Liberia national football team explained

Liberia
Nickname:The Lone Stars
Badge:Liberia FA.png
Badge Size:162px
Association:Liberia Football Association
Sub-Confederation:WAFU (West Africa)
Confederation:CAF (Africa)
Coach:Mario Marinica
Captain:Oscar Dorley
Most Caps:Joe Nagbe (77)
Top Scorer:George Weah (18)
Home Stadium:SKD Stadium
Fifa Trigramme:LBR
Fifa Max:66
Fifa Max Date:July 2001
Fifa Min:164
Fifa Min Date:October–November 2010
Elo Max:67
Elo Max Date:March 2001
Elo Min:151
Elo Min Date:February 2009
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First Game: Ivory Coast 0–2
(Abidjan, Ivory Coast; unknown date 1954)
Largest Win: 5–0
(Monrovia, Liberia; 29 March 2016)
Largest Loss: 6–0
(Accra, Ghana; 6 April 1975)
Regional Name:Africa Cup of Nations
Regional Cup Apps:2
Regional Cup First:1996
Regional Cup Best:Group stage (1996 and 2002)
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American:yes

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).

History

African Cup of Nations

In 1965 Liberia played in first campaign 1965 qualification qualifying campaign, losing 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

Kit provider[1] Period
Hummel1990–1993
Diadora1994–1995
Adidas1996–1998
Weah Sports1999–2001
Unknown2002
Adidas2003–2004
Hummel2004–2006
Kappa2006–2008
Adidas2008
Kubba2009
Adidas2010–2012
Erreà2012
SPECS2012–2013
Joma2013–2014[2]
Adidas2015–2020
Puma2021–present

Results and fixtures

See 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.

2024

Coaching staff[3]

PositionName
Head coach Mario Marinica
Assistant coach Ignatius Glebeh
Assistant coach Robert Quiwonkpa
Goalkeeping coach Gerald Jayweh
Fitness coach Bradley Zwannah
Team manager
Assistant coach Paul Singbeh

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.

Recent call-ups

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

Records

[5]

Players in bold are still active with Liberia.

Most appearances

width=30 Rankwidth=150 Namewidth=60 Capswidth=60 Goalswidth=80 Career
1Joe Nagbe7701986–2011
2George Weah75181986–2018
3Kelvin Sebwe62101988–2008
4James Debbah58131986–2018
5George Gebro4811997–2012
6Anthony Laffor4652004–2018
7Teah Dennis Jr.4412011–2019
8Varmah Kpoto4011997–2008
9Fallah Johnson3701995–2004
Zizi Roberts3791995–2003

Top goalscorers

width=30 Rankwidth=120 Namewidth=50 Goalswidth=50 Capswidth=50 Ratiowidth=80 Career
1George Weah18751986–2018
2William Jebor13272011–present
James Debbah13581986–2018
4Kelvin Sebwe10621988–2008
5Zizi Roberts9371995–2003
6Oliver Makor8321995–2008
7Prince Daye7251996–2004
Jonathan Sogbie7271988–1998
9Zah Rahan6352006–2017
10Francis Doe5222004–2016
Isaac Tondo5222000–2005
Dioh Williams5242004–2016
Marcus Macauley5272011–present
Anthony Laffor5462004–2018

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup recordQualification record
YearRoundPosition
1930 to 1962Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member
1966WithdrewWithdrew
1970 to 1978Did not enterDeclined participation
1982Did not qualify201101
1986200204
1990833243
1994Withdrew during qualifying201124
1998Did not qualify8215712
200210613112
200612219629
20106033412
2014611439
2018411246
20228305810
2026To be determined421152
2030To be determined
2034
Total722014385494

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record
Appearances: 2
YearRoundPosition
1957Not affiliated to CAF
1959
1962
1963Did not enter
1965Did not qualify
1968
1970Did not enter
1972
1974
1976Did not qualify
1978Did not enter
1980
1982Did not qualify
1984Withdrew
1986Did not qualify
1988
1990
1992Withdrew
1994Did not qualify
1996Group stage13th210123
1998Did not qualify
2000
2002Group stage9th302134
2004Did not qualify
2006
2008
2010
2012
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
2023
2025To be determined
2027
TotalGroup stage2/34512257

Honours

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Liberia Kit History . 2023-10-18 . Football Kit Archive . en-US . November 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231101054855/https://www.footballkitarchive.com/liberia-kits/ . live .
  2. Web site: Molaposc . 2014-07-21 . Molapo Sports Centre: A good win for Lesotho, but there is still work to do . 2023-10-18 . Molapo Sports Centre . November 1, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231101054856/https://molaposportscentre.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-good-win-for-lesotho-but-still-work.html . live .
  3. Web site: Liberia Football Association LFA Unveils Marinica as men's senior national team head coach. Facebook. Liberia Football Association . February 19, 2024 .
  4. Web site: Final Squad . Twitter . Liberia Football Association . November 14, 2023 . December 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231204074604/https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=829720502491713&set=a.502086911921742&locale=en_GB . live .
  5. Web site: Mamrud . Roberto . Liberia - Record International Players . RSSSF . February 2, 2023 . December 9, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221209052603/https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/liber-recintlp.html . live .