![]() | |||
Nickname(s) | Bright Stars[1] | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | South Sudan Football Association | ||
Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
Sub-confederation | CECAFA (East & Central Africa) | ||
Head coach | Stefano Cusin | ||
Captain | Peter Maker | ||
Most caps | Juma Genaro Dominic Abui Pretino (30) | ||
Top scorer | James Moga (6) | ||
Home stadium | Juba National Stadium | ||
FIFA code | SSD | ||
| |||
FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 165 ![]() | ||
Highest | 134 (November 2015) | ||
Lowest | 205 (September 2013) | ||
First international | |||
![]() ![]() (Juba, South Sudan; 10 July 2012) | |||
Biggest win | |||
![]() ![]() (Juba, South Sudan; 28 March 2017) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
![]() ![]() (Maputo, Mozambique; 18 May 2014) |
The South Sudan national football team represents South Sudan in international football and is controlled by the South Sudan Football Association, the governing body for football in South Sudan.
The majority of the squad is usually derived from either the domestics South Sudan Football Championship and South Sudan Premier League, or various clubs in the Australian football league system, from among the South Sudanese-Australian diaspora.
Zoran Đorđević was appointed on 25 May 2011 to oversee the national team.[3] For their inaugural year the team was featured in Storyville episode called Soccer Coach Zoran and his African Tigers. The national team's first international fixture was due to be against the Kenya national team on 10 July 2011 as part of the country's independence celebrations.[4][5] However, in the event the opposition was provided by Tusker of the Kenyan Premier League,[6] alongside the first international fixture of the national basketball team. The match was played at the Juba Stadium. South Sudan scored within ten minutes, but they later conceded three goals in a 3–1 defeat.[7] South Sudan was officially admitted as a CAF member on 10 February 2012, at the 34th CAF Ordinary General Assembly hosted in Libreville, Gabon.[8] South Sudan was admitted as a FIFA member on 25 May 2012 at the second session of the 62nd FIFA Congress hosted in Budapest, Hungary.[9][10]
On 10 July 2012, South Sudan competed in its first full international match, a friendly against Uganda in Juba.[11] The match ended in a 2–2 draw, with James Moga and Richard Justin Lado scoring for South Sudan. This match resulted in South Sudan entering the FIFA rankings at the start of August in 199th place.[11]
The South Sudanese took part in their first ever international football tournament when they took part in the 2012 CECAFA Cup in Uganda.[12][13] They were drawn in Group A alongside Ethiopia, Kenya, and hosts Uganda.[14] The national team played their first match against Ethiopia, losing 1–0 through a Yonathan Kebede goal. In their next match, they lost 2–0 against Kenya. Their final match saw them suffer a 4–0 loss to Uganda.
South Sudan entered its first major international tournament in 2014, taking part in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. As one of the four lowest ranked national teams in Africa, it entered in the preliminary stage and was scheduled to play against Eritrea, who withdrew, thus qualifying South Sudan for the first qualifying round.[15][16] There, they played Mozambique over two legs, losing 5–0 at the Estádio do Zimpeto in Maputo, but hosting a goalless draw in the second leg which was held at the Khartoum Stadium in Sudan due to the South Sudanese Civil War.
On 5 September 2015, South Sudan achieved their first official victory, a 1–0 home win against Equatorial Guinea in 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. One month later South Sudan played their first ever match in FIFA World Cup Qualification, a 1–1 draw at home to Mauritania. South Sudan would lose both return matches 4–0.
During 2019 AFCON qualifying the Bright Stars achieved their record win, defeating Djibouti 6–0 in Juba, however they lost all seven of their other matches meaning they remained among the lowest ranked teams in Africa.
In October 2019, in the 2021 AFCON preliminary round, South Sudan won an away game for the first time, beating Seychelles 1–0 in Victoria to secure a 3–1 aggregate victory. This sees the Bright Stars advance to the qualifying group stage for the third consecutive edition.
South Sudan have been invited by FIFA to taking part in 2021 FIFA Arab Cup as the only non-Arab League nation . The team eventually forfeited the qualifiers after several players tested positive on COVID -19.
