Liberia national football team

Liberia
Nickname(s)Lone Star
AssociationLiberia Football Association
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachPeter Butler
CaptainAllen Njie
Most capsJoe Nagbe (77)
Top scorerGeorge Weah (18)
Home stadiumSKD Stadium
FIFA codeLBR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 149 4 (31 March 2022)[1]
Highest66 (July 2001)
Lowest164 (October–November 2010)
First international
Ivory Coast 0–2 Liberia 
(Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Unknown date 1954)
Biggest win
 Liberia 5–0 Djibouti 
(Monrovia, Liberia; March 29, 2016)
Biggest defeat
 Ghana 6–0 Liberia 
(Ghana; April 6, 1975)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances2 (first in 1996)
Best resultGroup stage, 1996 and 2002
This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Liberia women's national football team.

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 1967 Liberia played in its first African Cup of Nations 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 capitalise 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 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 were 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.

Results and fixtures
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.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

2021
30 March Friendly Saudi Arabia  0–0  Liberia Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
14:05 (UTC±0) Report Stadium: Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
Attendance: 0
11 June Friendly Mauritania  1–0  Liberia Tunis, Tunisia
15:30 UTC±0
  • N'Diaye 64'
 Report Stadium: Stade Chedly Zouiten
Attendance: 0
Referee: Naim Hosni (Tunisia)
14 June Friendly Libya  0–1  Liberia Tunis, Tunisia
15:30 UTC±0 Report
Stadium: Stade Chadly Zouiten
Attendance: 0
Referee: Youssef Essrairi (Tunisia)
17 June Friendly Algeria  5–1  Liberia Oran, Algeria
20:45 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Olympic Stadium
Referee: Ibrahim Mutaz (Libya)
3 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Nigeria  2–0  Liberia Lagos, Nigeria
11:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Teslim Balogun Stadium
Referee: Koussai Attidgbe (Togo)
6 September 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Liberia  1–0  Central African Republic Douala, Cameroon
11:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Stade de la Réunification
Referee: Sekou Ahmed Toure (Guinea)
30 September Friendly Egypt  2–0  Liberia Alexandria, Egypt
21:00 CAT (UTC+2)
Report Stadium: Borg El Arab Stadium
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (Tunisia)
7 October 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Liberia  1–2  Cape Verde Accra, Ghana
13:00 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Accra Sports Stadium
Referee: Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso)
10 October 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Cape Verde  1–0  Liberia Mindelo, Cape Verde
15:00 UTC−1
Report Stadium: Estádio Municipal Adérito Sena
Referee: Mohamed Ali Moussa (Niger)
13 November 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Liberia  0–2  Nigeria Tangiers, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1 Report
Stadium: Stade Ibn Batouta
Referee: Youssef Essrayri (Tunisia)
16 November 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Liberia  3–1  Central African Republic Tangier, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Stade Ibn Batouta
Referee: Kalilou Ibrahim Traore (Ivory Coast)

2022
24 March Friendly Liberia  0–4  Benin Antalya, Turkey
Report
Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex
27 March Friendly Liberia  0–1  Sierra Leone Antalya, Turkey
Report
Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex

Coaching staff
Position Name
Head coach Peter Butler
Assistant coach Kenneth McCullogh
Goalkeeping coach Paul Hawke
Fitness coach Graeme Foster

Coaching history
Caretaker managers are listed in italics

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendlies against Benin, Sierra Leone and Burundi in March 2022.[2]

Caps and goals updated as of 29 March 2022, after the match against Burundi.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Junior Yeanaye (2004-12-19) 19 December 2004 2 0 Nimba Kwado
1GK Derrick Julu (2002-05-13) 13 May 2002 1 0 Watanga
1GK Allenton Sembeh (1994-10-17) 17 October 1994 1 0 Bea Mountain
2DF Sampson Dweh (2001-10-10) 10 October 2001 11 0 LPRC Oilers
2DF Prince Balde (1998-03-23) 23 March 1998 9 0 Drita
2DF Joel Johnson (1992-09-20) 20 September 1992 8 0 Hartford Athletic
2DF Mark Pabai (2000-09-30) 30 September 2000 3 0 SPAL
2DF Jamal Arago (1993-08-28) 28 August 1993 2 0 Sabail
2DF Emmanuel Reyah (2001-06-02) 2 June 2001 1 0 Muscat
3MF Oscar Dorley (1998-07-19) 19 July 1998 26 1 Slavia Prague
3MF Allen Njie (1999-07-26) 26 July 1999 18 0 Aarau
3MF Seth Hellberg (1995-08-19) 19 August 1995 9 0 IK Brage
3MF Mohammed Sangaré (1998-12-28) 28 December 1998 7 1 Newcastle United
3MF Brem Soumaoro (1996-07-08) 8 July 1996 7 0 PAEEK
3MF Moussa Sanoh (1995-07-20) 20 July 1995 5 0 Mioveni
3MF Frank Allison (2004-06-25) 25 June 2004 2 0 Freeport
4FW Kpah Sherman (1992-02-03) 3 February 1992 16 3 Kedah
4FW Peter Wilson (1996-10-09) 9 October 1996 9 2 Olympiakos Nicosia
4FW Ayouba Kosiah (2001-07-22) 22 July 2001 5 0 NAC Breda
4FW Justin Salmon (1999-01-25) 25 January 1999 4 0 Degerfors IF
4FW Cherif Diallo (1997-01-10) 10 January 1997 2 0 Derthona
4FW Divine Teah (2006-04-19) 19 April 2006 2 1 Nimba United
4FW Prince Zawoh (2000-04-17) 17 April 2000 0 0 Nimba United

