The Montserrat national football team represents Montserrat in international football. Football is the second most popular sport in Montserrat, after cricket. The team plays at the Blakes Estate Stadium. The Montserrat football team was formed in 1973, and has entered the World Cup qualifiers since the 2002 edition, being eliminated in the first round on each occasion.

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

Montserrat

Nickname(s)	Emerald Boys
Association	Montserrat Football Association
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation	CFU (Caribbean)
Head coach	Lee Bowyer
Captain	Lyle Taylor
Most caps	Alex Dyer (28)
Top scorer	Lyle Taylor (12)
Home stadium	Blakes Estate Stadium
FIFA code	MSR
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	175 1 (4 April 2024)[1]
Highest	165 (August 2014)
Lowest	206 (January 2011 – January 2012, June 2012, August – September 2012)
First international
Saint Lucia 3–0 Montserrat  (Saint Lucia; 10 May 1991)
Biggest win
British Virgin Islands 0–7 Montserrat  (Fort-de-France, Martinique; 9 September 2012)
Biggest defeat
Bermuda 13–0 Montserrat  (Hamilton, Bermuda; 29 February 2004)

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Due to the volcanic activity on the island from 1995 to 2010, the team has only played a handful of matches, and most of those have been away from home. Their only victories were against neighboring Anguilla in the qualifying tournament of the 1995 Caribbean Cup, winning 3–2 at home and 1–0 away. Apart from one draw against Anguilla, all their other matches before 2018 were losses. Since then, however, Montserrat has proven more competitive.

On 30 June 2002, the day of the 2002 World Cup final, Montserrat, then the lowest ranked team in the world, played against the second lowest ranked team, Bhutan, in a friendly match known as "The Other Final"; losing 4–0.

The Montserrat national team is one of the newest in international football, having played its first senior match on 10 May 1991, during the 1991 Caribbean Cup tournament. The team suffered a 3–0 defeat against Saint Lucia. The team's next match was against Anguilla; securing a 1–1 draw. Montserrat once again entered the Caribbean Cup the following year, but were once more knocked out in the group stage, with heavy defeats against Saint Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda. They were drawn against the same two teams in the 1994 Caribbean Cup, again being eliminated in the tournament's group stage, conceding 17 goals in two matches. In 1994, the Montserrat Football Association (MFA) was formed. Like all other football teams based in the Caribbean, the MFA became a member of CONCACAF.

On 26 March 1995, Montserrat played their first ever home international match. They defeated Anguilla 3–2, thus achieving their first win. The team beat Anguilla again in the next fixture, to ensure progression to the Second Qualifying Round of the 1995 Caribbean Cup. The 1–0 win in the second leg, was their only clean sheet in international football, and their most recent victory for the next seventeen years. The side exited the competition in the next stage, losing 20–0 against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Soon afterwards, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active and the eruptions destroyed Plymouth, the capital of Montserrat, severely disrupting life on the island.^[2] Despite the lack of football action, the MFA became a member of FIFA in 1996. However, it was a further three years before the Montserrat team played another match. This was mostly because many of the island's footballers had emigrated from the area, many of them to England.^[2]

After a four-year hiatus, the team entered the 1999 Caribbean Nations Cup. They were knocked out in the preliminary round of the tournament, losing 6–1 to the British Virgin Islands. Due to the volcanic activity on the island, Montserrat had been unable to enter the FIFA World Cup 1998 tournament, so their entry to the 2002 World Cup was their first; but it was not a success as they were defeated 6–1 by the Dominican Republic. In 2001, the MFA visited The Football Association to raise money for a new stadium. Shortly after this the Blakes Estate Stadium was opened. The team's next match was on 30 June 2002, the day of the World Cup Final, when Montserrat played Bhutan in a game known as "The Other Final". The friendly match between the two lowest-ranked teams in the world ended with a 4–0 win for Bhutan in front of 15,000 fans in Thimphu.

Montserrat entered the World Cup qualifiers once more for the 2006 competition, but again lost in the first qualifying round, this time losing 20–0 against Bermuda. Montserrat then competed in the 2005 Caribbean Cup, but once more failed to progress past the preliminary round. In 2008, they were defeated 7–1 by Suriname in the first qualifying round of the 2010 World Cup.

The team played a friendly match against a Network Rail XI on May 19, 2012, ending in a 4–4 draw.

Montserrat achieved their first victory since 1995 and their first ever victory since joining FIFA, beating the British Virgin Islands 7–0 in a 2012 Caribbean Championship qualifying match.

Montserrat's fortunes changed dramatically in 2018 with the arrival of Willie Donachie and the launch of the CONCACAF Nations League.^[2] The side won three of their four qualifying games, but missed out on qualification for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup on goal difference. The team went on to take second place in their group in the inaugural season with two wins, draws, and losses each, thus keeping their place in the second tier.

Following Willie Donachie, in 2022 Matt Lockwood took over for a spell as head coach and technical director, supported in March 2023 by assistant coaches Craig Easton and David Preece.^[3][4] Just months later on September 8, Lee Bowyer took over as the Montserrat manager and Steve Gallen is the assistant. In their first game they beat Barbados with a 99th-minute winner to go second in their CONCACAF Nations League group.

