| East Timor | |
| Badge Size: | 175px |
| Nickname: | (The Crocodiles) (The Rising Sun) |
| Association: | Federação de Futebol de Timor-Leste |
| Sub-Confederation: | AFF (Southeast Asia) |
| Confederation: | AFC (Asia) |
| Captain: | João Pedro da Silva Freitas |
| Most Caps: | Anggisu Barbosa (30) |
| Top Scorer: | Rufino Gama (7) |
| Fifa Trigramme: | TLS |
| Fifa Max: | 146 |
| Fifa Max Date: | June 2015 |
| Fifa Min: | 206 |
| Fifa Min Date: | October 2012 |
| Elo Max: | 214 |
| Elo Max Date: | November 2015 |
| Elo Min: | 230 |
| Elo Min Date: | November 2016 |
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| Leftarm1: | B40A04 |
| Body1: | B40A04 |
| Rightarm1: | B40A04 |
| Shorts1: | DCDCDC |
| Socks1: | 1E1E1E |
| Pattern La2: | _TRLE24a |
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| Leftarm2: | FFFFFFF |
| Body2: | FFFFFFF |
| Rightarm2: | FFFFFFF |
| Shorts2: | 191C19 |
| Socks2: | FFFFFFF |
| First Game: | 3–2 (Colombo, Sri Lanka; 21 March 2003)[1] |
| Largest Win: | 1–5 (Yangon, Myanmar; 5 October 2012) |
| Largest Loss: | 0–10 (Dili, Timor Leste; 17 November 2015) |
| Regional Name: | AFC Solidarity Cup |
| Regional Cup Apps: | 1 |
| Regional Cup First: | 2016 |
| Regional Cup Best: | Group stage (2016) |
| 2Ndregional Name: | AFF Championship |
| 2Ndregional Cup Apps: | 3 |
| 2Ndregional Cup First: | 2004 |
| 2Ndregional Cup Best: | Group Stage (2004, 2018, 2020) |
The East Timor national football team (recognized as Timor-Leste by FIFA)[2] is the national team of East Timor and is controlled by the Federação de Futebol de Timor-Leste (FFTL). They joined FIFA on 12 September 2005.[3]
Timor-Leste's international debut was in the preliminary round of the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification in March 2003, when they lost 3–2 to Sri Lanka and 3–0 to Chinese Taipei.[4] They also participated in the 2004 AFF Championship. Timor-Leste's participation in Southeast Asia's premier international football event in 2004 was announced after an Asian Football Confederation council meeting in Petaling Jaya. Although not yet a member of the AFC, the FFTL was invited to sit in on the meeting, where they were represented by FA president Francia Kalbuadi.
Timor-Leste won their first international match on 5 October 2012 against Cambodia with a score of 5–1.[5]
Football was established in East Timor during the Portuguese colonial era, when many of the locals and the Portuguese officials played amateur football. After Portugal ended its colonial rule, Indonesia invaded and occupied the island, which resulted in a long running battle against Jakarta-led forces. East Timor eventually gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.
The East Timor Football Federation was accepted as an associate member of AFC at the 20th AFC Congress in 2002. Their international debut came in March 2003 when they participated in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification campaign for the 2004 AFC Asian Cup in China. Given their history, it was no surprise that they crashed out with defeats against the likes of Sri Lanka and Chinese Taipei. They then entered the regional competition for the first time in 2004 as they played in the 2004 AFF Championship as an invited member. They finished in last place, showing that they had a long way to go before they could compete even on the regional stage.
They again had no success in the 2007 AFF Championship qualification, with four heavy losses, including a 7–0 trouncing by the Philippines. The following year in the 2008 AFF Championship qualification, Timor-Leste surprisingly drew against Cambodia; this feat was reported in international news.
