Timor-Leste national football team

Timor-Leste
Nickname(s)Lafaek (The Crocodiles)
O Sol Nascente
(The Rising Sun)
AssociationFederação de Futebol de Timor-Leste
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Sub-confederationAFF (Southeast Asia)
Head coachFábio Magrão
CaptainArmindo de Almeida
Most capsAnggisu Barbosa (30)
Top scorerRufino Gama (7)
Home stadiumNational Stadium
FIFA codeTLS
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 198 (31 March 2022)[1]
Highest146 (June 2015)
Lowest206 (October 2012)
First international
 Sri Lanka 3–2 Timor-Leste 
(Colombo, Sri Lanka; 21 March 2003)[2]
Biggest win
 Cambodia 1–5 Timor-Leste 
(Yangon, Myanmar; 5 October 2012)
Biggest defeat
 Timor-Leste 0–10 Saudi Arabia 
(Dili, Timor Leste; 17 November 2015)
AFC Solidarity Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2016)
Best resultGroup stage (2016)
AFF Championship
Appearances3 (first in 2004)
Best resultGroup Stage (2004, 2018, 2020)
This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Timor-Leste women's national football team.

The Timor-Leste national football team is the national team of East Timor (Portuguese: Timor-Leste) and is controlled by the Federação de Futebol de Timor-Leste. 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 Timor-Leste Football Association 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]

History

Football was established in Timor-Leste 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. East Timor eventually gained independence from Indonesia in 2000, which resulted in a long running battle against Jakarta-led forces.

The East Timor Football Association 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 qualifying 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 entered the regional competition for the first time in 2004 as they played in the ASEAN Football Federation Championship (previously known as Tiger Cup) 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 qualifying round of the 2007 AFF Championship, with four heavy losses, including a 7–0 trouncing by the Philippines. In the third qualifying round for the 2008 AFF Championship, they surprisingly drew against Cambodia; this feat was reported in international news.

In the ninth AFF Suzuki Cup, 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.[7] On 9 October 2012, the team won another match against Laos at AFF Suzuki Cup qualifier. Murilo de Almeida score the 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, Emerson Alcântara stated "This is a win for the people of Timor Leste. 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]

Naturalised players controversy

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, and Diogo Santos Rangel 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 oversea-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 the 20 January 2017 that Timor-Leste 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]

Team image

Kit Manufacturers
Period Manufacturer
2008-2010 Tiger
2012 Nike
2013-14 Mitre
2015-2017 Kubba Sportswear
2018- Narrow

The team's kit manufacturer was Kubba Sportswear from June 2014 to February 2017.[21]

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.

Stadium

Timor Leste's home stadium is the East Timor National Stadium 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 national football team home stadiums
Image Stadium Capacity Location Last match
East Timor National Stadium 13,000 Dili v   Saudi Arabia
(17 November 2015; 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification)

Results and fixtures
Main article: Timor-Leste national football team results

  Win   Draw   Lose

2021
1 December 2021 (2021-12-01) AFF Championship qualification Brunei  Cancelled  Timor-Leste
Note: With the withdrawal of Brunei due to the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, Timor-Leste qualified for the tournament automatically .
5 December 2021 (2021-12-05) AFF Championship Timor-Leste  0–2  Thailand Kallang, Singapore
Report Pathompol 51'
Supachok 81'		 Stadium: National Stadium
Referee: Al Hatmi Kassem Matar (Oman)
8 December 2021 (2021-12-08) AFF Championship Myanmar  2–0  Timor-Leste Kallang, Singapore
Than Paing 16'
Maung Maung Lwin 50'		 Report Stadium: National Stadium
11 December 2021 (2021-12-11) AFF Championship Timor-Leste  0–7  Philippines Kallang, Singapore
Report Steuble 21'
Nazari 31'
Guirado 35'
Reichelt 40'
Nyholm 45'
Marañón 45+1'
Ingreso 78'		 Stadium: National Stadium
14 December 2021 (2021-12-14) AFF Championship Singapore  2–0  Timor-Leste Kallang, Singapore
Adam 4'
Shakir 70'		 Report (AFFSZ) Stadium: National Stadium

2022
27 January 2022 Friendly Indonesia  4–1  Timor-Leste Gianyar, Indonesia
20:00 UTC+8
Report
Stadium: Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium
Referee: Sance Walita (Indonesia)
30 January 2022 Friendly Timor-Leste  0–3  Indonesia Gianyar, Indonesia
20:00 UTC+8 Report
Stadium: Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium
Referee: Aprisman Aranda (Indonesia)

Coaching staff
As of June 2019
Position Name
Manager Juvenal Cardoso Leôncio
Assistant Manager Euclides Carneiro da Silva
Head Coach Fábio Magrão
Assistant Coach Weverton Mosca
Goalkeeping Coach Lucas Régis
Physiotherapist Christopher Vieira
Media Officer João Baptista Júnior
Administrator Fábio Gadelha
Official Domingos Calazans
Kitman Romualdo Sales