Due to the team's poor results, they have often been at the lower end of the FIFA World Rankings. The loss to Bhutan in "The Other Final" saw them fall to 203rd in the rankings, becoming the worst-ranked side in the world. After the addition of another two teams to FIFA, Montserrat achieved a new low of 205th between July and October 2004. In July 2006, they achieved a record high rank of 196th, but then fell to 198th the following month. Success in the qualifying tournament for the CONCACAF Nations League and the first edition of the league proper saw them rise to 184th.^[5]

The team have also languished in the lower reaches of the unofficial World Football Elo Ratings, which ranks teams directly based on their match results.

Since the team's first match in 1991, Montserrat have usually worn a first-choice kit of green, either plain green^[6] or green and white hoops.^[7] Currently, the away kit is a red jersey, shorts and socks.

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

Montserrat  v  Haiti

25 March 2022–23 Nations League	Montserrat	0–4	Haiti	Lookout, Montserrat
17:00 UTC−4		Report	Nazon 49' Pierrot 60' Etienne 70' Prunier 84'	Stadium: Blakes Estate Stadium Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

Guyana  v  Montserrat

28 March 2022–23 Nations League	Guyana	0–0	Montserrat	Wildey, Barbados
19:00 UTC−4		Report		Stadium: Wildey Turf Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)

Barbados  v  Montserrat

8 September 2023–24 Nations League	Barbados	2–3	Montserrat	Wildey, Barbados
19:00 UTC−4	Downey 8' Gale 26'	Report	Taylor 6', 90+8' Codrington 81' (o.g.)	Stadium: Wildey Turf Referee: Ken Pennyfeather (Antigua and Barbuda)

Dominican Republic  v  Montserrat

11 September 2023–24 Nations League	Dominican Republic	3–0	Montserrat	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
19:00 UTC−4	Dorsett 3' (o.g.) Romero 25', 64'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)

Montserrat  v  Nicaragua

13 October 2023–24 Nations League	Montserrat	0–3	Nicaragua	Wildey, Barbados
15:00 UTC−4		Report	Pérez 5' Medina 72' Montes 90+4'	Stadium: Wildey Turf Referee: Jorge Leira (Panama)

Nicaragua  v  Montserrat

16 October 2023–24 Nations League	Nicaragua	3–0	Montserrat	Managua, Nicaragua
20:00 UTC−6	Pérez 38' Coronel 43' Moldskred Belli 48'	Report		Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Fútbol Referee: José Valladares (Honduras)

Montserrat  v  Dominican Republic

17 November 2023–24 Nations League	Montserrat	2–1	Dominican Republic	Lookout, Montserrat
15:00 UTC−4	Barzey 37' Simon 57'	Report	Reyes 75'	Stadium: Blakes Estate Stadium Attendance: 290 Referee: Yadel Martínez (Cuba)

Montserrat  v  Barbados

20 November 2023–24 Nations League	Montserrat	4–2	Barbados	Lookout, Montserrat
15:00 UTC−4	Barzey 33' Dyer 35' Daniels 62' Richmond 88'	Report	Jules 47' James 90+4'	Stadium: Blakes Estate Stadium Referee: Moeth Gaymes (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

2024

Montserrat  v Club Costa City

21 March Training Friendly	Montserrat	4–0	Club Costa City	La Nucia Football Center, La Nucia, Spain
17:00 (CET)	Barzey Benjamin Gordon Clifton

Nicaragua  v  Montserrat

5 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Nicaragua

v

Montserrat

Montserrat  v  Panama

9 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Montserrat

v

Panama

2025

Montserrat  v  Belize

4 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Montserrat

v

Belize

Guyana  v  Montserrat

10 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Guyana

v

Montserrat

As of 20 November 2023^[11]

Players in bold are still active with Montserrat.

As of 20 November 2023^[12]

More information Against, Played ...

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	% Won
Anguilla	4	2	1	1	6	7	−1	50%
Antigua and Barbuda	4	0	1	3	6	20	−14	0%
Aruba	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100%
Barbados	3	2	0	1	7	9	−2	66%
Belize	3	1	0	2	4	8	−4	33%
Bermuda	2	0	0	2	0	20	−20	0%
Bhutan	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4	0%
Bonaire	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0%
British Virgin Islands	3	1	0	2	8	6	+2	33%
Cayman Islands	1	1	0	0	2	1	1	100%
Curaçao	2	0	1	1	3	4	−1	0%
Dominican Republic	5	2	1	2	5	8	−3	40%
El Salvador	4	0	1	3	2	6	−4	0%
Martinique	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	0%
Saint Kitts and Nevis	4	0	0	4	2	29	−27	0%
Saint Lucia	3	1	1	1	2	4	−2	33%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3	0	0	3	0	27	−27	0%
Suriname	2	0	0	2	2	14	−12	0%
U.S. Virgin Islands	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100%
Total	48	12	7	29	54	172	−118	25%

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Note: teams in italic are not FIFA members.