AUCKLAND
(OFC) - Those involved with American Samoa's rise to its highest ever
position on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking are proud to have hauled
themselves off the bottom of the OFC pile and hope it is just the beginning of
a meteoric turnaround.
The
tiny island nation has jumped ahead of fellow Oceania teams Cook Islands and
Papua New Guinea on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking and now sits at 186 - an
all-time high and a rise of 18 places since the last rankings were released.
The improvement is the result of a remarkable performance at the OFC Stage 1
Qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ - a campaign that brought
American Samoa's first ever win in World Cup qualifying and thrust the country
into the footballing spotlight across the world.
“Its
great news,” Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS) president Iuli Alex
Godinet says of the national team's new-found status on the rankings.
“I'm
sure the coach Thomas Rongen and all of our players will be very proud of this
achievement.”
Dutchman Rongen was the man who masterminded American Samoa's historic results
at the World Cup qualifying tournament in Samoa in November. Whilst he is proud
at what has been achieved so far, the former United States U-20 coach is keen
to stress that there is a lot more work to be done if the climb is to continue.
“This
is a very proud moment for FFAS and all involved,” Rongen says. “The goal going
forward now is to continue to improve and raise the overall standard of play in
American Samoa.”
Rongen's men hit headlines on all corners of the globe when they defeated Tonga
2-1 in Apia to open their qualifying campaign and followed that up with another
groundbreaking result, a 1-1 draw with Cook Islands, two days later.
Those results put the underdogs in with a chance of progressing to the next
stage of World Cup qualifying - a win against hosts Samoa on the final day of
the tournament would have been enough to see them through.
That
scenario had seemed unthinkable in the build-up to the event but American Samoa
came heartbreakingly close to achieving the impossible by keeping Samoa at bay
for the majority of the match and losing just 1-0.
“It
is an honour to know we have made a big difference in how American Samoa has
moved up in the rankings,” captain Liatama Amisone Jr says.
“This
is just the start and I know we can do better in the future and exceed what
we've accomplished. This also serves as a tool of persuasion for more athletes
to join our sport. It is our responsibility as national team players to let
them know what a good sport it is and that great things can come from playing
football."
FFAS CEO Tavita Taumua is just as proud of the upturn in on-pitch fortunes.
“I've
been with football in this country since 2006 and to finally see our ranking
improve is a great feeling,” he says. “All the hard work everyone put in for
this competition and for our association has paid off.”
American Samoa is not the only OFC nation to see its standing on the rankings
rise.
Thanks to its win in the Stage 1 qualifying tournament, Samoa has jumped a
whopping 55 places to 149 and is now second only to New Zealand in the Oceania
region.
Tonga is also a big mover - up 26 places to 176 - while Cook Islands has
climbed one spot to 195 but is now the lowest-ranked OFC country.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola Ranking will be published on January 18.
- OFC
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