The Timor-Leste national Under-23 football team () represents Timor-Leste (formerly known as East Timor) in international football competitions in the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games and any other under-23 international football tournaments. It is controlled by the Federação de Futebol de Timor-Leste, the governing body of football in the country. Timor-Leste is currently one of the weakest teams in the world. They won their first match on 5 November 2011 against Brunei, scoring 2–1.Brunei U23 Vs East Timor U23 Result | World Sportsholic
History Football was firstly introduced during Portuguese Timor era where many local and the Portuguese colonial official played the sport for enjoyment. After the Portuguese leave the eastern part of the island of Timor, neighbouring Indonesia invaded and change their culture and identity. Timor-Leste gained full independence in 2002 after more than 20 years of occupation which resulted in a long running battle against Jakarta-led forces. The Timor-Leste U-23 team was invited to the 2005 AFF U-23 Youth Championship without any success, which is the first time that the team played in an international tournament. In 2009, the team entered the first Southeast Asian Games. Once again, they lost every match, including a 0–11 loss to Malaysia. Timor-Leste had major improvements at the 2011 SEA Games, when they used overseas players of Timorese descent from Brazil and Australia. These players contributed a lot to their successful run; especially from Murilo de Almeida who managed to score three goals. The team finished third in their group by recording their first win in their history, finishing above Laos, Brunei and the Philippines and had a goal difference of –4, which was a big improvement compared to their previous participation where the team finished last in their group with no wins from four games, scoring only once and having a goal difference of –28.
Kits Timor-Leste's traditional home kit includes a red shirt, black shorts and red or black socks. The away kits feature white or yellow shirts. At the 2009 SEA Games, their home kit resemble the one worn by the Belgium national team.
Kit evolution
Stadium Timor-Leste National Stadium (2002–present)
Competitive record
Olympic Games Olympic Games recordQualification record Year Result Position 1992Part of Part of 1996 2000 2004did not enterdid not enter 2008 2012 2016did not qualify2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification310238 20202020 AFC U-23 Championship qualification3102516 20242024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification3102510 2028To be determinedTo be determinedTotal—0/8––––––AFC U-23 Asian Cup (From 2016)93061334
Asian Games Record (Under-23 Team since 2002) Asian GamesYearResultPositionGPWDLGFGA did not enter
AFC U-23 Asian Cup Record AFC U-23 ChampionshipQualification recordYearResultPosition did not qualify5104593102383111753102516 2022311138 20243102510 2026Did not enterDid not enter 2028To be determinedTo be determined – 2062122856
SEA Games Record (Under-23 Team since 2001) Southeast Asian GamesYearResultPositionGPWDLGFGA Did not enter Group stage 9th 6th 7th 9th 9th 10th 202110th4004313 20237th410338 8/10
ASEAN U-23 Championship record ASEAN U-23 ChampionshipYearRoundPositionGPWDLGFGA 8th 6th 3rd 9th 9th 4/4
Coaching staff
Position Name Head coach Emral Abus Assistant coach Miro Baldo Bento Goalkeeping coach Derson Gusmão Physiotherapist Adou Costa Media Officer Mario Filipe Belo Administrator Hasan Cesario Official Adou Marques Kitman Fablo Freitas
Players Current squad The following 23 players were called up for the 2025 SEA Games.
Recent call-ups
Notes INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby
Results and fixtures The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2025
List of coaches CoachCoaching periodPldWDLAchievements José Luís200530032005 AFF U-23 Youth Championship – Round 1 (First Time) Manuel da Costa Soares 2009–201040042009 Southeast Asian Games – Round 1 (First Time) Antonio Carlos Vieira 2011–201252032011 Southeast Asian Games – First Win with Brunei Norio Tsukitate 201251042013 AFC U-22 Championship qualification – Did not qualify Emerson Alcântara 2013–201462222013 Southeast Asian Games – First Draw with Indonesia Takuma Koga 201430032014 Asian Games – Round 1 (First Time) Fábio Magrão 2015–201682062016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification – Did not qualify 2015 Southeast Asian Games – Round 1 Kim Shin-hwan 2017–201831112018 AFC U-23 Championship qualification – Did not qualify Norio Tsukitate 2018–201930032018 Asian Games – Group stage
References
External links Profile at FIFA.com Profile at the-AFC.com Profile at AFF Site