Joseph Miitamariki

The Cook Islands men's national football team is the men's football team that represents the Cook Islands in international competition since 1971. It is governed by the Cook Islands Football Association which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and FIFA.

The nation has participated in seven FIFA World Cup qualification attempts since their first attempt back in 1998. They have qualified for the OFC Nations Cup twice in 1998 and 2000 OFC Nations Cup with both appearances seeing no wins from their four games that they have played.

Beginnings (1971–1995)

Despite being absent from the first three editions of the South Pacific Games, the geographical proximity of the Cook Islands with French Polynesia, host of the 1971 South Pacific Games, allowed the Cookian team to take part in the tournament. In the first round they were defeated 16–1 by Papua New Guinea and 30–0 by Tahiti, while in the match for fifth place, they fell to Fiji 15–1.

They next played a match in 1995 when proximity allowed them to participate again in the 1995 South Pacific Games. During the tournament they earned their first win, a 2–1 win over Wallis and Futuna, but lost their other four clashes resoundingly.

The two OFC Nations Cup (1996–2001)

The Cook Islands qualified for their first Oceania Nations Cup after finishing second in the 1998 Polynesia Cup, which they hosted. They faced Australia and Fiji in Group B, in what proved to be a tough draw. Australia crushed the Cook Islands 16–0 in their first match, scoring eight goals either side of the interval. In their next match against Fiji, however, the Cook Islands acquitted themselves much better, losing only 3–0, but with two defeats from two matches they failed to make the semi-finals.

In finishing 2nd at the 2000 Polynesia Cup, the Cook Islands also qualified for the OFC Nations Cup. They were drawn in Group A along with the Solomon Islands, and again, Australia. After their heavy defeat at the hands of Australia in the previous tournament, the Cook Islands hoped to avoid a repeat performance. However, they were powerless to prevent their opponents from running rampant, this time to the tune of 17–0. The Solomon Islands were up next, and in this game the Cook Islands had the consolation of scoring their first goal at the Oceania Nations Cup – the only bright spot in an otherwise bleak 5–1 defeat. After two defeats, then, the Cooks Islands again went out at the group stage.

Decline (2002–present)

They next entered qualification for the 2004 tournament however they lost all four matches and failed to progress.

They returned to the South Pacific Games for the 2007 competition where they could only beat Tuvalu 4–1. Four years later, at Nouméa 2011, they defeated Kiribati 3–0, but lost their other three meetings; while in 2012 OFC Nations Cup qualification they drew with American Samoa and fell to Samoa and Tonga.

In the 2016 OFC Nations Cup qualifiers, they beat Tonga 3–1 and Samoa 1–0, but fell in the last game against American Samoa 2-0, which relegated the Cook Islands to third place, surpassed on goal difference by both Samoas.

In March 2022, the Cook Islands played their first match in seven years when they lost 2–0 to the Solomon Islands in qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, they had to withdraw from their remaining matches due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

On 28 August 2023, Cook Islands resumed their international matches playing against Tahiti but suffered a 9–1 heavy defeat to Tahiti at the Stade Pater Te Hono Nui in Pirae.

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

Tahiti  v  Cook Islands

28 August	Tahiti	9–1	Cook Islands	Pirae, Tahiti
20:00 UTC−10	Tau 24' Kaspard 29' Tehau 37' Horoi 42' Paama 52' Keck 55', 87', 89' Gitton 76'	Report	Enoka 74'	Stadium: Stade Pater Te Hono Nui

Cook Islands  v  Tahiti

31 August	Cook Islands	0–3	Tahiti	Pirae, Tahiti
20:00 UTC−10		Report	Keck 24' Kaspard 32' Morgant 45+1'	Stadium: Stade Pater Te Hono Nui

Tonga  v  Cook Islands

21 November	Tonga	1–2	Cook Islands	Honiara, Solomon Islands
16:00 UTC+11	Kendler 71'	Report	Tiputoa 67' Rimene-Albrett 90+2'	Stadium: SIFF Academy Field Referee: David Yareboinen (Papua New Guinea)

Cook Islands  v  New Caledonia

24 November	Cook Islands	0–8	New Caledonia	Honiara, Solomon Islands
16:00 UTC+11		Report	Zeoula 7', 13' Xowi 64' Waya 75', 78', 81' Katrawa 82', 90+5'	Stadium: SIFF Academy Field Referee: Kavitesh Behari (Fiji)

2024

Samoa  v  Cook Islands

23 March	Samoa	1–0	Cook Islands	Nuku'alofa, Tonga
11:00	Taualai 88'	Report		Stadium: Teufaiva Stadium Attendance: 300 Referee: Pari Oito (Tahiti)

Cook Islands  v  Tonga

26 March	Cook Islands	1–0	Tonga	Nuku'alofa, Tonga
14:00	Saghabi 38'	Report		Stadium: Teufaiva Stadium Attendance: 500 Referee: Laurie Fairamoa (Solomon Islands)

The following players were called up for the 2023 Pacific Games.

Caps and goals are correct as of 30 November 2023, after the match against Samoa.

As of 26 March 2024

Players in bold are still active with Cook Islands.

Most appearances

Top goalscorers

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup										Qualification
Year	Host	Round	Pld	W	D	L	F	A		Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	F	A
1930 to 1994		Not a FIFA member								Not a FIFA member
1998	France	Did not qualify								First round	2	0	0	2	1	4
2002	South Korea  Japan									First round	4	0	0	4	2	25
2006	Germany									First round	4	0	0	4	1	17
2010	South Africa									First round	4	1	0	3	4	9
2014	Brazil									First round	3	0	1	2	4	6
2018	Russia									First round	3	2	0	1	4	2
2022	Qatar	Withdrew								Withdrew
2026	Canada  Mexico  United States	To be determined								First round	TBD
2030	Morocco  Portugal  Spain									To be determined
2034	Saudi Arabia
Total		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0/7	20	3	1	17	16	65

OFC Nations Cup

Pacific Games

Polynesia Cup

Up to matches played on 26 March 2024.

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	WPCT
American Samoa	4	2	1	1	8	6	+2	50.00
Australia	2	0	0	2	0	33	−33	0.00
Fiji	4	0	0	4	2	26	−24	0.00
Kiribati	1	1	0	0	3	0	+3	100.00
New Caledonia	4	0	0	4	0	28	−28	0.00
New Zealand	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	0.00
Papua New Guinea	2	0	0	2	1	20	−19	0.00
Samoa	7	3	1	3	9	9	0	42.86
Solomon Islands	5	0	0	5	2	37	−35	0.00
Tahiti	10	0	0	10	1	76	−75	0.00
Tonga	10	5	2	3	15	12	+3	50.00
Tuvalu	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3	100.00
Vanuatu	1	0	0	1	1	8	−7	0.00
Wallis and Futuna	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	100.00
Total	53	13	4	36	48	259	−211	24.53

1995 Home

1995 Away

2001 Home

2007 Home

2007 Away

2011 Home

2015 Home

2015 Away

2022 Home

2022 Away

Sources: