Libya national football team

Libya
Nickname(s) The Mediterranean Knights
Association Libyan Football Federation
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation UNAF (North Africa)
Head coach Jalal Damja
Captain Ali Salama
Most caps Tarik El Taib (77)
Top scorer Tarik El Taib (23)
Home stadium Tripoli International Stadium
FIFA code LBY
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 86 Decrease 10 (24 November 2016)
Highest 36 (September 2012)
Lowest 187 (July 1997)
Elo ranking
Current 83 (17 November 2015)
Highest 46 (August 1985)
Lowest 124 (June 2003)
First international
 Egypt 10–2 Libya Libya
(Egypt; July 29, 1953)
Biggest win
 Libya 21–0 Muscat and Oman
(Iraq; April 6, 1966)
Biggest defeat
 Egypt 10–2 Libya Libya
(Egypt; July 29, 1953)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 3 (first in 1982)
Best result Runners-up, 1982

The Libya national football team (Arabic: منتخب ليبيا لكرة القدم) is the national association football team of Libya and is controlled by the Libyan Football Federation. Libya has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but has made it to three Africa Cup of Nations; the first was in 1982 where they finished runners-up as hosts of the tournament. The team's second participation did not come until 2006, which was the first time the side qualified without hosting the tournament. The squad failed to progress from the group stages in 2006, as was the case in their third participation in 2012. Libya finished runners-up in the 1964 and 2012 Arab Nations Cup and came third in the 1966 edition in Baghdad.

Libya's national team is considered one of the stronger teams in Africa and the Arab world, particularly in recent years. The good performances recorded in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations under Brazilian Coach Marcos Paqueta saw the team record their first win in the tournament outside of Libya in their final match against Senegal. This saw their FIFA world rankings rise to the highest it had ever been at 53, which later rose again to 36 in September 2012 before winning their first silverware in the 2014 CHAN. However, the continued civil war in 2014 affected the team along with the stoppage of the Libyan league, thus the team was knocked from the First Round of the 2015 CAN qualifiers by Rwanda and failed to qualify for CHAN 2016 after winning the prvious tournament

History

Early History

Libya's national team was first initiated in 1918, but did not play an official international until 3 August 1953, when they defeated Palestine 5–2 in the first Pan Arab Games in 1953. The first manager ever to manage the Libyan national team was Masoud Zantouny, and the first foreign manager was Englishman James Bingham, who took charge of the Libyan national team for the 1961 Pan Arab Games. The first player ever to score for the Libyan national team in an official international was Mukhtar Ghonaay.

The first penalty ever scored by a member of the national team was in the 1953 Pan Arab Games group stage; in the match against Egypt, Ali Zantouny scored in the 3–2 defeat. The national team's first participation in the Arab Cup was in 1964, the second edition of the competition, held in Kuwait.

The first ever player to score for the Libyan national team in a non-official international was Mustapha Makki in a warm-up friendly played prior to the 1953 Pan Arab Games tournament, played against Palestine in Alexandria in 1952. The national team's first attempt to qualify for an Olympic football tournament was in 1967, where they played their first qualification match against Niger in an attempt to qualify for the 1968 Olympic football tournament in Mexico City.

World Cups

Libya first entered the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 1970. Their early attempts failed, but during the 1980s the national side strengthened. The country's geopolitical position, however, affected the football team, who had to withdraw from qualifying for the 1982 and 1990 World Cups.

Libya came closest to qualifying for the world cup in 1986. They came to within a game of reaching the finals in Mexico. After winning their match against Sudan in their first game, the Libyans beat Ghana in the next round before taking on Morocco for a place at the finals. Morocco won the first game 3–0 and went through, even though Libya won the return leg 1–0.

After not entering the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup competition, Libya came back in the qualifying competition for Korea/Japan. The Libyans advanced to the second round at the expense of Mali, who were beaten 4–3 on aggregate. In the group stage, Libya managed only two draws in eight games.