Win Draw Loss
27 January Friendly | Uzbekistan ![]() | 3–0 | ![]() | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
18:00 UTC+4 |
|
Report | Stadium: The Sevens Stadium |
31 January Training match | Jordan ![]() | 2–1 | ![]() | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
|
Report | Stadium: The Sevens Stadium |
23 March 2023 AFCON preliminary round | Djibouti ![]() | 2–4 | ![]() | Borg El Arab, Egypt |
Akinbinu ![]() Warsama ![]() |
Okello ![]() Toha ![]() Gama ![]() |
Stadium: Borg El Arab Stadium |
27 March 2023 AFCON preliminary round | South Sudan ![]() | 1–0 (5–2 agg.) | ![]() | Entebbe, Uganda |
Chol ![]() |
Stadium: St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende | |||
Note: South Sudan won 5–1 on aggregate. |
4 June 2023 AFCON qualification | Gambia ![]() | 1–0 | ![]() | Thiès, Senegal |
16:00 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stade Lat-Dior Referee: Jean Ouattara (Burkina Faso) |
9 June 2023 AFCON qualification | South Sudan ![]() | 1–3 | ![]() | Entebbe, Uganda |
15:00 UTC+3 |
|
Report | Stadium: St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende Referee: Mashood Ssali (Uganda) |
September 2023 AFCON qualification | Congo ![]() | v | ![]() | Congo |
Report |
September 2023 AFCON qualification | South Sudan ![]() | v | ![]() | Uganda |
Report |
March 2023 AFCON qualification | South Sudan ![]() | v | ![]() |
March 2023 AFCON qualification | Mali ![]() | v | ![]() |
The following players were selected for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Gambia and Mali on 4 and 9 June 2022 respectively.[17]
Caps and goals as of 9 June 2022, after the match against Mali.
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1GK | Juma Genaro | (1988-02-28) 28 February 1988 (age 34) | 30 | 0 | ![]() | |
1GK | Ramadan Diing | (2000-03-13) 13 March 2000 (age 22) | 11 | 0 | ![]() | |
1GK | David Alfred Urbano | (1990-10-01) 1 October 1990 (age 32) | 3 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Peter Maker (captain) | (1994-01-01) 1 January 1994 (age 28) | 22 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Mutwakil Abdelkarim | (1992-08-04) 4 August 1992 (age 30) | 12 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Ivan Wani | (1998-12-12) 12 December 1998 (age 23) | 10 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Omot Sebit | (1998-10-09) 9 October 1998 (age 24) | 9 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Rashid Toha | (1997-10-09) 9 October 1997 (age 25) | 9 | 1 | ![]() | |
2DF | Rehan Angier | (2002-01-01) 1 January 2002 (age 20) | 7 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Bernard Agele | (1992-12-04) 4 December 1992 (age 29) | 6 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Atendele Geriga | (1995-05-05) 5 May 1995 (age 27) | 5 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Peter Chol | (1994-10-23) 23 October 1994 (age 27) | 23 | 2 | ![]() | |
3MF | Stephen Pawaar | (1993-01-07) 7 January 1993 (age 29) | 11 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Loki Emmanuel | (2001-11-14) 14 November 2001 (age 20) | 9 | 1 | ![]() | |
3MF | Data Elly | (2002-02-05) 5 February 2002 (age 20) | 8 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | William Gama Emmanuel | (2002-12-14) 14 December 2002 (age 19) | 8 | 1 | ![]() | |
3MF | Joseph Malish | (2002-07-27) 27 July 2002 (age 20) | 4 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Peter Sunday | (1996-08-23) 23 August 1996 (age 26) | 4 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Gibson Adinho | (1994-07-04) 4 July 1994 (age 28) | 3 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Wani Isaac | (1995-11-25) 25 November 1995 (age 26) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Tito Okello | (1996-01-07) 7 January 1996 (age 26) | 13 | 3 | ![]() | |
4FW | Sebit Ajak Bol | (1987-06-07) 7 June 1987 (age 35) | 10 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | David Majak | (2000-10-10) 10 October 2000 (age 22) | 8 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Valentino Yuel | (1994-10-12) 12 October 1994 (age 28) | 7 | 1 | ![]() | |
4FW | Manyumow Achol | (1999-12-10) 10 December 1999 (age 22) | 6 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Jak James Tap | (1989-03-23) 23 March 1989 (age 33) | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Michael Marco | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
GK | Majak Mawith | (1999-09-18) 18 September 1999 (age 23) | 9 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | John Kuol Chol | (1999-11-09) 9 November 1999 (age 22) | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Akol Geofrey | (2000-08-09) 9 August 2000 (age 22) | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Samuel Taban | (2002-10-29) 29 October 2002 (age 19) | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Vitali Paulina | (2002-05-11) 11 May 2002 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Dominic Angelo Kornelio | (2000-04-14) 14 April 2000 (age 22) | 13 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Joseph Dhata | (2002-09-05) 5 September 2002 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Geofrey Akol | (2000-08-09) 9 August 2000 (age 22) | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Abane Along | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
MF | Jackson Morgan | (1998-08-18) 18 August 1998 (age 24) | 12 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Saad Musa | (1995-08-06) 6 August 1995 (age 27) | 9 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Abraham Majok | (1998-10-13) 13 October 1998 (age 24) | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Dominic Abui Pretino | (1991-01-01) 1 January 1991 (age 31) | 30 | 4 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Mandela Malish | (1998-10-28) 28 October 1998 (age 23) | 8 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Abraham Sudier | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() | |