Coaching history
As of 30 January 2022

Players

Current squad

The following 27 players were called up for the friendly matches against Indonesia on 27 and 30 January 2022.[25]

Caps and goals are correct as of 30 January 2022, after the match against Indonesia.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Junildo Pereira (2003-06-04) 4 June 2003 6 0 unattached
12 1GK Filonito Nogueira (2004-11-16) 16 November 2004 0 0 Assalam FC
20 1GK Georgino Mendonça (2002-03-16) 16 March 2002 1 0 SLB Laulara
2 2DF Olagar Xavier (2003-05-18) 18 May 2003 1 0 unattached
3 2DF Orcelio (2001-04-30) 30 April 2001 4 0 Karketu Dili
4 2DF Jaimito Soares (2003-06-10) 10 June 2003 6 0 Karketu Dili
5 2DF Tomas Sarmento (2000-08-24) 24 August 2000 1 0 Ponta Leste
13 2DF Gumario (2001-10-08) 8 October 2001 12 0 Lalenok United
16 2DF João Halle (2003-03-02) 2 March 2003 1 0 SLB Laulara
18 2DF Filomeno Junior (2000-08-05) 5 August 2000 14 0 SLB Laulara
19 2DF Mário Quintão 0 0 unattached
22 2DF Nelson Viegas (1999-12-24) 24 December 1999 21 1 Boavista Timor Leste
24 2DF Yohanes Gusmão (2000-01-10) 10 January 2000 6 0 Lalenok United
29 2DF João Panji (2000-10-29) 29 October 2000 11 0 Assalam FC
6 3MF Jhon Firth (2002-07-17) 17 July 2002 5 0 SLB Laulara
7 3MF Elias Mesquita (2002-03-27) 27 March 2002 7 0 Lalenok United
8 3MF Dom Lucas Braz (2001-03-14) 14 March 2001 4 0 Assalam FC
11 3MF Kornelis Portela (2001-01-12) 12 January 2001 2 0 SLB Laulara
14 3MF Santiago da Costa (1999-04-13) 13 April 1999 1 0 Lalenok United
15 3MF Armindo de Almeida (captain) (1998-04-18) 18 April 1998 7 0 Lalenok United
23 3MF Cristevão (2004-01-16) 16 January 2004 4 0 SLB Laulara
27 3MF Natalino da Costa (2003-08-03) 3 August 2003 1 0 unattached
9 4FW Anizo Correia (2003-05-23) 23 May 2003 3 0 Ponta Leste
10 4FW Mouzinho (2002-02-26) 26 February 2002 7 0 SLB Laulara
17 4FW Zenivio (2005-04-22) 22 April 2005 4 0 SLB Laulara
21 4FW Paulo Gali (2004-12-31) 31 December 2004 9 1 Lalenok United
26 4FW Alexandro Kefii (2004-12-20) 20 December 2004 0 0 unattached

Previous squads

Player records
See also: Timor-Leste national football team records and statistics
As of 11 December 2021
Players in bold are still active with Timor-Leste.

Competition records
Main article: Timor-Leste national football team results

World Cup record
FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 Part of  Portugal Part of  Portugal
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978 Part of  Indonesia Part of  Indonesia
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002 Not member of FIFA Not member of FIFA
2006 Did not enter Did not enter
2010Did not qualify 2002311
2014 200217
2018 100010050[N 1]
2022 2002212
2026To be determined To be determined
Total−0/22−−−−−− 160016680

Notes
  1. Timor-Leste forfeited seven matches due to fielding numerous ineligible players and was declared as 3-0 loser in six of them. Only the 7-0 lose to Saudi Arabia remained with the original result.[26] The other original results were: Timor-Leste 4-1 Mongolia; Timor-Leste 1-0 Mongolia (First Round). However, this was long after the Second Round had been played, so Timor-Leste advanced and Mongolia were not reinstated. And Malaysia 1–1 Timor-Leste; Timor-Leste 0–1 United Arab Emirates; Timor-Leste 1–1 Palestine; Timor-Leste 0–1 Malaysia, all of them in Second Round).

Lusofonia Games
Jogos da Lusofonia
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
2006Group stage9th0002010
2009Did not enter
2014
TotalGroup stage1/30002010
Lusofonia Games
Date Venue Opponents Score Year
4 October 2006 Macau University of Science and Technology Sports Field  Mozambique U-20 0–5 2006 Lusofonia Games
6 October 2006  Angola U-20 0–5 2006 Lusofonia Games

Asian Cup record
Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1956Part of  PortugalPart of  Portugal
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976Part of  IndonesiaPart of  Indonesia
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000Did not exist, under United NationsDid not exist, under United Nations
2004Did not qualify200226
2007Did not enterDid not enter
2011
2015
2019Did not qualify 142212947
2023 Banned from playing Banned from playing
2027To be determinedTo be determined
Total−–−−−−−−1622141153

