Djibouti national football team

The Djibouti national football team, nicknamed the Riverains de la Mer Rouge ("Shoremen of the Red Sea"), is the national football team of Djibouti. It is controlled by the Djiboutian Football Federation, and is a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The Djibouti national football team's first win in a full FIFA-sanctioned international match was a 1–0 win vs. Somalia in the first round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Djibouti women's national football team.
Djibouti
Nickname(s)Riverains de la Mer Rouge (Shoremen of the Red Sea)
AssociationDjiboutian Football Federation
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationCECAFA
(East & Central Africa)
Head coachMohamed Meraneh Hassan
CaptainDaoud Wais
Most capsDaoud Wais (34)
Top scorerMahdi Houssein Mahabeh (6)
Home stadiumStade du Ville
FIFA codeDJI
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 194 2 (31 March 2022)[1]
Highest169 (December 1994)
Lowest207 (April–July 2015, November 2015)
First international
 French Somaliland 0–5 Ethiopia 
(French Somaliland; 5 December 1947)
Biggest win
 Djibouti 4–1 South Yemen 
(Djibouti City, Djibouti; 26 February 1988)
 Djibouti 3–0 Mauritius 
(Djibouti City, Djibouti; 23 November 2019)
Biggest defeat
 Uganda 10–1 Djibouti 
(Kigali, Rwanda; 9 December 2001)
 Rwanda 9–0 Djibouti 
(Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; 13 December 2007)

History

French Somaliland (1947–1960)

Djibouti played its first international match under the name French Somaliland, at home against neighbouring Ethiopia on 5 December 1947 and lost 5–0. This was also Ethiopia's debut.[2] The two played again in Djibouti on 1 June 1948 and Ethiopia won 2–1. On 1 May 1949, the fixture was played for the Emperor Cup in Ethiopia, and the host won 6–0. In 1954, Djibouti played Ethiopia three times: a 10–2 away loss on 1 May, a 2–0 home loss on 1 June and a 2–1 home loss the day after. Djibouti did not play a match again until 1960, when it entered a tournament for French-speaking countries held in Madagascar. The team lost 9–2 in the first round to Cameroon on 13 April. This was the squad's last game as French Somaliland.

Djibouti (1977–present)

After gaining independence in 1977, the team played under the name Djibouti for the first time against Ethiopia in an away match on 27 March 1983 and lost 8–1. The two played again two days later with Ethiopia again victorious, by 4–2. After a third friendly against Ethiopia, a 2–0 home defeat on 23 March 1984, Djibouti entered a tournament in Ethiopia against the host and Zimbabwe. They lost 2–0 to Ethiopia on 3 June and then 3–1 to Zimbabwe on 7 June.

Djibouti's first appearance at the CECAFA Cup, a local competition for nations in East and Central Africa, was in Kenya in 1994. These were its first matches since defeating South Yemen in 1988. The Djibouti squad lost 4–1 to the hosts on 28 November, 2–1 to Somalia on 1 December, and 3–0 to Tanzania on 3 December. Djibouti did not advance to the next round.

After the 1994 CECAFA Cup, Djibouti did not play a match until the qualification campaign for the 1998 African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso. They were drawn in a two-legged qualifier against Kenya, and lost the first leg 3–0 away on 31 July 1998. The second leg at home was lost 9–1 on 15 August and Kenya went through 12–1 on aggregate.

In 1998, Djibouti became a member of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The football squad has since participated in the Pan Arab Games, a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab World.

Djibouti entered its first ever World Cup qualification in an attempt to reach the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. In Pool D of the first round of African qualification, it was drawn against the DR Congo in a two-legged qualifying preliminary. Djibouti hosted the first leg at Stade du Ville in Djibouti on 7 April 2000, drawing the match 1–1 before a crowd of 2,700 fans.[3] The squad lost the second leg 9–1 away at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa and the DR Congo advanced 10–2 on aggregate.[4]

Djibouti has never played in the African Cup of Nations, with the team regularly withdrawing or not entering for financial reasons.

