The Australian Men’s soccer team recorded the biggest-ever win in the history of international soccer when they defeated American Samoa 31-0. The match held on April 11, 2001, was a qualifier match for the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. On what was a horrendous night for American Samoa, the match sent shock waves in the soccer world.
The Australian Men’s soccer team had already recorded the biggest-ever win in international soccer just before they faced American Samoa. The Socceroos had defeated Tonga 22-0 just two days before they played against American Samoa. Back then, Australia was 75 in the FIFA rankings while American Samoa was 203-the worst-ranked team.
19 years ago today, Australia beat American Samoa 31-0, setting a record for the largest scoreline in an international game.
A record-breaking 13 goals were scored by Archie Thompson. 😳 pic.twitter.com/t6y5GvnszT
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 11, 2020
As the referee blew the whistle for the game, the American Samoa team didn’t realize what was coming their way. They managed to restrain the Australian attack for the first ten minutes of the game. However, once Con Boutsianis scored Australia’s first goal, the floodgates opened. The Australian forward Archie Thompson finished the match with 13 goals to become the player with the most goals ever scored in an international match.
Meanwhile, David Zdrilic scored 8 goals in the match and Boutsianis scored thrice. Three other Australian players got a brace while substitute Fausto De Amicis scored once. In a match that was labeled ‘Men against Boys‘, the Australian men’s soccer team didn’t even field several players from the starting XI. The overwhelming scoreline of the match also brought in several changes in the qualification system designed by FIFA.
3 unbelievable facts that helped Australian Men’s Soccer Team achieve their landslide victory
Despite being the outright underdogs in the match, 3 factors worked against the American Samoa team. Nicknamed The Boys from the Territory, American Samoa was reportedly missing 11 players from their main team due to passport issues. This resulted in them being able to field only one player from their main team.
Secondly, American Samoa couldn’t even rely on their U-20 team for help. The players from the U-20 side were busy with their exams, which made them unavailable for the senior side. Although most young players dream of getting to play for their senior national team, the school was dearer to the American Samoa players.
Thirdly, the American Samoa coach admitted that most of the players weren’t used to playing for such long durations. This confession raised huge doubts over the training of American Samoa players. However, this match had much deeper consequences for the Australian men’s soccer team. The Socceroos were unhappy with the low quality of competition that they had to face in the Oceania Zone.
Their landslide victory over American Samoa helped them move from the Oceania Zone into the more competitive Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Lastly, a preliminary round was also introduced in the qualifying process so that such one-sided soccer matches could be avoided in the future.