American Samoa wrote themselves into the record books with a 2-1 triumph over Tonga as it was their first ever World Cup qualifying win and their first against a fellow OFC member association. Samoa were also celebrating after sneaking past Cook Islands 3-2 in dramatic fashion but the day undoubtedly belonged to their neighbours.
American Samoa have not had an enjoyable time on the international stage and came into this tournament having conceded 129 goals and scored just twice in their three previous World Cup qualifying campaigns. But they appear a much different prospect under new coach Thomas Rongen, who has been at the helm of the United States U-20 national team and several MLS clubs, and were good value for their winning start.
“We are pleased to have begun the tournament with a win but what’s more important is what it means in terms of American Samoa’s history,” Rongen said.
“My mindset when I took this job was to win the tournament but deep down I knew it would probably be more about scoring goals and trying to win as many games as possible. But now we have put ourselves in a position where we can possibly advance to the second stage. We still have two good teams to play in Cook Islands and Samoa but we will savour this moment and enjoy it.”
Rongen had under a month to gel his charges into a cohesive unit but the Dutchman seems to have worked wonders in that time and saw the hard work pay off as goals from Ramin Ott and Shalom Luani earned the historic win. Ott’s all-important strike arrived at the end of an evenly-fought first half and there was a touch of fortune about it, goalkeeper Kaneti Felela somehow letting the speculative effort from distance evade his grasp and find the net.
The American Samoa bench and noisy supporters reacted deliriously to the goal and were sent into ecstasy once more in the 74th minute when Luani ran onto a through ball and dispatched it past the oncoming Felela.
Tonga finally replied when Neo Feao nodded home a Lafaele Moala cross at the far post in the 88th minute and American Samoa endured several anxious moments in the dying seconds. Desperate not to become the leaders’ first ever victims, Tonga poured forward in the final stages but American Samoa clung on to record the memorable win.
Tonga coach Chris Williams was disappointed to have witnessed his men become the footnote to American Samoa’s piece of history but took nothing away from the victors’ efforts.
“They deserved to win, we had enough chances to equalise and didn’t take them,” he said. “There are still two games to go and we will just have to re-gather and see how we go in two days’ time.”
There was just as much drama in the afternoon’s second match as Samoa earned an exciting last-gasp success over Cook Islands, the winner coming from Pati Bell with one of the last kicks of the game to send the rowdy home fans wild.
“It was very important we started with a win because we haven’t played international football for four years,” Samoa coach Tunoa Lui said. “Cook Islands have some very skilful and talented players and their fitness levels were also very high. It is an advantage to be playing at home and I would like to thank all the supporters that came out today.”
Striker Luki Gosche gave the crowd plenty to cheer about in the 19th minute when he beat goalkeeper Iona Lupena in a one-on-one and Samoa could have extended the lead eight minutes later from the penalty spot, Lupena pulling off a great save from Silao Malo’s effort. That miss seemed costly when Cook Islands got themselves back into the game with a Campbell Best tap in on the 35-minute mark.
The parity was short-lived though, Gosche putting his country ahead again just a minute later with an almost identical finish to his first. It looked like that might be enough to win it as the final whistle drew near but Shane Rufer’s charges were not done yet and leveled again with just six minutes to go, Best scoring his second with a low half-volley into the far corner.
There was still just enough time for another twist as the match entered the added-on period and Bell supplied it, securing a win that could prove vital for Samoa and making a hero out of himself in the process.
“I think Samoa were physically stronger than us in the first half and stopped some of our ball players from playing,” Rufer said. “There was some very naïve defending, we talked about not conceding goals just after we’d scored and we did that twice.”
American Samoa vs. Tonga: Download Match Summary Here
Cook Islands vs. Samoa: Download Match Summary Here
For the full schedule and results table click here

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