How a football underdog rose from obscurity to stun the giants of Africa
In short: For decades, the Comoros national team existed on the fringes of international football. But through steady progress and historic upsets, the Coelacantes have transformed from a side with almost no fixtures into a team capable of toppling continental heavyweights.
The Comoros national football team, governed by the Comochos Football Federation, began its journey in 1979. While the team competed in the 1979 Indian Ocean Island Games, they experienced a long period of relative isolation, playing very few matches until 2006, when they secured their first two matches with full FIFA recognition during the 2009 Arab Nations Cup qualification, including a 4–2 win over Djibouti. The federation's international presence expanded significantly when they joined the Confederation of African Football in 2003, followed by official FIFA membership in 2005.
The mid-2010s marked a turning point for the squad. The squad, nicknamed Les Coelacantes, progressed beyond the opening stage for the inaugural time in October 2015, overcoming Lesotho via the away goals tiebreaker during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying. This momentum carried into the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign, which began with a 0–1 away victory against Togo in November 2019. This period of growth saw the team secure several notable home victories in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against opponents including Malawi, Mauritius, and Botswana.
The pinnacle of this ascent arrived during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. In a match described by the BBC as one of the biggest shocks in the tournament's history, Comoros defeated Ghana 3–2, highlighted by a brace from Ahmed Mogni. The team has continued to prove its resilience in recent years, reaching the semi-finals of the 2024 COSAFA Cup and securing a third-place finish in the 2025 edition after defeating Madagascar 1–0. Their competitive streak extended into the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, where they secured home wins against both Ghana and the Central African Republic.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Comoros national football team
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