American Samoa in raptures after first ever Fifa World Cup qualifying win

Until last Tuesday, American Samoa’s national soccer team was mostly known for two things: Being tied with San Marino for last place in FIFA’s ranking system; and for helping Australia set the record for the largest victory in an international soccer match by losing a 2002 World Cup qualifying match 31 to 0. That’s all still true today, but one thing did change on Tuesday: American Samoa snapped a 30-game losing streak, winning its first international soccer match since 1994. Credit for the 2-1 win over Tonga likely goes to head coach Thomas Rongen, who joined American Samoa after being fired from his position as head coach of the Under-20 United States men’s national team back in May. “This is going to be part of soccer history, like the 31-0 (defeat) against Australia was part of history,” said Rongen. American Samoa may just be warming up: Just two days later, the team finished their match against Cook Islands with a tie. They are now one win away from advancing to the second round of World Cup qualifying for the first time in team history.

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