Djibouti national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Djibouti women's national football team.

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.

Djibouti

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	Mohamed Meraneh Hassan
Captain	Daoud Wais
Most caps	Daoud Wais (34)
Top scorer	Samuel Akinbinu Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh (7)
Home stadium	El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon Stadium
FIFA code	DJI
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	189 1 (26 October 2023)^[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

French Somaliland (1947–1960)

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)

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

Main article: Djibouti national football team results

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

Djibouti   v   Kenya

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

Mauritius   v   Djibouti

14 June 2023 2023 Mauritius Four Nations Cup	Mauritius	1–3	Djibouti	Saint Pierre, Mauritius
18:00	Nazira   26'	Report	Akinbinu   48' Dadzie   62' Fouad Mohamed   64'	Stadium: Stade de Cote d'Or

Djibouti   v   Pakistan

17 June 2023 2023 Mauritius Four Nations Cup	Djibouti	3–1	Pakistan	Saint Pierre, Mauritius
15:30	Elabeh   10' Dadzie   73' Akinbinu   85'	Report	Umer Hayat   84'	Stadium: Stade de Cote d'Or

Egypt   v   Djibouti

November 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification

Egypt

v

Djibouti

Djibouti   v   Guinea-Bissau

November 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification

Djibouti

v

Guinea-Bissau

Coaches

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 – present	6	1	0	5	25.00%

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2023 Mauritius Four Nations Cup in June 2023.^[7]

Caps and goals are correct as of 17 June 2023, after the match against Pakistan.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Innocent Mbonihankuye	(1996-11-05) 5 November 1996 (age 26)	25	0	Espereance
	1GK	Liban Mohamed Said	(2001-11-12) 12 November 2001 (age 21)	0	0	ASAS Djibouti Télécom
3	2DF	Ali Youssouf Farada	(1995-08-25) 25 August 1995 (age 28)	27	1	AS Port
4	2DF	Yabe Siad	(1998-03-12) 12 March 1998 (age 25)	21	1	Arta Solar 7
15	2DF	Warsama Ibrahim Aden	(1998-05-12) 12 May 1998 (age 25)	20	1	AS Port
14	2DF	Moussa Araita	(1997-07-24) 24 July 1997 (age 26)	12	0	Dikhil
	2DF	Abdoulkader Djama	(1994-01-05) 5 January 1994 (age 29)	12	1	Dikhil
	2DF	Moustapha Abdi Osman	(1992-01-08) 8 January 1992 (age 31)	3	0	Garde Républicaine FC
5	3MF	Hamza Abdi Idleh	(1991-12-16) 16 December 1991 (age 31)	24	2	Dikhil
13	3MF	Doualeh Mahamoud Elabeh	(1991-11-11) 11 November 1991 (age 31)	24	1	Arta Solar 7
6	3MF	Warsama Hassan	(1999-03-17) 17 March 1999 (age 24)	20	2	Arta Solar 7
	3MF	Saleh Bourhan Hassan	(1996-12-19) 19 December 1996 (age 26)	14	0	AS Port
	3MF	Youssouf Abdi Ahmed	(1997-10-11) 11 October 1997 (age 26)	10	0	Espereance
	3MF	Abdillahi Mohamed	(1992-12-19) 19 December 1992 (age 30)	4	0	Nourie Transit
	3MF	Ibrahim Ali Mohamed	(1996-10-14) 14 October 1996 (age 27)	2	0	ASAS Djibouti Télécom
31	4FW	Samuel Akinbinu	(1999-06-06) 6 June 1999 (age 24)	14	7	Arta Solar 7
7	4FW	Mohamed Fouad Mohamed	(2000-02-25) 25 February 2000 (age 23)	14	1	Arta Solar 7
	4FW	Ahmed Youssouf Omar	(1998-09-01) 1 September 1998 (age 25)	10	0	AS Port
24	4FW	Gabriel Dadzie	(1997-03-06) 6 March 1997 (age 26)	6	3	ASAS Djibouti Télécom

Recent call-ups

The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past 12 months, but are not part of the current squad.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Omar Mahamoud	(2001-10-19) 19 October 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Dikhil	v.   South Sudan, 27 March 2023
GK	Yahya Houssein	(2002-04-07) 7 April 2002 (age 21)	0	0	AS Port	v.   South Sudan, 27 March 2023
MF	Mogueh Idriss	(2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 (age 23)	2	0	Arta Solar 7	v.   South Sudan, 27 March 2023
MF	Fahmi Moussa	(1996-04-25) 25 April 1996 (age 27)	3	0	Arta Solar 7	v.   South Sudan, 27 March 2023
MF	Samatar Mohamed	(1995-10-10) 10 October 1995 (age 28)	2	0	Garde Républicaine FC	v.   South Sudan, 27 March 2023
FW	Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh	(1995-12-20) 20 December 1995 (age 27)	26	7	Arta Solar 7	v.   South Sudan, 27 March 2023
FW	Omar Abdallah	(2002-10-30) 30 October 2002 (age 21)	2	0	Garde Républicaine	v.   South Sudan, 27 March 2023

Player records

As of 17 June 2023^[8]

Players in bold are still active with Djibouti.

