At the end of this year, sixteen nations will contest the men’s World Cup. Most casual fans would know about Australia, New Zealand and England; but over the coming weeks, we’ll introduce you to some of the other teams.

Samoa have been playing international football since 1986, but go into the 2022 World Cup with questions around eligibility and their coaching and administrations, which could derail their campaign. However, a 42-12 win over Cook Islands in June should give Samoa some confidence leading into the tournament.

Samoa made their international debut at the 1986 Pacific Cup, and won the tournament in 1992 after beating Tonga in double extra time. The following year, a Samoan team played at the World Sevens tournament in Sydney. In 1995, footballers in Samoa had a new opportunity to progress thanks to the inclusion of the Auckland Warriors in the Australian Rugby League competition.

In 2000, Samoa made it to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, but went down 66-10 to a red hot Australian team. They again made the quarter-finals in 2013, but lost 22-4 to Fiji.

Samoa’s most recent Test match was a 42-12 win over Cook Islands in June 2022. Their team included NRL stars Josh Aloiai, Jaydn S’uA, Anthony Milford, Martin Taupau, and David Nofoaluma who finished with four tries.

In the same pool as England, France and Greece, Samoa would fancy their chances of again progressing to at least the quarter-finals stage of this year’s World Cup.