In the 2012 AFF Championship qualification, the country's football federation (FFTL) reportedly selected their foreign based players, who played in Brazil, Portugal, Australia and elsewhere, to fortify the team as they also did at the 2011 SEA Games.[6] On 5 October 2012, Timor-Leste won their first international match in a 5–1 victory against Cambodia with goals coming from Murilo de Almeida who scored a brace, Adelino Trindade and Alan Leandro.[7] On 9 October 2012, the team won another match against Laos in the qualification round as Murilo de Almeida scored a penalty at 43' minutes of the first half of the match. Later Adelino Trindade extended the Timorese advantage with a header early in the second half and then Alan Leandro added the third goal on the 83rd minute.[8] After winning the second match against Laos, head coach Emerson Alcântara stated "This is a win for the people of East Timor. They had to wait a long time for our team to win their first match in this competition but now we have two wins and this was an important victory for Timor-Leste. "I think that about 70 percent of people in Timor Leste are poor so it is very important to get this result for them because they love football and the people can get confidence and take pride in this result. It is very important for us to motivate our people and to help to change their lives."[9] With a win needed in the final fixture, Timor-Leste subsequently lost to Brunei 2–1 and finished in third place in the group, one point away from runners-up of the group, Laos as they went on to qualify for the 2012 AFF Championship. In the 2014 AFF Championship qualification, Timor-Leste secured a victory against Brunei winning them 4–2 in the process. In the next match, they caused an upset to Myanmar on 14 October 2014 which ended up in a goalless draw but that wasn't enough as Timor-Leste didn't make it to the 2014 AFF Championship.
Timor-Leste then participated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification first round facing Mongolia where on 12 March 2015, they secured their first ever win against a country outside of Southeast Asia in a 4–1 win at the National Stadium of East Timor. In the second leg, Timor-Leste travelled to Ulaanbaatar where they won 1–0 putting them on an aggregate of 5–2 seeing them advancing to the second round however on 12 December 2017, FIFA awarded both matches 3–0 to Mongolia due to Timor-Leste fielding numerous ineligible players. However, this was long after the Second round had been played, so Timor-Leste advanced and Mongolia were not reinstated. Timor-Leste were then grouped with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Palestine and Malaysia in Group A. On 11 June 2015, Ramon Saro scored in the 90+3' minute stoppage time which cause a huge upsets to Malaysia in a 1–1 draw at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium which Timor-Leste got their first ever point in the campaign. On 8 October 2015 while playing at home, Ramon Saro break the deadlock as they lead against Palestine however in the dying minute of the match, Ahmad Abu Nahyeh equalise for Palestine in 1–1 draw as it gains media attention from the Southeast Asia region. However, Timor-Leste has to forfeited five of their group matches due to fielding numerous ineligible players. Since their last match against Saudi Arabia on 17 November 2015, Timor-Leste has been playing their home match overboard as their National Stadium of East Timor in Dili failed to meet FIFA standards which also see them finishing at the bottom of the table. During the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification match, Timor-Leste played their home match at the Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium in Johor Bahru playing against Malaysia. Timor-Leste then participated in the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup held in Kuching where they snatched a goalless draw against Nepal. They were also invited to the 2017 CTFA International Tournament where in the match against the Philippines, Silveiro Garcia scored the only goal in the match as Timor-Leste gains a win in the tournament.
Timor-Leste then qualified to the 2018 AFF Championship for the first time in 14 years winning the 2018 AFF Championship qualification against Brunei on an aggregate of 3–2. They will play their designated "home" match against Thailand at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, while their home tie against the Philippines will be played at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium in Malaysia due to the incomplete floodlighting of the National Stadium of East Timor. Timor-Leste then qualified to the 2020 AFF Championship automatically after the withdrawal of Brunei in the qualification play-off.
Since 2012 several Brazilian-born footballers, who are not of East Timorese descent and had not necessarily played in the East Timorese League, were expressly naturalised to raise the level of "Sol Nascente".[10]
The country's recent history of naturalizing foreign players, mainly from Brazil such as Murilo de Almeida, Fellipe Bertoldo, Diogo Santos Rangel, Rodrigo Silva, Jairo Neto, Ramon Saro, Alan Leandro, Thiago Cunha, Juninho, Heberty and Jesse Pinto has been criticized by many, including native East Timorese players and fans.[11] [12]