AFC Challenge Cup record
AFC Challenge Cup AFC Challenge Cup qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
2006Did not participate Selected but removed
2008Withdrew Withdrew
2010Did not enter Did not enter
2012
2014
TotalBest: −−−−−−−–––––––
  • 2006 – Was originally selected to take part, but was then replaced
  • 2008 – Was selected to take part, but withdrew

AFC Solidarity Cup record
AFC Solidarity Cup AFC Solidarity Cup qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Qualification method
2016Group stage6th201104Play-off round 2 of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2020CancelledFirst Round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2024To be determinedTo be determined
TotalBest: Group stage1/1201104—

AFF Championship
AFF Championship AFF Championship qualification
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1996Part of IndonesiaPart of Indonesia
1998
2000Did not exist, under United NationsDid not exist, under United Nations
2002
2004Group stage9th4004218No qualification
2007Did not qualify4004517
2008401349
20103003315
20124202106
2014411267
2016300347
2018Group stage10th4004419210132
202010th4004013Opponents withdrew
2022To be determinedTo be determined
TotalBest: Group stage3/131200126502442183562

Head-to-head record
See also: Timor-Leste national football team records and statistics

As of 30 January 2022[27]

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD WPCT
 Angola U-20 1 0 0 1 0 5 −5 0.00
 Brunei 8 2 0 6 12 19 −7 25.00
 Cambodia 8 1 2 5 16 21 −5 12.50
 Chinese Taipei 4 0 0 4 3 10 −7 0.00
 Hong Kong 2 0 0 2 3 11 −8 0.00
 Indonesia 6 0 0 6 2 21 −19 0.00
 Laos 7 1 0 6 9 18 −9 14.29
 Malaysia 7 0 1 6 3 25 −22 0.00
 Mongolia 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4 100.00
 Mozambique U-20 1 0 0 1 0 5 −5 0.00
 Myanmar 4 0 1 3 2 7 −5 0.00
   Nepal 3 0 1 2 1 7 −6 0.00
 Palestine 2 0 1 1 1 8 −7 0.00
 Philippines 7 1 0 6 4 25 −21 14.29
 Saudi Arabia 2 0 0 2 0 17 −17 0.00
 Singapore 2 0 0 2 1 8 −7 0.00
 Sri Lanka 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1 0.00
 Thailand 3 0 0 3 0 17 −17 0.00
 United Arab Emirates 2 0 0 2 0 9 −9 0.00
Total 72 7 6 59 64 237 −173 9.72
Source: Results

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. "East Timor matches, ratings and points exchanged". World Football Elo Ratings: East Timor. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  3. "Member Association – Timor-Leste". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  4. "Timor-Leste – Timor-Leste – Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos and news – Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  5. "Timor Leste cause upset; Myanmar win". ESPNStar.com. 5 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012.
  6. "KIMURA FOR LAOS' AFF SUZUKI CUP 2012 QUALIFYING CAMPAIGN". ASEAN Football. 23 May 2012.
  7. "Cambodia 1-5 Timor Leste". 5 October 2012. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  8. "Timor Leste 3 Laos 1". Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  9. "Win dedicated to Timorese people". 10 October 2012. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018.
  10. "How Timor-Leste, like others, (probably) flouted FIFA's eligibility rules". These Football Times. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  11. "Timor Leste naturalisation of Brazilian footballers criticized". Football Channel Asia. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  12. Jack Kerr (1 October 2015). "Success Is No Longer Foreign to East Timor, but the Players Are". The New York Times.
  13. Jack Kerr (8 October 2015). "East Timor Fields Seven Ex-Brazilians in Tie With Palestine". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  14. Jack Kerr (16 October 2015). "East Timor Fields Seven Ex-Brazilians in Tie With Palestine". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  15. "Is East Timor Illegally Putting Together a National Soccer Team With Brazilian Players?". Sports. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  16. "Timor Leste set to be without seven naturalised Brazilians for UAE clash". Football Channel Asia. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  17. Amith Passela (12 November 2015). "Coach Mahdi Ali cautions his players that tougher challenges await as UAE thrash East Timor to get World Cup qualification back on track". The National. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  18. Jack Kerr (7 November 2015). "Darwin soccer player who captained Timor-Leste opens up on team's FIFA controversy". ABC. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  19. Jack Kerr (9 December 2016). "East Timor Is Accused of Using Ineligible Players for Its Soccer Team". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  20. "Federacao Futebol Timor-Leste expelled from AFC Asian Cup 2023". The-AFC.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  21. "Timor Leste Football Federation sign Kubba sportswear contract".
  22. "2017-18 Timor-Leste Away Shirt *BNIB*". Сlassic Football Shirts. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  23. "Timor-Leste national team". www.colours-of-football.com. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  24. Bola.com (27 October 2017). "Former Persita Coach Officially Handles the Timor Leste National Team". bola.com (in Indonesian).
  25. "Daftar 27 Pemain Timor Leste vs Timnas Indonesia". CNN Indonesia. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  26. "Federacao Futebol Timor-Leste expelled from AFC Asian Cup 2023". The-AFC.com. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  27. "Fixtures Results". eloratings. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
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