American Samoa's Historic Win: Thoughts & Highlights

For those who missed all the commotion on Twitter, American Samoa made history last night, earning their first ever win as a FIFA nation in a match against Tonga that doubled as a OFC Nations Cup and World Cup qualifier. Here are the highlights of the 2-1 victory:



Very few coaches get the opportunity to coach at the international level, and even fewer are able to say that they were able to make history once there. Just one game into his tenure at the helm of American Samoa, former US U-20 coach Thomas Rongen can now say he has done both.

Prior to the match, as USSD has discussed in the past, American Samoa was the picture of futility, with a record of 0-0-28 since joining FIFA in 1998. They hadn't even scored a goal since 2007. Needless to say, expectations were low going into yesterday's match. But now- thanks to their monumental win- what once seemed impossible is now a very real possibility: American Samoa might actually be able to win the preliminary round group and earn the eighth and final berth in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup.

Now, a lot remains to be done, don't get me wrong, but like Lloyd Christmas, I'm just saying there's a chance.

Appropriately, Rongen focused on simply enjoying the win following the match, and it's really fantastic to see just how happy the players and staff were after securing this historic result.

Really, this is a prime example of why international soccer is so incredible. A national team from a tiny island with no legitimate shot of qualifying for the World Cup takes the field with great pride all the same, searching for that moment of glory, however small and fleeting it may be. People in Pago Pago likely will never see their team reach the pinnacle of international soccer, but for at least one night, they are on top of the world. For players like Ramin Ott- who scored the opener for American Samoa- this is winning the World Cup. My words don't do justice in describing just how cool of a moment this is (I'd actually love to dedicate some time to writing a book with stories of minnow triumphs like this one; maybe someday...unless a USSD reader happens to also be a generous benefactor and/or publisher!).

There were other great subplots, as well: Nicky Salapu, who was on the wrong end of that historic 31-0 drubbing by Australia a decade ago and ten other World Cup qualifying beat downs, exorcised some demons with a strong performance in goal. Following the match, Salapu said: "I feel like a champ right now. Finally I’m going to put the past behind me."

Meanwhile, Johnny Saelua, a transgender center back (read here on the Samoan sexual identity known as fa'afafine), started and was by all accounts one of the best players on the field. And with the result, American Samoa (along with Samoa, who won their match in dramatic fashion) will move up from dead last in the FIFA rankings, distancing themselves from Andorra, San Marino, and Montserrat.

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If you're looking for some American football Thanksgiving, American Samoa will take on the Cook Islands tomorrow in another pivotal match. The Cook Islands fell to Samoa 3-2 after a stoppage time winner from the hosts. If Rongen and company are able to continue their success, it could set up a very interesting Samoan derby on Saturday to determine the group winner.

USSD will keep an eye on the result and may send out a tweet or two while taking a break between feast courses. @JamesPiotr is on the ground in Samoa tweeting updates, so be sure to check his Twitter feed if you'd like to follow along (read his great post-match New York Times piece here). You can also simply track the score using this site.

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American Samoa's success may be short-lived. But for one night, we were all reminded that sometime's soccer's best stories don't happen in multi-million dollar stadiums with global superstars on the field, but rather off the grid in front of just a couple dozen fans.

Just another reason why this is such an amazing sport.