Prior to their four preliminary qualifiers in late 2019, Djibouti had 2 wins, 3 draws and 55 defeats from 60 competitive matches. However, a number of new players were called up and results finally improved. First, in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, Djibouti beat Eswatini 2–1 at home and drew 0–0 in Manzini to advance to the second round for the first time since the 2010 qualifying when they beat Somalia 1-0 (2–1 on aggregate). This was a massive improvement from the previous edition when Djibouti had also played Eswatini and lost 8–1 on aggregate. One month later, Djibouti played two 1–1 draws against Gambia in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round, only losing the tie on penalties.

Results and fixtures
Main article: Djibouti national football team results

2021
15 June Friendly Djibouti  1–0  Somalia Djibouti City, Djibouti
17:00 UTC+3
  • Akinbinu 32'
 Stadium: El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium
23 June 2021 Arab Cup qualification Lebanon  1–0  Djibouti Doha, Qatar
20:00 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium
Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)
2 September 2022 World Cup qualification Algeria  8–0  Djibouti Blida, Algeria
20:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Mustapha Tchaker Stadium
Referee: Blaise Yuven Ngwa (Cameroon)
6 September 2022 World Cup qualification Djibouti  2–4  Niger Rabat, Morocco
 Report
Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium
Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique)
8 October 2022 World Cup qualification Djibouti  0–4  Burkina Faso Marrakesh, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1 Report
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
Referee: Ali Sabilla (Uganda)
11 October 2022 World Cup qualification Burkina Faso  2–0  Djibouti Marrakesh, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
Referee: Hassen Corneh (Liberia)
12 November 2022 World Cup qualification Djibouti  0–4  Algeria Cairo, Egypt
Report
Stadium: Cairo International Stadium
Referee: Djindo Louis Houngnandande (Benin)
15 November 2022 World Cup qualification Niger  7–2  Djibouti Niamey, Niger
17:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Stade Général Seyni Kountché
Referee: Mohamed Youssouf Athoumani (Comoros)

2022
23 March 2023 AFCON Q preliminary round Djibouti  2–4  South Sudan Borg El Arab, Egypt
Stadium: Borg El Arab Stadium
27 March 2023 AFCON Q preliminary round South Sudan  1–0
(5–2 agg.)		  Djibouti Entebbe, Uganda
Stadium: St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende
Note: South Sudan won 5–1 on aggregate.

Coaches
Name Nat Period Matches Wins Draws Losses Win %
Mohamed Bader 1998? – Dec 2001 15 0 2 13 0.00%
Ahmed Hussein Oct 2007 – Dec 2007 4 1 0 3 25.00%
Mohamed Abar Jan 2008 – Jun 2008 4 0 0 4 0.00%
Ahmed Abdelmonem Jul 2008 – Jul 2010 11 0 1 10 0.00%
Noureddine Gharsalli Oct 2011 – Jul 2016 5 0 0 5 0.00%
Michael Gibson[5] Jul 2016 – Apr 2017 4 1 0 3 25.00%
Moussa Ghassoum Dec 2017 – Apr 2019 5 0 0 5 0.00%
Julien Mette Apr 2019 – present 13 3 3 7 23.08%

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against South Sudan on 23 and 27 March 2022 respectively.[6]

