The Tahiti national team belongs to French Polynesia football system and is mastered by the Fédération Tahitienne de Football. The team is an affiliated member of the Oceania Football Confederation since 1990, and in fact Team Fenua established itself as the strongest squad in the Pacific Islands bearing the palm in the South Pacific Games for five times.
Tahiti’s greatest achievements are linked with OFC Nations Cup competitions. Beginning from the inaugural 1973 season, the team was a runner-up in the tournament for three editions in a row (1973, 1980 and 1996). It reached the semi-final twice, in 1998 and 2002. And most recently, in 2012, Tahiti broke into the OFC Nations Cup final and pulled off with a hard-fought 1-0 win over New Caledonia. Still, the team is not skillful enough to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
Tahiti became a Pacific barn burner after they tremendously sank Cook Islands 30-0 in September 1971 – one of the most astonishing victories in all Oceania. The squad suffered their biggest 0-10 defeat to New Zealand in June 2004.
As of September 2012, Tahiti has 119th position in the FIFA World ranking.
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