The Liberia national football team, nicknamed the Lone Stars, represents Liberia in men's international football and is controlled by the Liberia Football Association. Although the nation produced the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, George Weah, its football team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations just twice—in 1996 and 2002. It is a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
History
African Cup of Nations In 1965 Liberia played for the first time in the 1965 qualification qualifying campaign, losing its first match 0–1 against Ivory Coast. They also won 3–2 against DR Congo but lost both returning fixtures and were eliminated in the first round. In 1967 Liberia played in the 1968 qualification qualifying campaign, drawing its first match 2–2 against Guinea. They also drew against Senegal but lost both returning fixtures and were eliminated again in the first round. Liberia returned to qualifying in 1976 but lost in the preliminary round to Togo, falling in both fixtures. After another absence, this time of six years, Liberia again joined AFCON qualifying in 1982 in the preliminary rounds but failed to progress after two draws against Gambia, falling short as a result of the away goals rule.
Liberia withdrew from qualifying for the 1984 African Cup of Nations, but the following tournament they managed to secure their first win during qualifying, a 3–1 first-leg victory over Mauritania. They failed to capitalize on this advantage, however, and lost 3–0 in the second leg. They then faced Sierra Leone and Mali in the 1988 qualification and 1990 qualification campaigns respectively, but again failed to progress. In 1992, Liberia withdrew from qualifying before playing a match due to the ongoing First Liberian Civil War, and in 1994, Liberia was put into a group with two participants that withdrew during qualifying (Tanzania and Burkina Faso) however they failed to take advantage of this and finished with zero points, having lost to Ghana twice.
In the 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification, led by Ballon d’Or winner and captain George Weah, Liberia managed to register three wins—against Togo, Tunisia and Mauritania—and four draws, which saw them finish the group in second place and qualify for their first African Cup of Nations tournament. Following the withdrawal of Nigeria, Liberia was placed in a group with Gabon and Zaire. They opened the tournament with a 2–1 victory over Gabon with goals from Kelvin Sebwe and Mass Sarr Jr. but lost 2–0 to Zaire. This meant that Liberia finished bottom of the group on goal difference and failed to progress to the knock-out stages.
Liberia missed out on returning to the African Cup of Nations in 1998 as they finished one point off of qualification. In 2000, they defeated Niger in the preliminary rounds, but again failed to advance to the main tournament, this time finishing behind Algeria on goal difference.
In 2002 African Cup of Nations qualification, Liberia beat Cape Verde in the preliminary rounds, ultimately finishing top of their group to qualify for the tournament for the second time in their history. In the 2002 African Cup of Nations, Liberia drew their first game 1–1 with Mali with George Weah scoring the goal and drew their second game 2–2 against Algeria behind goals from Prince Daye and Kelvin Sebwe. In their final group game, though, needing a win against Nigeria to advance, they lost 1–0.
FIFA World Cup
Liberia first entered the qualifying process for the FIFA World Cup in 1966, however, they withdrew in protest against the fact that too few places had been reserved for Africa and Asia, along with all fourteen other African nations that had initially entered qualifying.
Liberia next entered qualifying in 1982 against Guinea after receiving a bye in the first round. They lost 1–0 over the two legs and were eliminated. In 1986, Liberia was again eliminated without having scored a goal, falling 4–0 to Nigeria. In 1990, Liberia won its first FIFA qualifying match defeating Ghana to progress to the second round. Despite finishing second in their group, Liberia failed to advance to the final qualification round, ending two points behind group winners Egypt.
In 1998, Liberia beat Gambia in the first qualification round, but finished twelve points adrift of Tunisia in their group. In 2002, Liberia had their strongest qualifying campaign, however, a loss against Ghana in their penultimate group game gave Nigeria the opportunity to overtake them and secure the only qualification spot.
