# Vanuatu national under-20 football team

The Vanuatu national under-20 football team is the national U-20 team of Vanuatu and is controlled by the Vanuatu Football Federation. It was known as the New Hebrides national under-20 football team until 1980, when the New Hebrides gained their independence and renamed their country to Vanuatu.

## History

The Vanuatu national under-20 football team took part in the OFC U-20 Championship tournament 14 times (1974, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2016). In 2014, the team got the best result with a second place as they finished behind Fiji. Two years later, they would qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup after defeating the Solomon Islands in the semifinals to book a spot and compete at their first ever FIFA tournament.

## Competitive record
### FIFA U-20 World Cup record

FIFA U-20 World Cup record :
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 1977–2015 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2017 | Group stage | 24th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| 2019–2025 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| Total | Group stage | 1/24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 |

### OFC

The OFC Under 20 Qualifying Tournament is a tournament held once every two years to decide the only two qualification spots for the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and its representatives at the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
OFC Under 20 Qualifying Tournament :
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| as New Hebrides ||||||||
| 1974 | Third place | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 1978 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| as Vanuatu ||||||||
| 1980 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1982 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1985 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1986 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 1988 | Group stage | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 1990 | Third place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| 1992 | Fourth place | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 1994 | Fourth place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| 1997 | Did not compete | Did not compete | Did not compete | Did not compete | Did not compete | Did not compete | Did not compete |
| 1998 | Group stage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 9 |
| 2001 | Group stage | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 4 |
| 2002 | Group stage | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2005 | Third place | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 15 |
| 2007 | Group stage | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 17 |
| 2008 | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter | Did not enter |
| 2011 | Third place | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 5 |
| 2013 | Third place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 7 |
| 2014 | Runners-up | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| 2016 | Runners-up | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 |
| 2018 | Group stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| 2022 | Group stage | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | Runners-up | 63 | 27 | 7 | 29 | 130 | 130 |

### Current technical staff

| Position | |
| Head coach | Francois Sakama |
| Team Manager | Peter Takaro |
| High Performance Coach | David Laurent Baltase |
| Assistant coach 1 | Kaison Maki |
| Assistant coach 2 | Vital Bong |
| Team Manager | Peter Takaro |
| Goalkeeper coach & Kit Manager | Obed Jimmy |
| Doctor | Basil Leodoro |
| Physio | Albert Kaipam |
Vanuatu at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup before a match against Mexico at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, South Korea.

## Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2022 OFC U-19 Championship from 7 to 20 September 2022. Names in italics denote players who have been capped for the Senior team.
    Caps and goals as of 20 September 2022 after the game against Tahiti.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
| 1 | 1GK | Brendon Tankon | (2003-07-24) 24 July 2003 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | Teouma Academy |
| 22 | 1GK | Markson Kalsrap | (2003-04-08) 8 April 2003 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | Mauriki |
| 26 | 1GK | Alison Hungai | (2004-06-26) 26 June 2004 (age 20) | 0 | 0 | ABM Galaxy |
| 2 | 2DF | Quinton Tawia | (2004-04-19) 19 April 2004 (age 20) | 0 | 0 | Amicale |
| 3 | 2DF | Enock James | (2004-01-12) 12 January 2004 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | ABM Galaxy |
| 4 | 2DF | Edward Roqara | (2004-04-16) 16 April 2004 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | Erakor Golden Star |
| 5 | 2DF | Daniel Roro | (2004-04-12) 12 April 2004 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | VFF Academy |
| 13 | 2DF | Bathis Nalau | (2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | Teouma Academy |
| 16 | 2DF | Bob Bae | (2003-12-14) 14 December 2003 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | VFF Academy |
| 17 | 2DF | Nicholas King | (2004-04-14) 14 April 2004 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | Tafea |
| 24 | 2DF | Brian Pakoa | (2004-08-13) 13 August 2004 (age 20) | 0 | 0 | Amicale |
| 25 | 2DF | Luis Ute | (2003-09-02) 2 September 2003 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | All Reds Youth |
| 6 | 3MF | Shem Sopuso | (2003-10-19) 19 October 2003 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | VFF Academy |
| 7 | 3MF | Jerison John | (2003-04-02) 2 April 2003 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | VFF Academy |
| 8 | 3MF | Jordan Nirua | (2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 (age 22) | 0 | 0 | VFF Academy |
| 10 | 3MF | Chima Chillia | (2003-12-24) 24 December 2003 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | Tupuji Imere |
| 12 | 3MF | Gerard Avock | (2004-12-21) 21 December 2004 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | Mauriki |
| 15 | 3MF | Solo Namani | (2004-10-06) 6 October 2004 (age 20) | 0 | 0 | VFF Academy |
| 18 | 3MF | Thomas Maliwan | (2005-01-26) 26 January 2005 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | Tafea |
| 19 | 3MF | Ron Takau | (2004-07-25) 25 July 2004 (age 20) | 0 | 0 | Erakor Golden Star |
| 21 | 3MF | Newton Tabe | (2004-02-09) 9 February 2004 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | Amicale |
| 23 | 3MF | Roger Waoute | (2003-07-14) 14 July 2003 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | Erakor Golden Star |
| 9 | 4FW | Bill Willie | (2004-11-16) 16 November 2004 (age 20) | 0 | 0 | VFF Academy |
| 11 | 4FW | Tari Laurentin | (2003-07-27) 27 July 2003 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | United Malampa |
| 14 | 4FW | AJ Rozach Zakarie | (2004-04-19) 19 April 2004 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | Erakor Golden Star |
| 20 | 4FW | Sergio Waoute | (2006-11-03) 3 November 2006 (age 18) | 0 | 0 | Erakor Golden Star |

## List of coaches

* Moise Poida (2011–2013)
* Etienne Mermer (2014–2016)
* Declan Edge (2016)
* Dejan Gluščević (2017)
* Paul Munster (2019)
* Kaison Maki (2019-2022)
* Francois Sakama (2022-)