São Tomé and Príncipe
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Seleção dos Falcões e Papagaios
(The Falcons and True Parrots Team)
AssociationFederação Santomense de Futebol (FSF)
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationUNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Head coachAdriano Eusébio
CaptainLuís Leal
Most capsJoazhifel Soares (29)
Top scorerLuís Leal (10)
Home stadiumEstádio Nacional 12 de Julho
FIFA codeSTP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 191 Steady (21 December 2023)[1]
Highest115 (March 2012)
Lowest200 (September – October 2007)
First international
 Gabon 6–1 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Libreville, Gabon; 2 May 1976)
Biggest win
 São Tomé and Príncipe 2–0 Equatorial Guinea 
(Libreville, Gabon; 14 November 1999)
 São Tomé and Príncipe 2–0 Sierra Leone 
(São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe; 8 April 2000)
 Mauritius 1–3 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Belle Vue Harel, Mauritius; 9 October 2019)
 Eritrea 0–3 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Asmara, Eritrea; November 2023)}}
Biggest defeat
 Congo 11–0 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Libreville, Gabon; 7 July 1976)

The São Tomé and Príncipe national football team is the national association football team of São Tomé and Príncipe and is controlled by the São Toméan Football Federation. It is a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA.[2]

History

São Tomé and Príncipe's first ever match was a friendly against Gabon in May 1976. They lost by a score of 6–1. Their next game, during the 1976 Central African Games, was a horrendous 11–0 loss to Congo, São Tomé's largest loss to date. São Tomé rounded off the competition with a 2–1 loss to Central African Republic and a 5–0 loss to Chad.

The following year, São Tomé picked up their first win, in a friendly versus Rwanda. In both 1978 and 1987 they achieved a draw at home to Angola.

The Green and Yellows took an eleven year break, before a string of matches including their first entry to a FIFA sanctioned tournament. At the UNIFAC Cup in 1999, they achieved their second win, 2–0 against Equatorial Guinea. They won the next game after that, against Sierra Leone, 2–0. This two-in-a-row streak accompanied with a draw a few matches later placed them at their highest FIFA ranking to date, 179.

In 2003, São Tomé lost to Libya 1–0 and 8–0, which was a major blow to their previous success.[3] São Tomé did not participate in the qualification for the 2010 World Cup, withdrawing before their first match, leaving them unranked in the FIFA rankings because they did not play any matches for four years.

On 11 November 2011, after an eight-year hiatus, São Tomé and Príncipe participated in the qualification for the 2014 World Cup, losing to Congo 5–0, then drawing 1–1 with the same team four days later. São Tomé were reinstated in the FIFA rankings on 23 November 2011, entering at number 192.

In January 2012, in the preliminary round of 2013 AFCON Qualifiers, São Tomé achieved their first ever aggregate win, defeating Lesotho 1–0 at home then successfully defending a 0–0 draw in Maseru seven days later. In the next round, São Tomé only narrowly lost 5–4 on aggregate to Sierra Leone. In the following years, São Tomé continued to show promise with impressive wins at home to Ethiopia and Libya but poor away results prevented them from advancing again.

On 9 October 2019, São Tomé defeated Mauritius 1–3 away from home in the first leg of their preliminary round tie of 2021 AFCON Qualifiers. This was São Tomé and Príncipe's first away win in a competitive match ever. Four days later, São Tomé won 2–1 at home to advance 5–2 on aggregate and enter Group C, facing Ghana, South Africa and Sudan, where they finished bottom with zero points.

During the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, São Tomé faced Mauritius, winning the first leg 1–0 before drawing the second leg 3–3 to advance to the group stages. Following the fixtures CAF sanctioned São Tomé for their first leg victory as they hadn't followed COVID protocol for Luis Leal, giving Mauritius a 3–0 victory and eliminating São Tomé from the competition.[4] São Tomé appealed the decision and, following an initial unsuccessful ruling, they were reinstated by CAF a week before the first qualifying group game.[5]