In the qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a 9–0 two-legged victory against São Tome and Principe put the Libyans through to the group stage. However, during these two games Al-Saadi Gaddafi was banned when he failed a drug test.

A difficult group followed containing Egypt, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire, the eventual group winners and qualifiers for the World Cup. However, The Knights were able to secure good results against these sides, as they beat Egypt 2–1 in Tripoli, and held Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire to 0–0 draws, helping them to a 4th-place finish and a place at the 2006 African Cup of Nations finals in Egypt.

African Cup Of Nations

Libya 1982

The biggest football tournament to be held in Libya was the 1982 African Cup of Nations. Libya qualified automatically as hosts and were put in a group alongside Ghana, Cameroon and Tunisia. The opening match of the tournament saw the hosts take on Ghana in Tripoli in a 2–2 draw. A 2–0 win over Tunisia and a goalless draw against Cameroon saw Libya topping the group.

In the semi-finals, Libya came from behind to beat Zambia 2–1 and set up another match with Ghana, this time in the final on 19 March. Ghana scored first in the 35th minute, but Libya equalised in the 70th. This was followed by a tense period of extra time in which no goals were scored. In a long penalty shootout, Ghana came out triumphant 7–6.

Egypt 2006

Libya's second African Cup of Nations saw a return to the higher levels of the international footballing scene at the 2006 African Cup of Nations finals in Egypt. They qualified for the competition after a goalless draw with Sudan in their ninth qualifying match.

Libya were drawn in Group A with Egypt (the hosts and eventual winners), 2006 World Cup-qualifiers Côte d'Ivoire and Morocco. Libya lost 3–0 to Egypt in Cairo, then lost 2–1 to Côte d'Ivoire. A goalless draw against Morocco saw Libya finish bottom of the group.

Recent years

Faouzi Benzarti became the coach of the national team in 2006. He failed to lead the team to the 2008 African Nations Cup, despite being drawn in what was seen as an easy group along with DR Congo, Namibia and Ethiopia; away defeats in Addis Ababa and Windhoek prevented qualification.

The next challenge for the Libyans was the qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They were drawn in Group 5 along with Gabon, Lesotho and Ghana: Libya were eliminated on goal difference after losing their final match against Gabon.

Libya had a chance to come back from World Cup misfortune during the qualifiers for the 2009 African Championship of Nations. They overcame Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco to go through to the tournament, but Libya finished bottom of their group after losing to Congo DR and drawing with Ghana and Zimbabwe. Benzarti was sacked,[1] and Serbian Branko Smiljanić was appointed on December 13.[2] In July 2010, Brazilian coach Marcos Paqueta was appointed the head coach of the Libyan team, and signed a four-year contract ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.[3]

Post Gaddafi Era

Libya played its first match after the Battle of Tripoli (and thus the end of the Gaddafi era in Libya) on 3 September 2011, with a new uniform sporting the National Transitional Council flag of Libya.

The match, part of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign, resulted in a 1–0 victory over Mozambique. The historic goal was scored by Rabee'a al Laafi. Like Libya's previous home match, a 3–0 defeat of Comoros in qualifying, played in Stade 26 mars in Bamako, Mali, a relocation was necessary due to the ongoing Libyan Civil War, and so the Petro Sport Stadium in Cairo, Egypt became the venue. The match was played behind closed doors for security reasons.[4]

Prior to the team's final game in the qualification campaign, against Zambia, coach Marcos Paquetá claimed that the team was now "not only playing for football success but for a new government and a new country".[5] The match was played on 8 October 2011, and resulted in a 0–0 draw which was good enough for both teams to qualify. Paquetá and his team danced and celebrated afterwards.[6]

In November 2011 the team travelled to the United Arab Emirates to play a friendly match against Belarus organized by FIFA and broadcast Dubai Sports. The team members, along with the Libyan national Chess team, also attended an event at the Libyan Consulate in Dubai organized to honour their contribution to their country in the field of sports.[7]

On 7 June 2013, Libya met DR Congo on its first match on home ground in two years.

