The Djibouti national football team, nicknamed the Riverains de la Mer Rouge ("Shoremen of the Red Sea"), is the national football team of Djibouti. It is controlled by the Djiboutian Football Federation and is a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The Djibouti national football team's first win in a full FIFA-sanctioned international match was a 1–0 win vs. Somalia in the first round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.
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| Nickname(s) | Riverains de la Mer Rouge (Shoremen of the Red Sea) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Djiboutian Football Federation | ||
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
| Sub-confederation | CECAFA (East & Central Africa) | ||
| Head coach | Adbourahman Okie Hadi | ||
| Captain | Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh | ||
| Most caps | Daoud Wais (34) | ||
| Top scorer | Samuel Akinbinu (8) | ||
| Home stadium | El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | DJI | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 192  (4 April 2024)[1] | ||
| Highest | 169 (December 1994) | ||
| Lowest | 203 (April–July 2015, November 2015) | ||
| First international | |||
 French Somaliland 0–5 Ethiopia  (French Somaliland; 5 December 1947) Post-independence  Ethiopia 8–1 Djibouti  (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 27 March 1983) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Djibouti 4–1 South Yemen  (Djibouti City, Djibouti; 26 February 1988) Djibouti 3–0 Mauritius  (Djibouti City, Djibouti; 23 November 2019) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Uganda 10–1 Djibouti (Kigali, Rwanda; 9 December 2001)  Rwanda 9–0 Djibouti (Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania; 13 December 2007) | |||
History edit
French Somaliland (1947–1960) edit
Djibouti played its first international match under the name French Somaliland, at home against neighbouring Ethiopia on 5 December 1947 and lost 5–0. This was also Ethiopia's debut.[3] The two played again in Djibouti on 1 June 1948 and Ethiopia won 2–1. On 1 May 1949, the fixture was played for the Emperor Cup in Ethiopia, and the host won 6–0. In 1954, Djibouti played Ethiopia three times: a 10–2 away loss on 1 May, a 2–0 home loss on 1 June and a 2–1 home loss the day after. Djibouti did not play a match again until 1960, when it entered a tournament for French-speaking countries held in Madagascar. The team lost 9–2 in the first round to Cameroon on 13 April. This was the squad's last game as French Somaliland.
Djibouti (1977–present) edit
After gaining independence in 1977, the team played under the name Djibouti for the first time against Ethiopia in an away match on 27 March 1983 and lost 8–1. The two played again two days later with Ethiopia again victorious, by 4–2. After a third friendly against Ethiopia, a 2–0 home defeat on 23 March 1984, Djibouti entered a tournament in Ethiopia against the host and Zimbabwe. They lost 2–0 to Ethiopia on 3 June and then 3–1 to Zimbabwe on 7 June.
Djibouti's first appearance at the CECAFA Cup, a local competition for nations in East and Central Africa, was in Kenya in 1994. These were its first matches since defeating South Yemen in 1988. The Djibouti squad lost 4–1 to the hosts on 28 November, 2–1 to Somalia on 1 December, and 3–0 to Tanzania on 3 December. Djibouti did not advance to the next round.
After the 1994 CECAFA Cup, Djibouti did not play a match until the qualification campaign for the 1998 African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso. They were drawn in a two-legged qualifier against Kenya, and lost the first leg 3–0 away on 31 July 1998. The second leg at home was lost 9–1 on 15 August and Kenya went through 12–1 on aggregate.
In 1998, Djibouti became a member of the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA). The football squad has since participated in the Arab Games, a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab World.
Djibouti entered its first ever World Cup qualification in an attempt to reach the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. In Pool D of the first round of African qualification, it was drawn against the DR Congo in a two-legged qualifying preliminary. Djibouti hosted the first leg at Stade du Ville in Djibouti on 7 April 2000, drawing the match 1–1 before a crowd of 2,700 fans.[4] The squad lost the second leg 9–1 away at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa and the DR Congo advanced 10–2 on aggregate.[5]
Djibouti has never played in the African Cup of Nations, with the team regularly withdrawing or not entering for financial reasons.
Prior to their four preliminary qualifiers in late 2019, Djibouti had 2 wins, 3 draws and 55 defeats from 60 competitive matches. However, a number of new players were called up and results finally improved. First, in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, Djibouti beat Eswatini 2–1 at home and drew 0–0 in Manzini to advance to the second round for the first time since the 2010 qualifying when they beat Somalia 1-0 (2–1 on aggregate). This was a massive improvement from the previous edition when Djibouti had also played Eswatini and lost 8–1 on aggregate. One month later, Djibouti played two 1–1 draws against Gambia in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification preliminary round, only losing the tie on penalties.