In a match on 8 October 2015 against Palestine seven of the starting eleven for the Timorese line-up were naturalized Brazilians.[13] Following the match the Palestinian Football Association made a complaint to FIFA stating that the naturalized Timorese players were not eligible to represent Timor-Leste under FIFA rules.[14] [15]
Following a concern from some Timorese who complained to the prime minister, the prosecutor general and the minister for justice regarding the naturalisation program, Timor Leste Football Federation (FFTL) decided to drop their overseas-born legion. It meant Timor-Leste would be without seven naturalised Brazilian players for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers match against United Arab Emirates on 12 November 2015.[16] In that match, coach Fernando Alcântara played an all national line up including six who were under twenty, including Ervino Soares who was 16. Timor-Leste ended up losing the match 8–0. Alcântara took responsibility for the defeat although he also added that he had been forced to play such an inexperienced line-up by the FFTL.[17]
The next match, Timor-Leste did even worse, suffering a record 0–10 home defeat to a strong Saudi Arabia side, who eventually qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Jesse Pinto, an Australian-Timorese footballer, told reporters that the FFTL gives Brazilian players Timorese passports so that they can be registered as "Asian" players and meet the quotas of teams. Pinto also added that the FFTL often takes advantage of players from poor backgrounds, but that it often did not meet its promises of allowing players to travel back to Brazil to meet their families.[18]
In December 2016, the FFTL was charged with using forged and falsified documents, fielding ineligible players and bringing the game into disrepute.[19]
A decision was made on 20 January 2017 that East Timor is barred from participating in the qualification tournament for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup after being found to have fielded a total of twelve ineligible players in 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification matches and among other competitions.[20]
| Period | Manufacturer | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008–2010 |  Tiger | |
| 2012 |  Nike | |
| 2013–2014 |  Mitre | |
| 2015–2017 | Kubba Sportswear | |
| 2018–2024 | Narrow | |
| 2024– | Oliver Sports |
Since 2018, the kits are made by Narrow, an Indonesian apparel. The home kit is red shirts, black shorts, and red socks, with black as a secondary color. The away kit all white.[22] From 2008 to 2010, their away kits were yellow but at 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification, the away kits changed back into all whites.[23] Their kits were made by Nike in 2012. Previous kit makers include Mitre, Joma, Nike and Tiger.
Timor Leste's home ground is the National Stadium of East Timor in Dili. The stadium capacity is 5,000. The first official match played in the stadium was a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Mongolia on 12 March 2015. Timor-Leste played their last match at the National Stadium of East Timor against Saudi Arabia on 17 November 2015 and since then used their stadium as a neutral ground all over Asia.
List of neutral venue grounds for East Timor in the FIFA World Cup qualifications, AFC Asian Cup qualifications and AFF Championship qualifications.
| Timor Leste neutral home stadiums | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | Stadium | Capacity | Location | Last match | |
| Bukit Jalil National Stadium | 87,411 | Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | v (11 June 2019; 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification) | ||
| Kaohsiung National Stadium | 55,000 | Zuoying, Kaohsiung, Taiwan | v (17 October 2023; 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification) | ||
| Rajamangala Stadium | 51,552 | Bang Kapi, Bangkok, Thailand | v (9 November 2018; 2018 AFF Championship) | ||
| Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium | 30,000 | Larkin, Johor Bahru, Malaysia | v (6 June 2016; 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification) | ||
| Kuala Lumpur Stadium | 18,000 | Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | v (17 November 2018; 2018 AFF Championship) | ||
| Track & Field Sports Complex | 1,700 | Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei | v (8 November 2022; 2022 AFF Championship qualification) | ||
See main article: Timor-Leste national football team results. The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
| Position | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| Technical director | Óscar Araya | |
| Head coach | Simón Elissetche | |
| Assistant coach | Francisco Ocampos | |
| Goalkeeping coach | Enrique Zapata | |
| Physiotherapist | Carlos Ortigoza | |
| Media Officer | Néstor Lozano | |
| Administrator | Jorge Guevara | |
| Official | Martín Hurtado | |
| Kitman | Javier Mosquera |
| Manager | Period | Internationals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2004–2006 | |||||
| 2007 | ||||||
| 2007–2008 | ||||||
 Clodoaldo | 2010 | |||||
| | 2011–2012 | |||||
| | 2012–2014 | |||||
| 2015 | ||||||
| | 2015–2016 | |||||
| | 2015–2016 | |||||
 [24] | 2017–2018 | |||||
| | 2018–2019 | |||||
| | 2021–2022 | |||||
 | 2022–2023 | |||||
| 2023 | ||||||
| | 2024– | |||||
See also: Timor-Leste national football team records and statistics. [27]
Players in bold are still active with Timor-Leste.