2012 Africa Cup of Nations

Having qualified, Libya were drawn into Group A with co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, qualification rivals Zambia and pre-tournament favourites Senegal, Paquetá's men faced a tough task in progressing from the group.

The Mediterranean Knights' first game, the tournament's opening match, saw them lose to an 87th-minute winner from ex-Real Madrid winger Javier Ángel Balboa. Despite this setback, Libya's performances improved as the tournament went on; they went on to secure a 2–2 draw with Zambia in terrible conditions at the Estadio de Bata, before a brace from Ihaab al Bousseffi guided them to a famous 2–1 victory over Senegal, their first Nations Cup win in 30 years and a first on foreign soil. A respectable return of four points from three games was, sadly, not enough for Libya to progress, as they bowed out at the group stage.

The team will certainly learn from such an experience, however; despite a fairly conservative approach in the opening match, Libya began to offer more going forward, with Ahmed Sa'ad winning the man of the match award for the games against Zambia and Senegal as he showcased his obvious talent on a continental and global stage.

With six members of the squad aged 30 and above, notably Samir Aboud, for whom the match against Senegal brought down the curtain on a long international career, the focus now turns to the future of Libyan football; although domestic football has yet to be rescheduled following a year-long hiatus, qualification for next year's Cup of Nations could see a new-look Libya side enter the fray in South Africa.

2014 African Nations Championship

Libya drew against Ghana in a very tough and tiring match. Extra time was given ( two 15 minutes), however both teams failed to score. It was taken to penalty shootouts, where the Libyan team scored the first three penalties, missed two others and scored the final sixth (making it 4 in total, that they scored) and their Ghanaian opponents missed the first two, scored the next three then missed the final sixth penalty (resulting in 3 penalties scored). The match finished (0–0) and was won by the Mediterranean Knights by penalties (4–3).

Rivalries

Libya's only real rivalries are with its fellow North African footballing nations, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt and, mainly, Tunisia. Matches between Libya and any one of these opponents are highly charged encounters. Libya defeated Egypt 2–1 in a World Cup qualifier on 8 October 2004, the Pharaohs never managed to beat the Libyans on their own turf. The rivalry was rekindled at the 2007 Pan Arab Games, where the teams drew 0–0; Egypt eventually claimed the gold medal on goal difference from the Libyans.

Libya's last clash with Morocco was at the 2006 African Nations Cup, where it finished goalless (However, Libya also recently contested a fiery two-legged play-off tie for the 2009 African Championship of Nations, which Libya won 4–3 on aggregate). The height of the rivalry was in the 1980s, where a strong Libya side, which at that time was regarded as one of the top teams in the continent, had its World Cup '86 dreams crushed by a resurgent Morocco side. The Moroccans won the play-off 3–1 on aggregate, and progressed to the knockout stage, where they were defeated by West Germany.

Honours

Africa Cup of Nations:

Arab Cup of Nations:

African Nations Championship:

Competitive record

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup
Appearances: 0
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930Part of  Italy
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954Did not enter
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966Withdrew
Mexico 1970Did not qualify
West Germany 1974Did not enter
Argentina 1978Did not qualify
Spain 1982Withdrew during qualifying
Mexico 1986Did not qualify
Italy 1990Withdrew during qualifying
United States 1994Disqualified due to UN sanctions
France 1998Did not enter
South Korea Japan 2002Did not qualify
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018To Be Determined
Qatar 2022
Total 0/20

Olympic Games record

Olympic Games
Appearances: 0
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
18961948Did not exist
Finland 1952Did not enter
Australia 1956
Italy 1960
Japan 1964
Mexico 1968Did not qualify
Germany 1972Did not enter
Canada 1976Did not qualify
Soviet Union 1980Withdrew in qualification
United States 1984Did not qualify
South Korea 1988Did not enter
Spain 1992
United States 1996
Australia 2000
Greece 2004Did not qualify
China 2008
United Kingdom 2012
Brazil 2016Did not enter
Japan 2020To be determined
Total 0/25
  • Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since the 1992 edition.