Results and fixtures edit
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 edit
| 12 June 2023 2023 Mauritius Four Nations Cup | Djibouti | 3–0 Awarded |  Kenya | Saint Pierre, Mauritius |
| 18:00 | Report | Stadium: Stade de Cote d'Or |
| 14 June 2023 2023 Mauritius Four Nations Cup | Mauritius | 1–3 | Djibouti | Saint Pierre, Mauritius |
| 18:00 | Nazira  26' |
Report |
|
Stadium: Stade de Cote d'Or |
| 17 June 2023 2023 Mauritius Four Nations Cup | Djibouti | 3–1 |  Pakistan | Saint Pierre, Mauritius |
| 15:30 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stade de Cote d'Or |
| 16 November 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification | Egypt  | 6–0 | Djibouti | Cairo, Egypt |
| 18:00 UTC+2 | Report | Stadium: Cairo International Stadium Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Jelly Chavani (South Africa) |
| 20 November 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification | Djibouti | 0–1 |  Guinea-Bissau | Cairo, Egypt |
| 15:00 UTC+2 | Report |
|
Stadium: Al Salam Stadium Attendance: 35 Referee: Mohamed Athoumani (Comoros) |
2024 edit
| 9 January Friendly | Equatorial Guinea  | 1–1 | Djibouti | Malabo, Equatorial Guinea |
| 15:00 UTC+1 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Estadio de Malabo |
| 20 March 2025 AFCON qualification | Djibouti | 0–2 |  Liberia | Marrakech, Morocco |
| Stadium: Stade de Marrakech |
| 26 March 2025 AFCON qualification | Liberia | 0–0 (2–0 agg.) | Djibouti | |
| Note: Liberia won 2–0 on aggregate. | ||||
| 9 June 2026 World Cup qualification | Djibouti | v |  Ethiopia |
Coaches edit
| Name | Nat | Period | Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohamed Bader |
|
1998? – Dec 2001 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 0.00% |
| Ahmed Hussein |
|
Oct 2007 – Dec 2007 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25.00% |
| Mohamed Abar |
|
Jan 2008 – Jun 2008 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.00% |
| Ahmed Abdelmonem |
|
Jul 2008 – Jul 2010 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0.00% |
| Noureddine Gharsalli | 
|
Oct 2011 – Jul 2016 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00% |
| Michael Gibson[6] | 
|
Jul 2016 – Apr 2017 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 25.00% |
| Moussa Ghassoum | 
|
Dec 2017 – Apr 2019 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00% |
| Julien Mette |
|
Apr 2019 – Oct 2021 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 23.08% |
| Mohamed Meraneh Hassan |
|
Oct 2021 – Jan 2022 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 25.00% |
| Abdourahman Okie Hadi |
|
Jan 2022 - present | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 20.00% |
Players edit
Current squad edit
The following players were selected for a friendly match against Equatorial Guinea on 9 January 2024.[7]
Caps and goals are correct as of 20 November 2023, after the match against Guinea-Bissau.
Recent call-ups edit
The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past 12 months, but are not part of the current squad.
Player records edit
- As of 20 November 2023[8]
- Players in bold are still active with Djibouti.
Most appearances edit
| Rank | Name | Caps | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daoud Wais | 34 | 1 | 2008–2021 |
| 2 | Daher Mohamed Kadar | 33 | 1 | 2006–2017 |
| 3 | Ali Youssouf Farada | 29 | 1 | 2017–present |
| 4 | Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh | 28 | 7 | 2016–present |
| 5 | Hamza Abdi Idleh | 26 | 2 | 2016–present |
| 6 | Doualeh Mahamoud Elabeh | 25 | 1 | 2016–present |
| Innocent Mbonihankuye | 25 | 0 | 2019–present | |
| 8 | Guedi Hassan | 23 | 0 | 2007–2016 |
| Yabe Siad | 23 | 1 | 2019–present | |
| 10 | Warsama Hassan | 22 | 2 | 2019–present |
| Warsama Ibrahim Aden | 22 | 1 | 2015–present |
Top goalscorers edit
| Rank | Name | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samuel Akinbinu | 8 | 17 | 0.47 | 2021–present |
| 2 | Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh | 7 | 28 | 0.25 | 2016–present |
| 3 | Gabriel Dadzie | 3 | 8 | 0.38 | 2022–present |
| Ahmed Daher | 3 | 13 | 0.23 | 2007–2009 | |
| 5 | Ahmed Daoud | 2 | 3 | 0.67 | 2011 |
| Abdourahman Okieh Hadi | 2 | 3 | 0.67 | 2005–2006 | |
| Arid Ahmed Mohamed | 2 | 5 | 0.4 | 1999–2000 | |
| Mohamed Liban | 2 | 17 | 0.12 | 2008–2015 | |
| Warsama Hassan | 2 | 22 | 0.09 | 2019–present | |
| Hamza Abdi Idleh | 2 | 26 | 0.08 | 2016–present |
Competition records edit
FIFA World Cup edit
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Olympic Games edit
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Africa Cup of Nations edit
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African Games edit
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African Nations Championship edit
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CECAFA Cup edit
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FIFA Arab Cup edit
^1 The 2009 edition was cancelled during qualification. Arab Games edit
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See also edit
References edit
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Ethiopia - List of International Matches". RSSSF.com. Barrie Courtney and RSSSF. 3 December 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
- ^ "Djibouti - Congo DR". Archived from the original on 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "Congo DR - Djibouti". Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "Football Manager proves England and Wayne Rooney don't need Gareth Southgate to beat Malta". Metro. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Liste des joueurs retenue pour l'équipe Nationale senior A qui va participer au tournoi triangulaire d'île Maurice". Facebook. Fédération Djiboutienne de Football. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
- ^ "Djibouti". National Football Teams.
External links edit