Results and fixtures

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

22 March 2023 AFCON qualification Sierra Leone  2–2  São Tomé and Príncipe Agadir, Morocco
18:00 UTC±0
  • Bundu 48'
  • Komeh 78'
 Report
Stadium: Adrar Stadium
Referee: Mawabwe Bodjona (Togo)
26 March 2023 AFCON qualification São Tomé and Príncipe  0–2  Sierra Leone Agadir, Morocco
16:00 UTC±0 Report
Stadium: Adrar Stadium
Referee: Jean Philippe Vlei Patrick Tanguy (DR Congo)
10 September 2023 AFCON qualification Nigeria  6–0  São Tomé and Príncipe Uyo, Nigeria
17:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Godswill Akpabio International Stadium
Referee: Lahlou Benbraham (Algeria)
17 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Tunisia  4–0  São Tomé and Príncipe Radès, Tunisia
20:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Stade Olympique Hammadi Agrebi
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Joseph Odey Ogabor (Nigeria)
21 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification São Tomé and Príncipe  0–2  Namibia Agadir, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1 Report
Stadium: Agadir Stadium
Referee: Ousmane Diakate (Mali)

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 AFCON qualification matches against Sierra Leone on 22 and 26 March 2023.[6]

Caps and goals correct as of: 26 March 2023, after the match against  Sierra Leone

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Anastácio (1997-02-16) 16 February 1997 4 0 São Tomé and Príncipe Bairros Unidos
1GK Gilmar Tavinho (1995-03-03) 3 March 1995 4 0 São Tomé and Príncipe Cruz Vermelha
2DF Ivonaldo (1993-05-05) 5 May 1993 26 0 São Tomé and Príncipe UDRA
2DF Leonildo Soares (1992-08-07) 7 August 1992 14 0 Portugal Barreirense
2DF Dinho (2000-07-16) 16 July 2000 6 0 Equatorial Guinea Deportivo Unidad
2DF Mimi (1996-10-07) 7 October 1996 6 0 Portugal Oriental Dragon
2DF Adjakson (2002-10-08) 8 October 2002 2 0 Portugal Lusitano
2DF Hernane (1987-12-17) 17 December 1987 0 0 São Tomé and Príncipe Agrosport
2DF Cley (1991-06-18) 18 June 1991 0 0 São Tomé and Príncipe Agrosport
3MF Jocy (1991-01-19) 19 January 1991 33 1 São Tomé and Príncipe UDRA
3MF Iniesta (1992-09-08) 8 September 1992 12 2 São Tomé and Príncipe UDRA
3MF Marcos Barbeiro (1995-07-29) 29 July 1995 12 1 Spain Pontevedra
3MF Tinho (1992-10-21) 21 October 1992 12 0 São Tomé and Príncipe UDRA
3MF Aldair (1989-09-04) 4 September 1989 10 0 Belgium RSD Jette
3MF Lúcio Oliveira (1992-11-26) 26 November 1992 6 0 Portugal Lagoa
4FW Luís Leal (1987-05-29) 29 May 1987 23 10 Italy Rotonda
4FW Harramiz (1990-08-03) 3 August 1990 17 2 Portugal Länk Vilaverdense
4FW Eba Viegas (1999-10-08) 8 October 1999 8 0 Portugal Amora
3MF Gué (2001-09-23) 23 September 2001 4 2 Sweden Skellefteå FF
4FW Ronaldo Afonso (2001-07-11) 11 July 2001 4 0 Portugal Vitória de Guimarães B
4FW Kelve Semedo (2004-05-09) 9 May 2004 2 0 Portugal Académico de Viseu U23

Recent call ups

The following players were also named to a squad in the last 12 months.

(Au)leocárcio do Sacramento Barros da Cruz

Player records

As of 21 November 2023[7]
Players in bold are still active with São Tomé and Príncipe.
Most appearances
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Joazhifel Soares 36 1 2011–present
2 Ivonaldo 26 0 2014–present
3 Luís Leal 25 10 2012–present
4 Zé 20 3 2011–2021
5 Francisco do Nascimento 18 0 2011–2018
6 Harramiz 17 2 2015–present
7 Leonildo Soares 15 0 2016–present
8 Marcos Barbeiro 14 1 2016–present
9 Aldair Santos 13 0 2016–present
Tinho 13 0 2017–present
Top goalscorers
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Luís Leal 10 25 0.4 2012–present
2 Jair Nunes 4 12 0.33 2011–2016
3 Zé 3 20 0.15 2011–2021
4 Amilcar Ramos 2 3 0.67 2000
Gué 2 7 0.29 2021–present
Iniesta 2 12 0.17 2017–present
Harramiz 2 17 0.12 2015–present

