – Third place 2003 South Pacific Games – Champions 2007 OFC Championship – Runners-up 2007 South Pacific Games – Champions 2010 OFC Championship – Runners-up
Steven Mune	2011–2012	14	11	0	3	078.6	2011 Pacific Games – Champions
Gary Phillips	2014–2015	11	7	1	3	063.6	2014 OFC Nations Cup – Runners-up 2015 Pacific Games – Champions
Rachel Wadunah	2016–?	1	0	0	1	000.0	2014 OFC Nations Cup – Runners-up 2015 Pacific Games – Champions
Frederica Sakette	?–	0	0	0	0	!—
Spencer Justin	2023	2	0	0	2	000

Players

Current squad

• The following players were named to the squad for the 2024 OFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament between 7 and 19 February 2024.

Caps and goals as of 30 July 2022 after the match against  Fiji.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Fidelma Watpore
1	1GK	Faith Kasiray	(1999-12-20) 20 December 1999 (age 24)	6	0	POM
2	1GK	Lavinia Hola	(1999-03-22) 22 March 1999 (age 25)	5	0	POM
	2DF	Anastasia Gunemba
	2DF	Raynatha Samuel
	2DF	Serah Waida
	2DF	Georgina Bakani
5	2DF	Olivia Upaupa	(1992-06-06) 6 June 1992 (age 32)	30	9	Lae
	2DF	Merolyne Sali
	2DF	Fidorah Namuesh
	3MF	Mavis Singara
16	3MF	Rumona Morris	(1993-06-05) 5 June 1993 (age 31)	2	0	POM
	3MF	Phylis Pala
	3MF	Christie Maneu
	3MF	Hortance Kimit
	3MF	Aileen David
	4FW	Marie Kaipu
	4FW	Cynthia Bangita
	4FW	Cynthia Bangita
	4FW	Nenny Elipas
	4FW	Calista Maneo
	4FW	Michaelyne Butubu
	4FW	Arnolda Dou

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Glories Miag					Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
DF	Gloria Laeli	(1997-03-25) 25 March 1997 (age 27)	2	0	POM	Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
MF	Rumona Padio					Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
	Ginnimarie Wambi					Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
	Mayah Samai					Football at the 2023 Pacific Games
	Grace Batiy					Football at the 2023 Pacific Games

Previous squads

OFC Women's Nations Cup

• 2022 OFC Women's Nations Cup squad

Pacific Games

• Football at the 2023 Pacific Games squads

Records

As of 10 September 2017

*Players in bold are still active.

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup									Qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	Did not qualify								4	0	0	4	0	47
1995									4	0	0	4	0	19
1999									4	2	0	2	16	14
2003									4	2	0	2	10	21
2007									3	2	0	1	7	8
2011									5	4	0	1	9	12
2015									3	2	0	1	7	4
2019									4	3	0	1	14	3
2023									5	5	0	1	16	3
2027	To be determined								To be determined
Total	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	31	15	0	16	63	128

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics									Qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1996	Did not enter
2000
2004	Did not qualify								2	1	0	1	2	10
2008									7	5	0	2	22	5
2012									6	4	0	2	22	18
2016									5	4	0	1	12	8
2020									2018 Nations Cup
2024									2022 Nations Cup
Total	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20	14	0	6	58	41

OFC Women's Nations Cup

OFC Women's Nations Cup
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1983	did not enter
1986
1989	Fifth place	5th	4	0	0	4	1	19	−18
1991	Third place	3rd	4	0	0	4	0	47	−47
1994	Third place	3rd	4	0	0	4	0	19	−19
1998	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2	16	14	+2
2003	Third place	3rd	4	2	0	2	10	21	−11
2007	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	7	8	−1
2010	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1	9	12	−3
2014	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	7	4	+3
2018	Third place	3rd	5	4	0	1	22	9	+13
2022	Champions	1st	5	4	1	0	13	6	+7
Total	Champions	10/12	41	20	1	20	85	159	–74

Pacific Games

Pacific Games
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
2003	Champions	1st	6	4	1	1	22	6	+16
2007	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1	22	3	+19
2011	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1	17	3	+14
2015	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	11	1	+10
2019	Champions	1st	5	5	0	0	23	5	+18
Total	Champions	5/5	27	23	1	3	95	18	+77

Pacific Cup

Pacific Cup
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1996	Champions	1st	Unknown details
Total	Champions	1/1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Arafura Games

Arafura Games
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
2005	Fifth Place	5th	4	0	0	4	2	20	−18
Total	Fifth Place	1/1	4	0	0	4	2	20	–18

See also

• Sport in Papua New Guinea
  • Football in Papua New Guinea
    • Women's football in Papua New Guinea
• Papua New Guinea women's national under-20 football team
• Papua New Guinea women's national under-17 football team
• Papua New Guinea men's national football team

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
2. "Women's Oceania Cup 1989". RSSSF.
3. "South Pacific Games 2003 (Fiji) – Tournament Details". RSSSF.
4. "Kazakhstan, Portugal produce thrilling fightbacks to reach semis". Archived from the original on 3 September 2017.
5. Hugosson, Annika (20 October 2016). "SOCCER.COM Outfits Papua New Guinea U20 Women's National Team". SOCCER.COM. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
6. "Football III Ladies Oceania Nations Cup 1989 Brisbane (AUS) 26.03–01.04 – Winner Taiwan". todor66. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
7. "Women's soccer veteran hangs up boots to officiate". The National. 9 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017.
8. "M-Wey Services Tournament Reports". ultimatenzsoccer. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
9. "Football VI Ladies Oceania Nations Cup 1998 – played in Auckland (NZL) +13 GMT – Winner Australia". todor66.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017.
10. "The RSSSF Archive – International Country Results – Women Tournaments". RSSSF.
11. "Ofc – PNG Keep World Cup Hopes Alive". 12 April 2007.
12. "PAPUA NEW GUINEA WOMEN GRIND OUT GOLDEN RESULT". 15 October 2008. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008.
13. "Oceania Football Confederation". 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
14. "Oceania Football Confederation". 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
15. "PNG women to tour SE Asia". 3 March 2015.
16. "Oceania Football Confederation". www.oceaniafootball.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
17. "Oceania Football Confederation". www.oceaniafootball.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
18. "Member Association - Papua New Guinea". 27 March 2021. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016.
19. "Justin Spencer". 27 March 2021.
20. READl PNG Football Association has named a strong team to take part in the upcoming 2024 OFC Olympics Qualifiers in Apia, Samoa next week..

External links

• Official website
• FIFA profile

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