Link: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/apr/09/american-samoa-womens-world-cup-fairytale-moving-the-goalposts

Alma Mana’o, the captain, reflects on their journey from a 21-0 defeat in 1998 to a place in the final round of qualification

I can’t explain it, but there’s something vaguely strange about American Samoa being in a different federation than the USA:

At the end of last year, they entered a World Cup qualification tournament containing the lowest-ranked teams in the smallest federation, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). At 153rd in the world rankings, American Samoa ranked the lowest of the low. With an estimated population of 45,319, the island’s entire population would not sell out even the smallest stadium hosting Fifa’s showpiece event next year.