| Rank | Name | Caps | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anggisu Barbosa | 30 | 4 | 2008–2016 |
| 2 | Adelino Trindade | 27 | 3 | 2010–present |
| 3 | José Fonseca | 26 | 0 | 2010–2017 |
| 4 | Henrique Cruz | 25 | 3 | 2015–present |
| 5 | Nataniel Reis | 23 | 1 | 2014–present |
| 6 | Eusebio de Almeida | 22 | 0 | 2007–2015 |
| Rufino Gama | 22 | 7 | 2016–present | |
| 8 | Nelson Viegas | 21 | 1 | 2016–present |
| 9 | Ramos Maxanches | 20 | 0 | 2014–2016 |
| Filipe Oliveira | 20 | 0 | 2014–2017 | |
| Rank | Name | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rufino Gama | 7 | 22 | 2016–present | |
| 2 | Murilo de Almeida | 6 | 7 | 2012–2014 | |
| 3 | Chiquito do Carmo | 4 | 15 | 2010–2016 | |
| Anggisu Barbosa | 4 | 30 | 2008–2016 | ||
| 5 | Adélio Guterres | 3 | 4 | 2006–2007 | |
| Alan Leandro | 3 | 5 | 2012 | ||
| Mouzinho | 3 | 10 | 2019–present | ||
| Emilio da Silva | 3 | 12 | 2004–2012 | ||
| Henrique Cruz | 3 | 25 | 2015–present | ||
| Adelino Trindade | 3 | 27 | 2010–present | ||
See main article: Timor-Leste national football team results.
| FIFA World Cup | Qualification | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | |||||||||||||
| 1930 to 1974 | Part of | Part of | |||||||||||||
| 1978 to 1998 | Part of | Part of | |||||||||||||
| 2002 | Not member of FIFA | Not member of FIFA | |||||||||||||
 2006 | Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
 2010 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 11 | ||||||||
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |||||||||
| 2018 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 50 | |||||||||
 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | |||||||||
  2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | |||||||||
  2030 | To be determined | To be determined | |||||||||||||
 2034 | |||||||||||||||
| Total | — | – | – | – | – | – | – | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 6 | 87 | ||
| AFC Asian Cup | width=1% rowspan=39 | AFC Asian Cup qualification | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | ||||||||||||||
| Part of | Part of | |||||||||||||||
| 1960 | ||||||||||||||||
 1964 | ||||||||||||||||
 1968 | ||||||||||||||||
 1972 | ||||||||||||||||
| Part of | Part of | |||||||||||||||
| 1980 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
| Did not exist, under United Nations | Did not exist, under United Nations | |||||||||||||||
| Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||||
| Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||||
| 2011 | ||||||||||||||||
 2015 | ||||||||||||||||
| Did not qualify | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 60 | ||||||||||
| Disqualified | Disqualified | |||||||||||||||
| 2027 | To be determined | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | |||||||||
| Total | — | — | – | – | – | – | – | – | 18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 73 | ||
| AFC Challenge Cup | width=1% rowspan=39 | AFC Challenge Cup qualification | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | ||||||||||||||
| Did not participate | Selected but removed | |||||||||||||||
| Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | ||||||||||||||||
 2014 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | — | — | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| AFC Solidarity Cup | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| Group stage | 6th | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||
| Total | Group stage | 1/1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| AFF Championship | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | |||||||||||||
Part of  Indonesia | Part of | ||||||||||||||
| 1998 | |||||||||||||||
| Under United Nations | Under United Nations | ||||||||||||||
 2002 | |||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Group stage | 9th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 18 | No qualification | ||||||
| 2007 | Did not qualify | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 17 | ||||||||
| 2008 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 | |||||||||
| 2010 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | |||||||||
| 2012 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 6 | |||||||||
| 2014 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | |||||||||
  2016 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | |||||||||
| 2018 | Group stage | 10th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 10th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | Opponents withdrew | |||||||
| 2022 | Did not qualify | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||||||||
| Total | Group stage | 3/14 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 50 | 26 | 5 | 2 | 19 | 38 | 68 | |
| AFF Championship History | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Round | Opponent | Scores | Venue | |
| 2004 | Group B | 0–5 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | ||
| 0–8 | |||||
| 1–2 | |||||
| 1–3 | |||||
| 2018 | Group B | 0–7 | Bangkok, Thailand | ||
| 1–3 | Jakarta, Indonesia | ||||
| 2–3 | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | ||||
| 1–6 | Kallang, Singapore | ||||
| 2020 | Group A | 0–2 | Kallang, Singapore | ||
| 0–2 | |||||
| 0–7 | |||||
| 0–2 | |||||
| Jogos da Lusofonia | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | ||||||||
| Group stage | 9th | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |||
| 2009 | Did not enter | |||||||||
 2014 | ||||||||||
| Total | Group stage | 1/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | ||
| Lusofonia Games | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score | Year | |
| Macau University of Science and Technology Sports Field | align=center bgcolor=#ffdddd | 0–5 | 2006 Lusofonia Games | ||
| align=center bgcolor=#ffdddd | 0–5 | ||||
See also: Timor-Leste national football team records and statistics. As of 17 October 2023[28]