Competition records

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Part of  Portugal Part of  Portugal
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990 did not enter Declined participation
United States 1994 Withdrew Withdrew
France 1998 Did not enter Did not enter
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 4
Germany 2006 2 0 0 2 0 9
South Africa 2010 Withdrew Withdrew
Brazil 2014 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 1 6
Russia 2018 2 1 0 1 1 3
Qatar 2022 2 0 0 2 1 3
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined 1 0 0 1 0 4
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total - 0/25 - - - - - - 11 2 1 8 5 29

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Sudan 1957Part of  Portugal Part of  Portugal
United Arab Republic 1959
Ethiopia 1962
Ghana 1963
Tunisia 1965
Ethiopia 1968
Sudan 1970
Cameroon 1972
Egypt 1974
Ethiopia 1976Not affiliated to CAF Not affiliated to CAF
Ghana 1978
Nigeria 1980
Libya 1982
Ivory Coast 1984
Egypt 1986
Morocco 1988Did not enter Did not enter
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992
Tunisia 1994
South Africa 1996
Burkina Faso 1998
Ghana Nigeria 2000 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 6
Mali 2002 2 0 1 1 2 5
Tunisia 2004 Withdrew Withdrew
Egypt 2006Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 9
Ghana 2008 Did not enter Did not enter
Angola 2010 Withdrew Withdrew
Equatorial Guinea Gabon 2012 Did not enter Did not enter
South Africa 2013 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 5 5
Equatorial Guinea 2015 2 0 0 2 0 4
Gabon 2017 6 1 0 5 4 19
Egypt 2019 2 0 0 2 2 4
Cameroon 2021 8 2 0 6 8 18
Ivory Coast 2023 6 1 2 3 7 22
Morocco 2025 To be determined To be determined
Kenya Tanzania Uganda 2027
Total 0 titles 0/35 — — — — — — 34 6 4 24 28 92

Head-to-head record

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD WPCT
 Angola 4 0 1 3 6 12 −6 0.00
 Benin 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 0.00
 Cape Verde 2 0 0 2 2 9 −7 0.00
 Central African Republic 2 0 0 2 1 5 −4 0.00
 Chad 2 0 0 2 0 10 −10 0.00
 Congo 4 0 1 3 1 18 −17 0.00
 Equatorial Guinea 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 33.33
 Ethiopia 2 1 0 1 1 3 −2 50.00
 Gabon 4 0 1 3 3 12 −9 0.00
 Ghana 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 0.00
 Guinea-Bissau 5 0 0 5 2 10 −8 0.00
 Lesotho 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 50.00
 Libya 4 1 0 3 2 14 −12 25.00
 Madagascar 2 0 0 2 2 4 −2 0.00
 Mauritius 4 3 1 0 9 5 +4 75.00
 Morocco 2 0 0 2 0 5 −5 0.00
 Namibia 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0.00
 Nigeria 2 0 0 2 0 16 −16 0.00
 Rwanda 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 50.00
 Sierra Leone 6 2 1 3 7 12 −5 33.33
 South Africa 2 0 0 2 2 6 −4 0.00
 Sudan 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6 0.00
 Togo 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6 0.00
 Tunisia 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4 0.00
 Uganda 1 0 0 1 1 3 −2 0.00
Total 65 10 8 47 46 174 −128 15.38
Source: Results

References

  1. ↑ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "BBC Sport − São Tomé e Príncipe rocket up Fifa rankings". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 7 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "São Tomé e Príncipe spring an unlikely surprise − World Soccer". worldsoccer.com. Time Inc. UK. 12 February 2012. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  4. ↑ Warshaw, Andrew. "Mauritius win 2023 AFCON qualifier slot after Sao Tome break covid rules". Inside World Football. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. ↑ Shehu, Idris. "Mauritius out as CAF reinstates Sao Tome to Nigeria's group". The Cable. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Adriano Eusebio announced the players". Facebook. Federação Santomense De Futebol.
  7. ↑ "Sao Tome and Principe". National Football Teams.
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