American Samoa make history

Oceania correspondent for:

American Samoa have qualified for an OFC tournament for the very first time.

The American Samoa U16 girls have made history. (Photo: OFC Media via Creators Hype)

The American Samoa girls first beat Papua New Guinea 1-0 in the first match of the OFC U16 Women’s Championship qualifiers in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

And then they upset the hosts, in an action-packed 5-4 victory over the Cook Islands on match day three.

The American Samoa Soccer Federation (FFAS) hope many will join in welcoming the girls back home on Monday May 5th at 11am local time

“Show your support by stopping by the Tafuna International Airport to welcome our team. We hope to see you there!” the FFAS wrote on Facebook.

A dominant first half performance was enough for American Samoa to hold on and claim victory, despite a spirited comeback from the tournament hosts in a nine-goal epic.

Captain Metuamrau Arere put the Cook Islands ahead in the sixth minute, but it was quickly cancelled out by two goals in three minutes from American Samoa.

Wendolynn Tua levelled it up, before Salamasina Satele capitalised on a goal-keeping error in the 11th minute to flip the contest on its head.

Satele had her second goal just eight minutes later, and Maryjane Laina made it four in the 25th minute when she converted a one-on-one situation with Moerai Ngametua.

Desperately in need of a goal, Tetianui Pitomaki pulled one back for the Cook Islands with a wonderful long range effort in first-half stoppage time.

Arere had the chance to further reduce it back to just a one-goal deficit from the penalty spot before the break, but Reililah Noa got down to save well to her left.

The goals kept coming in the second half, as Maryjaine Laina scored her second for American Samoa, only to be cancelled out by Arere’s second for the Cook Islands.

The score was 5-3 to American Samoa with half an hour to play, but the Cook Islands continued to believe, and Metuamaru Arere completed her hat-trick in the 74th minute to put the hosts on the verge of completing the comeback.

Despite some late pressure and numerous chances, American Samoa survived the late onslaught to hold on for victory and secure qualification.

They will now join New Zealand, the Solomon Islands and Tonga, in Group B at the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2025 in Apia in August.

Enter the text or HTML code here