Liberia_national_football_team

Liberia national football team

Liberia national football team

Men's national association football team representing Liberia

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Liberia women's national football team.

The Liberia national football team, nicknamed the Lone Stars, represents Liberia in men's international football and is controlled by the Liberia Football Association. Although the nation produced the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, George Weah, its football team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations just twice—in 1996 and 2002. It is a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

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History

African Cup of Nations

In 1965 Liberia played in first campagin 1965 qualification qualifying campaign, losting its first match 0–1 against Ivory Coast. They also won 3–2 against DR Congo however lost both returning fixtures and were eliminated in the first round. In 1967 Liberia played in 1968 qualification qualifying campaign, drawing its first match 2–2 against Guinea. They also drew against Senegal however lost both returning fixtures and were eliminated in the first round. Liberia returned to qualifying in 1976 but lost in the preliminary round to Togo, falling to defeat in both fixtures. After another absence, Liberia again joined AFCON qualifying in 1982 in the preliminary rounds but failed to progress after two draws against Gambia, losing on the away goals rule.

Liberia withdrew from qualifying for the 1984 African Cup of Nations, but the following tournament they managed to secure their first win during qualifying, a 3–1 first-leg victory over Mauritania. They failed to capitalize on this advantage, losing 3–0 in the second leg. Liberia then faced Sierra Leone and Mali during the 1988 qualification and 1990 qualification respectively, but again failed to progress. In 1992, Liberia withdrew from qualifying before playing a match (possibly due to the ongoing First Liberian Civil War), and in 1994, Liberia was put into a group with two participants that withdrew during qualifying (Tanzania and Burkina Faso) however they failed to take advantage of this and finished with zero points, having lost to Ghana twice.

In the 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification, Liberia managed to register three wins (against Togo, Tunisia and Mauritania) and four draws, which saw them finish the group in second place and qualify for their first African Cup of Nations tournament. Following the withdrawal of Nigeria, Liberia was placed in a group with Gabon and Zaire. Liberia opened the tournament with a 2–1 victory over Gabon with goals from Kelvin Sebwe and Mass Sarr Jr. but lost 2–0 to Zaire. This meant that Liberia finished bottom of the group on goal difference and failed to progress to the knock-out stages.

Liberia missed out on returning to the African Cup of Nations in 1998 as they finished one point off of qualification. In 2000, they defeated Niger in the preliminary rounds, but again failed to advance to the main tournament, this time finishing behind Algeria on goal difference.

In 2002 African Cup of Nations qualification, Liberia beat Cape Verde in the preliminary rounds, then they finished top of their group to qualify for the main tournament for the second time in their history. In the 2002 African Cup of Nations, Liberia drew their first game 1–1 with Mali (goal scored by George Weah) and drew their second game 2–2 against Algeria (goals from Prince Daye and Kelvin Sebwe), but in their final group game, needing a win against Nigeria, they lost 1–0.

FIFA World Cup

Liberia first entered the qualifying process for the FIFA World Cup in 1966, however, they withdrew in protest against the fact that too few places had been reserved for Africa and Asia, along with all fourteen other African nations that had initially entered qualifying.

Liberia next entered qualifying in 1982 against Guinea after receiving a bye in the first round. They lost 1–0 over the two legs and were eliminated. In 1986, Liberia was again eliminated without having scored a goal, falling 4–0 to Nigeria. In 1990, Liberia won its first FIFA qualifying match defeating Ghana to progress to the second round. Despite finishing second in their group, Liberia failed to advance to the final qualification round, ending two points behind group winners Egypt.

In 1998, Liberia beat Gambia in the first qualification round, but finished twelve points adrift of Tunisia in their group. In 2002, Liberia had their strongest qualifying campaign, however, a loss against Ghana in their penultimate group game gave Nigeria the opportunity to overtake them and secure the only qualification spot.

Team image

Kit supplier

More information Kit provider, Period ...

Results and fixtures

Main article: Liberia national football team results (2020–present)

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

2023

28 March 2023 AFCON qualification Liberia  1–2  South Africa Monrovia, Liberia
18:00 UTC±0
  • Jebor 35'
 Report
Stadium: Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex
Referee: Daniel Nii Laryea (Ghana)
June 2023 AFCON qualification Liberia  Cancelled  Zimbabwe Liberia
--:-- UTC±0 Report
12 September Friendly Ghana  3–1  Liberia Accra, Ghana
 Report
Stadium: Accra Sports Stadium
Referee: Kouassi Attiogbe (Togo)
14 October Friendly Liberia  2–3  Libya Khouribga, Morocco
19:30 UTC+1
Report
  • Eisa 3' (pen.)
  • Bosheba 48'
  • Salama 66'
 Stadium: Phosphate Stadium
Referee: Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco)
17 October 2023 AFCON qualification Morocco  3–0  Liberia Agadir, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Adrar Stadium
Referee: Ahmad Imtehaz Heeralall (Mauritius)
Note: Match postponed from 9 September due to 2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake.
17 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Liberia  0–1  Malawi Paynesville, Liberia
16:00 UTC±0 Report
  • Mphasi 78'
 Stadium: Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex
Referee: Antoine Effa (Cameroon)

2024

20 March AFCON 2025 qualification Djibouti  0–2  Liberia Marrakech, Morocco
16:00 UTC±0
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
26 March AFCON 2025 qualification Liberia  0–0
(2–0 agg.)		  Djibouti Paynesville, Liberia
16:00 UTC±0 Stadium: Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex
Note: Liberia won 2–0 on aggregate.

Coaching staff

More information Position, Name ...

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Malawi and Equatorial Guinea on 17 and 20 November 2023.[4]

Caps and goals correct as of 17 October 2023, after the match against Morocco.

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

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

More information Pos., Player ...

Records

As of 20 November 2023[5]
Players in bold are still active with Liberia.

Most appearances

More information Rank, Name ...

Top goalscorers

George Weah is Liberia's top scorer with 18 goals.
More information Rank, Name ...

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

More information FIFA World Cup, Qualification ...

Africa Cup of Nations

More information Africa Cup of Nations record, Appearances: 2 ...

Honours

West African Nations Cup :

Notes

  1. Nagbe retired from international duty in 2001 but later played two farewell matches in 2011.
  2. Weah retired from international duty in 2002 but later played a farewell match in 2018.
  3. Debbah retired from international duty in 2004 but later played a farewell match in 2018.

References

  1. [1]
    "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  2. [2]
    "Liberia Kit History". Football Kit Archive. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  3. [3]
    Molaposc (July 21, 2014). "Molapo Sports Centre: A good win for Lesotho, but there is still work to do". Molapo Sports Centre. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  4. [4]
    "Final Squad". Twitter. Liberia Football Association. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  5. [5]
    Mamrud, Roberto. "Liberia - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
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