The Papua New Guinea national football team was founded in 1962. The team joined FIFA in 1963 and the Oceania Football Confederation in 1966. Papua New Guinea has recently returned to world football ranking after a three-year spell without a game.
The Independent State of Papua New Guinea is a country in the Pacific Ocean. It forms half the island of New Guinea with Indonesian provinces to the west. Ruled by outside forces since 1884, the country gained independence in 1975. The country remains part of the Commonwealth under Queen Elizabeth II.
Papua New Guinea first entered a world cup in the France 1998 qualification stages. The team entered qualifying in the first round and were drawn in a group with the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. With a win and a draw, Papua New Guinea won the group and joined the second round. Round two saw the team drawn against heavyweights New Zealand and Fiji. Despite a 1-0 victory over New Zealand in the opening game, the team did not manage to progress from the group. Three defeats in four saw Papua New Guinea finish bottom of the group.
FIFA disqualified the team from entering the 2010 world cup. Although officially entered, the team did not compete in the 2007 South Pacific Games. As these were used as qualifiers, Papua New Guinea could not continue.