Africa Cup of Nations Record

Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances: 3
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Sudan 1957Did not enter
Egypt 1959
Ethiopia 1962
Ghana 1963
Tunisia 1965
Ethiopia 1968Did not qualify
Sudan 1970Did not enter
Cameroon 1972Did not qualify
Egypt 1974Withdrew
Ethiopia 1976Did not enter
Ghana 1978
Nigeria 1980
Libya 1982Runners-up2nd523074
Ivory Coast 1984Did not qualify
Egypt 1986
Morocco 1988Withdrew
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992Did not enter
Tunisia 1994
South Africa 1996
Burkina Faso 1998
GhanaNigeria 2000Did not qualify
Mali 2002
Tunisia 2004
Egypt 2006Group Stage14th301215
Ghana 2008Did not enter
Angola 2010
GabonEquatorial Guinea 2012Group Stage10th311144
South Africa 2013Did not qualify
Equatorial Guinea 2015
Gabon 2017
Cameroon 2019
Ivory Coast 2021
Guinea 2023
TotalRunners-up3/29113531213

All-Africa Games Record

All-Africa Games
Appearances: 1
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Republic of the Congo 1965Did not enter
Nigeria 1973
Algeria 1978Group Stage 18th310234
Kenya 1987Did not enter
Egypt 1991
Zimbabwe 1995
South Africa 1999
Nigeria 2003Did not qualify
Algeria 2007
Mozambique 2011Did not enter
Republic of the Congo 2015
Angola 2019To be determined
All TotalGroup Stage1/11310234
  • Prior to the Cairo 1991 campaign, the Football at the All-Africa Games was open to full senior national teams.
  • ^1 Libya disqualified from the tournament due to vilence with the Egyptian team during the match in the group stage.

African Nations Championship record

African Nations Championship
Appearances: 2
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Ivory Coast 2009Group Stage7th302113
Sudan 2011Did not qualify
South Africa 2014Champions1st615064
Rwanda 2016To be determined
Kenya 2018
Total1 title2/3917177

Mediterranean Games Record

Mediterranean Games
Appearances: 8
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Egypt 1951Part of  Italy
Spain 1955Did not enter
Lebanon 1959
Italy 1963
Tunisia 1967Group Stage8th301215
Turkey 1971Did not enter
Algeria 1975Group Stage7th410348
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1979Did not enter
Morocco 1983Group Stage9th200225
Syria 1987Did not enter
Greece 1991
France 1993
Italy 1997Group Stage10th302134
Tunisia 20017th201112
Spain 2005Bronze Medal3rd5122310
Italy 2009403101
Turkey 2013Fourth Place4th5113612
Spain 2017To be determined
TotalBronze Medal8/1728310152047

Arab Nations Cup record

Arab Nations Cup
Appearances: 4
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Lebanon 1963Did not enter
Kuwait 1964Runners-up2nd422095
Iraq 1966Third Place3rd5221204
Saudi Arabia 1985Did not enter
Jordan 1988
Syria 1992
Qatar 1998Group Stage11th400224
Kuwait 2002Withdrew
Saudi Arabia 2012Runners-up2nd5320118
TotalRunners-up4/9187634221

Pan Arab Games record

Pan Arab Games
Appearances: 9
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Egypt 1953Bronze Medal3rd32011014
Lebanon 1957Group Stage8th3003512
Morocco 1961Bronze Medal3rd52121313
United Arab Republic 196564024418
Syria 1976Did not enter
Morocco 1985Group Stage5th210122
Syria 1992Did not enter
Lebanon 1997Group Stage6th302145
Jordan 1999Bronze Medal3rd6321116
Algeria 2004No tournament
Egypt 2007Silver Medal2nd431071
Qatar 2011Group Stage7th302112
TotalSilver Medal9/1135158129773

Recent results

See also

Notes

  1. Libya will play their home matches outside Libya due to security concerns from the ongoing civil war.

References

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