Caps and goals are correct as of 27 March 2022, after the match against South Sudan.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Innocent Mbonihankuye (1996-11-05) 5 November 1996 19 0 AS Port
1GK Omar Mahamoud (2001-10-19) 19 October 2001 0 0 Dikhil
1GK Yahya Houssein (2002-04-07) 7 April 2002 0 0 AS Port
2DF Ali Youssouf Farada (1995-08-25) 25 August 1995 22 1 Dikhil
2DF Ibrahim Aden Warsama (1998-05-12) 12 May 1998 15 1 AS Port
2DF Yabe Siad Isman (1998-03-12) 12 March 1998 15 1 Arta Solar 7
2DF Moussa Araita (1997-07-24) 24 July 1997 6 0 Dikhil
2DF Ibrahim Ali Mohamed (1996-10-14) 14 October 1996 2 0 Arta Solar 7
2DF Moustapha Abdi Osman (1992-01-08) 8 January 1992 1 0 Garde Républicaine FC
3MF Warsama Hassan (1999-03-17) 17 March 1999 16 1 Sliema Wanderers
3MF Saleh Bourhan Hassan (1996-12-19) 19 December 1996 11 0 AS Port
3MF Youssouf Abdi Ahmed (1997-10-11) 11 October 1997 7 1 ASAS Djibouti Télécom
3MF Ahmed Youssouf (1998-09-01) 1 September 1998 7 0 AS Port
3MF Mogueh Idriss (2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 2 0 AS Arta/Solar7
3MF Fahmi Moussa (1996-04-25) 25 April 1996 2 0 AS Arta/Solar7
3MF Samatar Mohamed (1995-10-10) 10 October 1995 1 0 Garde Républicaine FC
4FW Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh (1995-12-20) 20 December 1995 22 6 ASAS Djibouti Télécom
4FW Hamza Abdi Idleh (1991-12-16) 16 December 1991 20 2 FC Dikhil
4FW Doualeh Mahamoud Elabeh (1991-11-11) 11 November 1991 19 0 Arta Solar 7
4FW Mohamed Fouad Mohamed (2000-02-25) 25 February 2000 12 0 AS Port
4FW Samuel Akinbinu (1999-06-06) 6 June 1999 9 2 Arta Solar 7
4FW Omar Abdallah (2002-10-30) 30 October 2002 2 0 Garde Républicaine

Recent call-ups

The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past 12 months, but are not part of the current squad.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Nasradine Abdi Aptidon (1994-06-05) 5 June 1994 2 0 AS Port v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
GK Bilal Ahmed Hassan (1993-04-21) 21 April 1993 3 0 Gendarmerie Nationale FC v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
DF Daoud Wais (1986-12-06) 6 December 1986 34 1 Arta Solar 7 v.  Burkina Faso; 11 October 2021
DF Mohamed Bourhan Mohamed (1991-05-18) 18 May 1991 16 0 AS Port v.  Burkina Faso; 11 October 2021
DF Aptidon Daher 1 0 ACS Hayableh v.  Burkina Faso; 11 October 2021
DF Youssouf Batio Mohamed (1991-11-28) 28 November 1991 18 0 AS Port v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
DF Warsama Aden (1998-05-12) 12 May 1998 14 0 AS Port v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
DF Abdoulkader Djama (1994-01-05) 5 January 1994 12 1 Dikhil v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
DF Abass Fouad Abdourahman (1999-11-01) 1 November 1999 8 0 ASAS Djibouti Télécom v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
MF Fouad Moussa (1993-04-28) 28 April 1993 15 1 Arta Solar 7 v.  Burkina Faso; 11 October 2021
MF Radwan Ahad Daher (1997-10-04) 4 October 1997 3 0 ASAS Djibouti Télécom v.  Burkina Faso; 11 October 2021
MF Omar Elmi Aboubaker (1991-10-27) 27 October 1991 15 0 Garde Républicaine v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
MF Haroun Mohamed (1998-04-11) 11 April 1998 4 1 URS Centre v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
MF Ali Houmed Bilah (1993-01-20) 20 January 1993 0 0 Dikhil v.  Lebanon; 23 June 2021
MF Yonis Moussa Dirir (1997-02-13) 13 February 1997 2 0 AS Port
FW Mourad Abdulkader (1996-06-13) 13 June 1996 2 0 Arta Solar 7 v.  Burkina Faso; 11 October 2021
FW Anas Farah Ali (2000-03-03) 3 March 2000 3 1 Egersunds v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
FW Ahmed Youssouf Omar (1998-09-01) 1 September 1998 6 0 AS Port v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
FW Sabri Ali (2000-09-20) 20 September 2000 7 0 Dikhil v.  Niger; 6 September 2021
FW Kenedid Abdoulaziz Mohamed (2002-11-26) 26 November 2002 4 0 Dikhil v.  Niger; 6 September 2021

Player records
As of 27 March 2022[7]
Players in bold are still active with Djibouti.

Competition records

See also

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. "Ethiopia - List of International Matches". RSSSF.com. Barrie Courtney and RSSSF. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2010-10-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2010-10-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Football Manager proves England and Wayne Rooney don't need Gareth Southgate to beat Malta". Metro. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  6. squad for AFCON 2023 qualification
  7. "Djibouti". National Football Teams.
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