Team image
Kit supplier Kit providerPeriod Hummel1990–1993 Diadora1994–1995 Adidas1996–1998 Weah Sports1999–2001 Sportika2002 Adidas2003–2004 Hummel2004–2006 Kappa2006–2008 Adidas2008 Kubba2009 Adidas2010–2012 Erreà2012 SPECS2012–2013 Joma2013–2014 Adidas2015–2020 Puma2021–2024 Wanaw2024–present
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
2027
Coaching staff
PositionNameHead coach Thomas KojoAssistant coach Kelvin SebweAssistant coach Harold GbotoeGoalkeeping coach Chris WessehFitness coach Desmond Mulbah
Coaching history Caretaker managers are listed in italics
Josiah Johnson (1971–78) Bert Trautmann (1978–80) Paulo Campos (1986) Walter Pelham (1986–1990) Wilfred Lardner (1990–1998) Kadalah Kromah (1999–2000) Philippe Redon (2000–02) Dominic George Vava (2002) Kadalah Kromah (2002–04) Joseph Sayon (2004–06) Shawky El Din (2006) Frank Jericho Nagbe (2006–08) Antoine Hey (2008–09) Bertalan Bicskei (2010–11) Roberto Landi (2011–12) Thomas Kojo (2012) Kaetu Smith (2012) Frank Jericho Nagbe (2013) Thomas Kojo (2013) James Debbah (2013–17) Thomas Kojo (2018) Peter Butler (2019–2022) Ansu Keita (2022) Thomas Kojo (2022–2023) Ansu Keita (2023) Mario Marinica (2024) Thomas Kojo (2025)
Players
Current squad The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Benin and Libya on 27 and 31 March 2026; respectively.
Caps and goals correct as of 24 March 2025, after the match against Libya.
Recent call-ups The following players have been called up for the team in the last 12 months.
Records
Players in bold are still active with Liberia.
Most appearances
RankNameCapsGoalsCareer 1Joe Nagbe 77 0 1986–2011 2George Weah 75 18 1986–2018 3Kelvin Sebwe 62 10 1988–2008 4James Debbah 58 13 1986–2018 5Oscar Dorley 54 3 2015–present 6George Gebro 48 1 1997–2012 7Anthony Laffor 46 5 2004–2018 8Teah Dennis Jr. 44 1 2011–2019 9Varmah Kpoto 40 1 1997–200810Fallah Johnson 37 0 1995–2004Zizi Roberts 37 9 1995–2003
Top goalscorers
RankNameGoalsCapsRatioCareer 1George Weah 18 75 1986–20182William Jebor 13 27 2011–2023James Debbah 13 58 1986–2018 4Kelvin Sebwe 10 62 1988–2008 5Zizi Roberts 9 37 1995–2003 6Oliver Makor 8 32 1995–20087Prince Daye 7 25 1996–2004Jonathan Sogbie 7 27 1988–1998 9Zah Rahan 6 35 2006–201710Francis Doe 5 22 2004–2016Isaac Tondo 5 22 2000–2005Dioh Williams 5 24 2004–2016Marcus Macauley 5 28 2011–presentAnthony Laffor 5 46 2004–2018
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition 1930 to 1962Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1966WithdrewWithdrew 1970 to 1978Did not enterDeclined participation 1982Did not qualify201101 1986200204 1990833243 1994Withdrew during qualificationWithdrew during qualification 1998Did not qualify8215712 200210613118 200612219629 20106033412 2014611439 2018411246 20228305810 2026104331311 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total—––––––7622153960105
Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations recordAppearances: 2YearRoundPosition 1957Not affiliated to CAF 1959 1962 1963Did not enter 1965Did not qualify 1968 1970Did not enter 1972 1974 1976Did not qualify 1978Did not enter 1980 1982Did not qualify 1984Withdrew 1986Did not qualify 1988 1990 1992Withdrew 1994Did not qualify 1996Group stage13th210123 1998Did not qualify 2000 2002Group stage9th302134 2004Did not qualify 2006 2008 2010 2012 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025 2027To be determinedTotalGroup stage2/35512257
Honors Regional WAFU Nations Cup Third place (1): 2011 West African Nations Cup Runners-up (1): 1987 CEDEAO Cup Runners-up (1): 1987
Notes
References
External links
Official Website Liberia at CAF Liberia at FIFA Liberian-Soccer.com fan site Liberia national football team