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Daoud Wais	34	1	2008–present
2	Daher Mohamed Kadar	33	1	2006–2017
3	Ali Youssouf Farada	27	1	2017–present
4	Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh	26	7	2016–present
5	Innocent Mbonihankuye	25	0	2019–present
6	Hamza Abdi Idleh	24	2	2016–present
	Doualeh Mahamoud Elabeh	24	1	2016–present
8	Guedi Hassan	23	0	2007–2016
9	Yabe Siad	21	0	2019–present
10	Warsama Hassan	20	2	2019–present
	Warsama Ibrahim Aden	20	1	2015–present

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Samuel Akinbinu	7	14	0.5	2021–present
	Mahdi Houssein Mahabeh	7	26	0.27	2016–present
3	Gabriel Dadzie	3	6	0.5	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	20	0.1	2019–present
	Hamza Abdi Idleh	2	24	0.08	2016–present

Competition records

FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record Appearances: 0 Appearances: 5 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA   1930 Part of   France Part of   France   1934   1938   1950   1954   1958   1962   1966   1970   1974   1978 Did not enter Declined participation   1982   1986   1990   1994   1998     2002 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 2 10   2006 Did not enter Declined participation   2010 Did not qualify 7 1 0 6 3 30   2014 2 0 0 2 0 8   2018 2 0 0 2 1 8   2022 8 1 1 6 6 30       2026 To be determined To be determined Total 0/22 21 2 2 17 12 86

Olympic Games Olympic Games record Appearances: 0 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1896 – 1976 Part of   France (FRA)   1980 Did not enter   1984   1988   1992   1996   2000   2004   2008 Did not qualify   2012 Did not enter   2016   2020 Total 0/27 Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since the 1992 edition.

Africa Cup of Nations Africa Cup of Nations record Appearances: 0 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA   1957 to   1976 Part of   France   1978 to   1992 Not affiliated to CAF   1994 Did not enter   1996   1998     2000 Did not qualify   2002   2004 Withdrew   2006 Did not enter   2008 Withdrew   2010 Did not qualify     2012 Did not enter   2013   2015   2017 Did not qualify   2019   2021   2023   2025 To be determined Total 0/34

African Games African Games record Appearances: 0 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA   1965 Part of   France (FRA)   1973   1978 Did not enter   1987 Withdrew during qualification   1991 Did not enter   1995   1999   2003   2007   2011   2015   2019 Total 0/12 Prior to the Cairo 1991 campaign, the Football at the All-Africa Games was open to full senior national teams.

African Nations Championship African Nations Championship record Appearances: 0 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA   2009 Did not enter   2011 Did not qualify   2014 Did not enter   2016 Did not qualify   2018 Withdrew during qualifying   2020 Banned   2022 Did not qualify Total 0/7

CECAFA Cup Main article: CECAFA Cup CECAFA Cup record Appearances: 10 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA   1973 Part of   France   1974   1975   1976   1977 Did not enter   1978   1979   1980   1981   1982   1983   1984   1985   1987   1988   1989   1990   1991   1992   1994 Group Stage 8th 3 0 0 3 2 9   1995 Did not enter   1996   1999 Group Stage 11th 2 0 0 2 2 6   2000 8th 4 0 1 3 4 15   2001 11th 3 0 0 3 3 17   2002 Did not enter   2003   2004   2005 Group Stage 10th 4 0 0 4 2 18   2006 11th 3 0 0 3 0 10   2007 8th 3 0 0 3 2 19   2008 10th 4 0 1 3 2 13   2009 12th 3 0 0 3 0 13   2010 Did not enter   2011 Group Stage 11th 3 0 0 3 2 10   2012 did not enter   2013   2014 Not held   2015 Group Stage 11th 3 0 0 3 0 9   2016 Not held   2017 Did not enter   2019 Group Stage 6th 4 1 1 2 3 8 Total 0 Titles 12/39 35 1 3 35 22 147

FIFA Arab Cup FIFA Arab Cup record Arab Cup qualification record Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA   1963 Part of   France Part of   France   1964   1966   1985 Did not enter Did not enter   1988   1992   1998   2002   2009 Did not qualify ^1 2 0 0 2 3 8   2012 Did not enter Did not enter   2021 Did not qualify 1 0 0 1 0 1 Total 0/9 3 0 0 3 3 9 ^1 The 2009 edition was cancelled during qualification. Arab Games Arab Games record Appearances: 0 Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA   1953 Part of   France (FRA)   1957   1961   1965   1976   1985 Did not enter   1992   1997   1999   2004 No tournament   2007 Did not enter   2011 Total 0/11

See also

• French Somaliland national football team
• Djibouti national football team results
• Football in Djibouti
• Djiboutian Football Federation
• Djibouti Premier League
• Djibouti Cup
• Stade du Ville

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
2. Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
3. "Ethiopia - List of International Matches". RSSSF.com. Barrie Courtney and RSSSF. 3 December 2011. from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
4. . Archived from the original on 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
5. . Archived from the original on 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
6. "Football Manager proves England and Wayne Rooney don't need Gareth Southgate to beat Malta". Metro. from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
7. "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.
8. "Djibouti". National Football Teams.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Djibouti national football team.

• Djibouti at CAF
• Djibouti at FIFA
• Djibouti at National-Football-Teams.com.