The Solomon Islands men's national football team is the national association football team of the Solomon Islands, administered by the Solomon Islands Football Federation. The Solomon Islands national football team was founded in 1978. They were officially recognised by FIFA a decade later, in 1988.
History During the 2004 Oceania World Cup qualification/Oceania Cup the team drew 2–2 with Australia and qualified for the second leg. In the second leg, the Solomon Islands national men's team were thrashed by Australia 5–1 and 6–0 in the two matches, with Australia qualifying for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.
The Solomons got a second chance against the Socceroos in a two-legged series in September 2005, this time with the winner advancing to a two-legged series against CONMEBOL's fifth-place finisher for a berth in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and the team was thrashed by Australia 7–0 on the first leg and 2–1 in the second played at home.
The Solomons were knocked out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup – having got off to a good start winning every game in their qualifying group and comfortably progressing to the knockout rounds, defeats to New Caledonia and then to Vanuatu saw them knocked out of the competition.
In 2012, the Solomon Islands held the 2012 OFC Nations Cup which was also the second round of World Cup qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup where they finished in fourth place after qualifying through to the knockout stage by defeating Papua New Guinea and having draws against Fiji and New Zealand. They lost in the semi-final after they lost to the champions Tahiti after Jonathan Tehau scored the only goal. They later lost to New Zealand in the third-place playoff. The third round of World Cup qualifying saw the team finish bottom of the group after only taking one win against Tahiti.
After first taking charge of the team in 2017, Spaniard Felipe Vega-Arango was appointed for his second stint in June 2021.
In 2019, they went on a three-week training tour in Netherlands.
In June 2023, Solomon Islands played their friendly match against Southeast Asia countries, Singapore and Malaysia. Solomon Island won the 2023 MSG Prime Minister's Cup after winning against Papua New Guinea (3–1), Vanuatu (1–0) and New Caledonia (1–0) as Raphael Lea'i clinched the golden boot as the tournament top scorer with four goals.
Team image
Kit sponsorship Kit lier Period Lotto 2004–2013 Bocini 2014 OFC 2015None 2016 Veto 2017 UCAN2019–2022 SUNAIS2022–2024 Veto 2024–2026 KPI 2026–
Sponsors
KPI Telekom Capo Apparel
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
2026
Coaching staff PositionName Head coach Ben Cahn (interim) Assistant coach Richard Greer Goalkeeper coach Tibon Oge Kit Manager Augustine Hou Team Manager Dixion Lauia Anga
Coaching history
Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
Edward Ngara (1995–1996) Wilson Maelaua (1996) George Cowie (2000–2003) Alan Gillett (2004–2005) Airton Andrioli (2006–2009) Jacob Moli (2010–2014) Moses Toata (2015–2016) Felipe Vega-Arango (2017–2018) Moses Toata (2018–2019) Wim Rijsbergen (2019) Stanley Waita (2020–2021) Felipe Vega-Arango (2021–2024) Eddie Marahare (2024) Jacob Moli (2024) Moses Toata (2024) Josh Smith (2024–2026) Ben Cahn (interim) (2026-)
Players Current squad The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification against Fiji on 10 October 2024.
Caps and goals correct as of 10 October 2024, after the match against Fiji.
Recent call-ups The following players have also been called up within the last twelve months.
Player records
Players in bold are still active with Solomon Islands.
Most appearances
RankNameCapsGoalsCareer1Henry Fa'arodo64202002–20172Joses Nawo5582011–present3Benjamin Totori52292007–20194Atkin Kaua4962016–present5Hadisi Aengari4402011–presentPhilip Mango4502016–present7Nelson Sale Kilifa3702004–2017Batram Suri37151992–20059Commins Menapi36342000–200710Raphael Lea'i36172022–present11Gagame Feni35192012–present
Top goalscorers
RankNameGoalsCapsRatioCareer1Commins Menapi34362000–20072Benjamin Totori29522007–20193Henry Fa'arodo20642002–20174Gagame Feni19352012–present5Raphael Lea'i17362022–present6Batram Suri15371992–20057Noel Berry10151995–20008Micah Lea'alafa9312016–present9John Orobulu8162018–presentJoses Nawo8552011–present
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition* 1930Not member of FIFANot member of FIFA 1934 1938 1950 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990Did not enterDid not enter 1994Did not qualify1st Round4013513 19982nd Round83322223 20021st Round42021710 20062nd116232416 2010SF6402236 20144th9225722 20182nd94141016 20222nd320168 20262nd Round310245 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total0/23––––––—6024927122126
OFC Nations Cup Oceania Cup / OFC Nations Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1973Did not enterDid not enter 1980Group stage8th3003321No qualification 1996Semi-finals3rd200213Squad4400101 1998Did not qualify421187 2000Third place3rd4202710Squad4211109 2002Group stage6th301239SquadQualified automatically 2004Runners-up2nd73131017Squad4310141 2008Did not qualify6402236 2012Fourth place4th512256SquadQualified automatically 2016Semi-finals3rd410324Squad 2024Group stage6th200204SquadTotalRunners-up8/113074193174—2215346524
Pacific Games Pacific Games recordYearRoundPosition 1963Fourth place4th3102626 1966Group stage6th2011412 1969Sixth place6th5014819 1971did not enter 1975Bronze medal 3rd421198 1979Bronze medal 3rd5401245 1983Group stage10th3102011 1987did not enter 1991Silver medal 2nd5410123 1995Silver medal 2nd64023410 2003Group stage5th4211144 2007Fourth place4th6402236 2011Silver medal 2nd7502216 2015See Solomon Islands national under-23 football team 2019Group stage7th5212309 2023Silver medal2nd5212309TotalRunners-up12/155529620185119
Wantok Cup 2008 (July, 1st edition) – First place
Head-to-head record Updated 30 September 2026 after the match against Papua New Guinea
Honours Continental OFC Nations Cup Runners-up (1): 2004 Third place (1): 2000
Regional Pacific Games Silver medal (4): 1991, 1995, 2011, 2023 Bronze medal (2): 1975, 1979 Melanesia Cup / MSG Prime Minister's Cup Champions (2): 1994, 2023 Runners-up (2): 1988, 2000 Third place (4): 1989, 1992, 1998, 2024
Awards OFC Nations Cup Fair Play Award: 2012
Summary Competition TotalOFC Nations Cup0112Total0112
Historical kits
References
Further reading
External links Solomon Islands Football Federation official website Solomon Islands at OFC Solomon Islands at FIFA