Recent call-ups

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

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Tommy Songo (1995-04-20) 20 April 1995 16 0 LISCR v.  Central African Republic; 16 November 2021
GK Boison Wynney (1996-12-27) 27 December 1996 3 0 Someșul Dej v.  Central African Republic; 16 November 2021
GK Ashley Williams (2000-10-30) 30 October 2000 13 0 Linense v.  Cape Verde; 10 October 2021
GK Morlik Keita (1994-09-03) 3 September 1994 1 0 Mighty Barolle v.  Cape Verde; 10 October 2021
DF Alvin Maccornell (1993-01-13) 13 January 1993 19 0 Watanga v.  Central African Republic; 16 November 2021
DF Ben Benaiah (1992-12-06) 6 December 1992 5 0 LPRC Oilers v.  Central African Republic; 16 November 2021
DF Carlos Williams (1990-06-26) 26 June 1990 3 0 Watanga v.  Central African Republic; 16 November 2021
DF Teah Dennis Jr. (1992-05-07) 7 May 1992 38 1 Monrovia Club Breweries v.  Cape Verde; 10 October 2021
DF Jeremy Saygbe (2001-06-01) 1 June 2001 9 0 LISCR v.  Cape Verde; 10 October 2021
DF Daniel Paye (2000-07-10) 10 July 2000 2 0 Jammerbugt v.  Central African Republic; 6 September 2021
MF Marcus Macauley (1991-10-27) 27 October 1991 19 5 Sahab v.  Central African Republic; 16 November 2021
MF Abu Kamara (1997-04-01) 1 April 1997 5 0 Makedonija v.  Central African Republic; 16 November 2021
MF Terrence Tisdell (1998-03-16) 16 March 1998 11 1 Kocaelispor v.  Cape Verde; 10 October 2021
MF Frederick Dennis (2003-05-02) 2 May 2003 1 0 Fassell v.  Cape Verde; 10 October 2021
MF Patrick Weah (2003-12-15) 15 December 2003 0 0 Sacramento Republic v.  Cape Verde; 10 October 2021
MF David Tweh (1998-12-25) 25 December 1998 8 0 Hapoel Nof HaGalil v.  Central African Republic; 6 September 2021
FW Sylvanus Nimely (1998-09-04) 4 September 1998 12 0 Ilves v.  Central African Republic; 16 November 2021
FW Van-Dave Harmon (1995-09-22) 22 September 1995 7 1 Laçi v.  Central African Republic; 16 November 2021
FW Joseph Quiah (2005-10-29) 29 October 2005 1 0 LISCR v.  Egypt; 30 September 2021

Records
As of 16 November 2021[3]
Players in bold are still active with Liberia.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1978 Did not enter Did not enter
1982 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 0 1
1986 2 0 0 2 0 4
1990 8 3 3 2 4 3
1994 Withdrew during qualifying Withdrew during qualifying
1998 Did not qualify 8 2 1 5 7 12
2002 10 6 1 3 11 2
2006 12 2 1 9 6 29
2010 6 0 3 3 4 12
2014 6 1 1 4 3 9
2018 4 1 1 2 4 6
2022 8305710
2026 To be determined To be determined
Total — 0/22 – – – – – – 66 18 12 36 46 88

Africa Cup of Nations record
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances: 2
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
1957Not affiliated to CAF
1959
1962
1963 Did not enter
1965
1968 Did not qualify
1970 Did not enter
1972
1974
1976 Did not qualify
1978 Did not enter
1980
1982 Did not qualify
1984 Withdrew
1986 Did not qualify
1988
1990
1992 Withdrew
1994 Did not qualify
1996 Round 1 13th 2 1 0 1 2 3
1998 Did not qualify
2000
2002 Round 1 9th 3 0 2 1 3 4
2004 Did not qualify
2006
2008
2010
2012
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
2023 To be determined
2025
Total Group stage 2/33 5 1 2 2 5 7

Achievements
West African Nations Cup :
  • 1 Time Runners-up
CEDEAO Cup :
  • 1 Time Runners-up

Notes
  1. Nagbe retired from international duty in 2001 but later played two farewell matches in 2011.
  2. Weah retired from international duty in 2002 but later played a farewell match in 2018.
  3. Debbah retired from international duty in 2004 but later played a farewell match in 2018.

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  2. "Butler calls-up 23 players for friendlies in Turkey". Facebook. Liberia Football Association.
  3. Mamrud, Roberto. "Liberia - Record International Players". RSSSF.
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