American Samoa’s Women’s World Cup fairytale takes them from ‘underdog to dark horse’

The American Samoa women’s team has lived through a scarcely believable tale littered with upsets, and their story is still unfolding. At the end of last year, they entered a World Cup qualification tournament containing the lowest-ranked teams in the smallest federation, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). At 153rd in the world rankings, American Samoa ranked the lowest of the low. With an estimated population of 45,319, the island’s entire population would not sell out even the smallest stadium hosting Fifa’s showpiece event next year.

The national team’s captain, Alma Mana’o, talks of American Samoan culture as being “family is above all”. Multiple sets of sisters represent the team, something Mana’o relishes. “This is a family, we have got to get together, hold our sisters accountable and push each other,” she says. The Mana’o family hold the record for most family members to participate in Fifa events – “If we can’t win, we’re going to have the most kids!” Alma declares with a laugh – and American Samoa are out to prove there can be success in the family business.

Going into the World Cup qualifiers, nothing was expected of American Samoa. In November they faced the highest-ranked side in the competition, Tonga. On the stroke of half-time, 18-year-old Cassidy Drago struck her name into American Samoan folklore by scoring the nation’s first goal in Women’s World Cup qualifying. Drago quickly followed that up with a second and American Samoa went on to seal a 3-0 victory. Cook Islands were then dispatched in the final preliminary qualifier at the start of December in another stunning upset. “Us going to the second round surprised everyone,” Mana’o recalls with a knowing grin.

American Samoa had defied the odds, but now it was time for reality to strike, surely? First up in the second round of qualifying was 2025 Pacific Nations Cup champions Solomon Islands, who beat American Samoa 7-1 in qualification for the Paris Olympics and were ranked 80 places above them. And yet, 90 minutes later, the scoreboard read: American Samoa 1 Solomon Islands 0, truly one of the greatest shocks in Women’s World Cup qualifying history. A 1-0 victory against neighbouring Samoa followed last month, ensuring American Samoa’s place in the final round of OFC qualifiers. As Mana’o describes it, the journey “from underdog to dark horse” was complete.

On Sunday, American Samoa will face Papua New Guinea in Auckland, where they played their first ever women’s international match 28 years ago, losing 21-0 to Australia. American Samoa will have hope of advancing under the management of the 1996 US Olympic gold medallist Amanda Cromwell, who has overseen four wins in five games. According to Mana’o, her impact has been pivotal. “This doesn’t happen without her pushing the federation to get us all together, to have certain meal plans, to have a trainer making sure we’re taken care of, and I really do appreciate that with my prior experiences,” she says, going on to state her confidence in American Samoa’s direction of travel under Cromwell: “This new standard will be the standard.”

Mana’o was the first “off island” girl to play for American Samoa in 2011, aged only 15 years old. Her first match was a “shattering” 8-0 defeat, but she happily contrasts that with the experiences of those coming into the fold now. “To have all these young girls that are 14 years old, like Mia [Toeaina] and Naiyah [Anaiyah Ve’e], coming in and having positive experiences, it’s amazing,” she says. And how would 15-year-old Mana’o feel about American Samoa if she could see the team now? “Fifteen-year-old-me is ecstatic,” Mana’o says with a smile.

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