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Micronesia lose 38-0 to Fiji at Pacific Games... but it is not likely to be a world record defeat

American Samoa hold record after 31-0 victory by Australia in 2001

Tom Sheen
Monday 06 July 2015 09:40 BST
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Micronesia suffered one of the worst defeats in international football history on Sunday night - but the 38-0 loss to Fiji is not likely to become a world record.

Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania made up of thousands of islands, followed up a 30-defeat to Tahiti in the opener with an even worse defeat; leaving them with a goal difference of minus-68 after just two matches.

But the team (pictured during the defeat above by Amichai Stein) are unlikely to have their fame recorded in the record books as they are not affiliated with Fifa, while the squads at the Pacific Games are Under-23 and double as Olympic qualifying.

That means the world record for worst defeat in an international match should still belong to American Samoa, who were beaten by Australia 31-0 in a World Cup qualifier in 2001.

“We did quite well in the second half,” Micronesia manager Stan Foster told the Guardian. “The marking was slack in the first-half so I told them to make sure they marked man to man, and that worked out a lot better.”

Micronesia were 21-0 down at half-time before opting to put midfielder Dominic Gadad between the sticks.

“They were so big,” added Gadad, 20-year-old from the island of Yap. “They beat us and then they made fun of us. It was embarrassing. It’s difficult for us. We only just started playing football.”

Antonio Tuivana scored 10 goals for Fiji.

The world record defeat in a competitive game belongs to SO l'Emyrne who lost 149-0 to AS Adema in Madagascar. SO l'Emyrne intentionally lost the game, scoring own goal after own goal in protest at a refereeing decision in their previous match.

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