MF | Maker Maker | (1999-07-01) 1 July 1999 (age 23) | 3 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | William Akio | (1998-07-23) 23 July 1998 (age 24) | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Machop Chol | (1998-11-14) 14 November 1998 (age 23) | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Aluck Akech | (1994-02-08) 8 February 1994 (age 28) | 17 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Makueth Wol | (2000-02-10) 10 February 2000 (age 22) | 6 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Dani Lual | (2002-11-29) 29 November 2002 (age 19) | 2 | 1 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Khamis Atari | (2001-05-15) 15 May 2001 (age 21) | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Kur Gai | (2000-02-20) 20 February 2000 (age 22) | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
|
|
FIFA World Cup record | FIFA World Cup qualification record | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
![]() ![]() |
Part of ![]() |
Part of ![]() | ||||||||||||||
![]() ![]() |
Part of ![]() |
Part of ![]() | ||||||||||||||
![]() |
Did not enter | Declined participation | ||||||||||||||
![]() |
Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||
![]() |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
![]() ![]() ![]() |
To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
Total | 0/22 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
Africa Cup of Nations record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
![]() | Part of ![]() |
Part of ![]() | ||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() ![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() ![]() | Did not enter | Did not enter | ||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
![]() | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |||||||||
![]() |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 15 | ||||||||||
![]() |
8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 20 | ||||||||||
![]() |
8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | ||||||||||
![]() | To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
![]() | ||||||||||||||||
Total | – | 0/33 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 24 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 16 | 47 |
African Nations Championship record | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Appearances: 0 | ||||||||
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
![]() |
Part of ![]() | |||||||
![]() | ||||||||
![]() | Did not qualify | |||||||
![]() | ||||||||
![]() | ||||||||
![]() | ||||||||
![]() | ||||||||
Total | – | 0/7 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
CECAFA Cup record | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Appearances: 4 | ||||||||
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
![]() ![]() | Part of ![]() | |||||||
![]() | Did not enter | |||||||
![]() | Group stage | 11th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
![]() | Group stage | 10th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
![]() | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
![]() | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
![]() | Did not enter | |||||||
Total | Quarter-finals | 4/40 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
Arab Cup | Arab Nations Cup Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | ||
![]() | Part of ![]() | Part of ![]() | ||||||||||||||
![]() | Not invite | Not invite | ||||||||||||||
![]() | Did not qualified | Withdrew | ||||||||||||||
Total | 0/9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
^1 The 2009 edition was cancelled during qualification.
Team
|
Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | WPCT |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
![]() |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0.00 |
![]() |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 75.00 |
![]() |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 25.00 |
![]() |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
![]() |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0.00 |
![]() |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 | −11 | 0.00 |
![]() |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 33.33 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 100.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
![]() |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
![]() |
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 20.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0.00 |
![]() |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0.00 |
Total | 52 | 8 | 8 | 36 | 34 | 98 | −64 | 15.38 |
The following South Sudanese international footballers have also played for Sudan national football team before the country's independence:
![]() | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Sudan Football Association | |||||
National teams |
| ||||
League system |
| ||||
Domestic cups |
| ||||
Awards |
| ||||
Lists |
| ||||
|
National football teams of Africa (CAF) | |
---|---|
North Africa (UNAF) | |
West Africa (WAFU) |
|
East Africa (CECAFA) | |
Central Africa (UNIFFAC) |
|
Southern Africa (COSAFA) | |
Non-regional Members |
|
![]() |
Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations | |
---|---|
| |
International Competitions |
|
Club Competitions |
|
Current members |
|
National Teams | |
![]() |