The Federated States of Micronesia suffered their third record defeat when they were thrashed 46-0 by Vanuatu in an Olympic qualifying tournament on Tuesday.
Jean Kaltack was Vanuatu’s top scorer, scoring 16 goals in the win for the country ranked 200 in the world and the defeat, with Vanuatu 24-0 up at half-time, means that Micronesia have now conceded 114 goals over their last three matches.
“It was boys against men” said the Micronesia coach, Stan Foster after the loss before adding that is was the first time on an 11-a-side pitch for many of his players.
“It’s just so hard at this early stage – this is kindergarten for us,” he said. “We have to learn and to know that we go back we have to train harder and learn more skills.
“Most of these have never been out of their villages let alone on to another island. I took them to Guam the other day [and it was] the first time they’ve been on an elevator or an escalator. It’s been a huge step-up for these guys and they’ve just been overawed really.
Micronesia, who are making their first appearance at an Oceania Football Confederation tournament, were also beaten 30-0 by Tahiti and 38-0 by Fiji at the Pacific Games, which double as the qualifying tournament for next year’s Rio de Janeiro’s Olympics. Fiji’s victory had surpassed the previous record for a victory at the Pacific Games, which Tahiti had equalled in the first match of the tournament in Port Moresby.
A score of 30-0 was the minimum requirement for Vanuatu if they wanted to keep their hopes of qualifying from Pool A alive, with the group likely to be decided on goal difference.
