Micronesia concede 114 goals in three matches at Pacific Games
Last updated on .From the section Football
Micronesia went down to an eye-watering 46-0 defeat against Vanuatu on Tuesday to heap further embarrassment on a team that has now conceded 114 goals in three matches at the Pacific Games.
An opening 30-0 loss to Tahiti set the tone for an inglorious run of results, with a 38-0 demolition at the hands of Fiji following on Sunday.
Micronesia's beleaguered players would have been forgiven for thinking they'd hit rock bottom, but shipping close to a half-century of goals against Vanuatu - a team ranked 200th in the world - marked a new nadir.
Micronesia will at least escape an unwanted place in the record books as they are not affiliated to Fifa and squads at the Pacific Games are comprised of under-23 players as the event doubles as Olympic qualifying.
- Micronesia put an outfield player in goal at half-time against Fiji with the score 21-0. Midfielder Dominic Gadad conceded 17 more
- In Tuesday's final group match, Jean Kaltak scored 16 goals for Vanuatu
- The other group match on Tuesday was a goalless draw
- Minnows only have 18-man squad, rather than 23
The official world record remains Australia's 31-0 win over American Samoa in a World Cup qualifier back in 2001.
What is Micronesia?
The Federated States of Micronesia, in the western Pacific, consists of about 600 islands grouped into four states: Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk (Truk) and Yap.
Occupying a very small total land mass, it is scattered over an ocean expanse five times the size of France and has a population of about 100,000.
Though formally independent, in 1986 Micronesia signed a "Compact of Free Association" with the US. Under this, Washington took on responsibility for defence and gained the right to set up military bases and deny other nations access to Micronesia.