31-0 THE LONELIEST GAME IN HISTORY
For more than 10 years, Nicky Salapu shouldered the biggest burden of his life in a world that didn’t truly understand. For 10 years, he woke up with the same sense of frustrated yearning that ate away at his thoughts. He’d never forget what it felt like to represent his country aged 20, and the sense of crushing humiliation that went with it. For 10 years, he wanted only one thing: to banish those demons of April 11, 2001 and win a football match with American Samoa. To finally make his people proud.
In 2011, Salapu got his wish when the world’s worst international team claimed their first ever victory in a FIFA-recognised match against Tonga, documented in the terrific Next Goal Wins film, which made a star of him and his heroic team-mates. Planet Football rejoiced with American Samoa while they went global, shedding their perennial losers tag once and for all.
There was one problem, though. Despite a critically acclaimed documentary and widespread fanfare, still just a fraction of admirers knew the real story behind the catastrophic scoreline that had assured them infamy and changed Salapu’s life forever: Australia 31-0 American Samoa. Twenty years on, Nicky knows he’ll never escape the ball and chain of international football’s heaviest defeat – but luckily for him, FourFourTwo is on hand to at least explain why that ludicrous night in Coffs Harbour comes with more asterisks than a French comic book…
THE KIDS AREN’T ALRIGHT
Back in February 2001, Tunoa Lui had an issue of epic proportions. As the coach of American Samoa began assembling his squad for 2002 World Cup qualification, FIFA balled up a fist and
