The Réunion national football team (French: Sélection de la Réunion de football) is the regional team of the French overseas department and region of Réunion and is controlled by the Réunionese Football League, local branch of the French Football Federation. Réunion is not a member of FIFA and is only an associate member of CAF, and is therefore not eligible to enter either the World Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations. However, it has played numerous matches, most of them against the island nations of Madagascar, Mauritius, and the Seychelles.
| Nickname(s) | Club R | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Ligue Réunionnaise de Football | ||
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
| Sub-confederation | COSAFA (Southern Africa) | ||
| Head coach | Jean-Pierre Bade | ||
| Captain | Bertrand Bador | ||
| Most caps | Jean-Michel Fontaine (29) | ||
| Top scorer | Jean-Michel Fontaine (15) | ||
| Home stadium | Stade Jean-Ivoula | ||
| FIFA code | REU | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Madagascar 4–2 Réunion (Madagascar; Date Unknown, 1947) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Unofficial Réunion 11–0 Saint Pierre and Miquelon  (Saint-Gratien, France; 22 September 2010) Official Réunion 9–0 Maldives  (Saint-Denis, Réunion; 28 August 1979) Réunion 9–0 Maldives (Curepipe, Mauritius; 30 August 1985) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Mauritius 15–2 Réunion (Madagascar; Date Unknown, 1950) | |||
History
editRéunion's first international came in the 1947 Triangulaire, losing twice against Mauritius (2–1) and Madagascar (4–2). Réunion won their first match in the 1950 edition, beating Madagascar 3–2.
In the 1979 Indian Ocean Island Games, Réunion qualified top of their group, beating Seychelles (3–0) and Maldives (9–0). In the semi-finals, they beat Comoros (6–1), leading to a rematch against Seychelles in the final. Réunion won 2–1.
Réunion qualified for the final of the 1985 Indian Ocean Island Games, losing on penalties to Mauritius after a 4–4 draw. Réunion got out of the group stage again at the 1993 Games, beating Mauritius in the semi-finals 1–0 with Jimmy Moultanin scoring their only goal. They lost 1–0 to Madagascar in the final. They got their revenge against Madagascar in the 1998 final, drawing 3–3 in regular time before winning 7–6 on penalties.
Réunion made it to the final of the 2003 Indian Ocean Island Games losing to the hosts Mauritius 2–1. In the 2007 Games, Réunion won the competition despite scoring only two goals.
Réunion entered the inaugural 2008 Coupe de l'Outre-Mer, winning their group against Mayotte (6–1) and French Guiana (2–0), qualifying for the final, where they beat Martinique (1–0). They entered the 2010 Coupe de l'Outre-Mer, facing Martinique again in the final, losing on penalties.
Réunion advanced to the knock-out stages of the 2011 Indian Ocean Island Games, losing to Seychelles (2–1) in extra-time. They beat Mayotte 1–0 to claim third place. In the 2012 Coupe de l'Outre-Mer Réunion qualified for the final match, beating French Guiana (2–0), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (10–0) and Guadeloupe (2–1) before meeting Martinique for the third consequtive final, defeating them 10–9 on penalties. In the 2015 Games Réunion beat Mayotte 3–1 in the final and in the 2019 competition they beat Mauritius on penalties, with Mathieu Pélops saving all five attempts in the penalty shoot-out.[4]
Latest squad
editThe following players were selected to the squad for the 2019 Indian Ocean Island Games.
Caps and goals updated as of 28 July 2019, after the match against 
Mauritius.
Records
edit- As of 2 September 2023[5]
- Players in bold are still active with Réunion.
Most appearances
edit| Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Michel Fontaine | 29 | 15 | 2007–present |
| 2 | Gérard Hubert | 27 | 1 | 2003–2015 |
| 3 | William Mounoussamy | 24 | 1 | 2003–2015 |
| Gaël Payet | 24 | 0 | 2003–2012 | |
| 5 | Johan Lionel | 22 | 0 | 2005–2012 |
| 6 | Éric Farro | 21 | 9 | 2002–2012 |
| 7 | Bertrand Bador | 18 | 0 | 2010–present |
| John Elcaman | 18 | 1 | 2002–2011 | |
| 9 | Sébastien K'Bidy | 16 | 0 | 2011–2019 |
| 10 | Nicolas Hoarau | 15 | 1 | 2005–2011 |
Top goalscorers
edit| Rank | Name | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Michel Fontaine | 15 | 29 | 0.52 | 2007–present |
| 2 | Éric Farro | 9 | 21 | 0.43 | 2002–2012 |
| 3 | Bernard Lacollay | 7 | 9 | 0.78 | 1993–2002 |
| 4 | Willy Visnelda | 5 | 13 | 0.38 | 2005–2011 |
| 5 | Mickaël Vallant | 4 | 6 | 0.67 | 2011–2012 |
| Quentin Boesso | 4 | 6 | 0.67 | 2008–2015 | |
| 7 | Eric Bacco | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1998 |
| Mohamed El Madaghri | 3 | 7 | 0.43 | 2011–2012 | |
| 9 | Anjy Vardapin | 2 | 8 | 0.25 | 2015–present |
| Alexandre Loricourt | 2 | 10 | 0.2 | 2015–present |
Competitive record
editIndian Ocean Island Games
edit| Indian Ocean Island Games record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | |
| 1979
|
Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | |
| 1985
|
Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 4 | |
 1990
|
Group stage | 5th | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 1993
|
Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1998
|
Champions | 1st | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | |
| 2003
|
Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2007
|
Champions | 1st | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
 2011
|
Third place | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | |
| 2015
|
Champions | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2019
|
Champions | 1st | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2023
|
Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| Total | 5 Titles | 11/11 | 42 | 27 | 8 | 7 | 83 | 24 | |
Triangulaire
edit| Triangulaire record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | |
| 1947
|
Third place | 3rd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | |
| 1948
|
Third place | 3rd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |
| 1949
|
Third place | 3rd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | |
| 1950
|
Runners-up | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 17 | |
| 1951
|
Third place | 3rd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 13 | |
| 1952
|
Third place | 3rd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | |
| 1953
|
Third place | 3rd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 15 | |
| 1954
|
Runners-up | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 13 | |
| 1955
|
Third place | 3rd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | |
| 1956
|
Third place | 3rd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 12 | |
| 1957
|
Runners-up | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1958
|
Third Place | 3rd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1963
|
Runners-up | 2nd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
| Total | Runners-up | 13/13 | 26 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 41 | 118 | |
Coupe de l'Outre-Mer
edit| Coupe de l'Outre-Mer record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 2008
|
Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2010
|
Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2012
|
Champions | 1st | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 3 | |
| Total | Champions | 3/3 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 5 | |
Head-to-head record
edit- Last update: 7 May 2011
New Caledonia 1–3 Réunion 
| Opponent |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Comoros |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 10 |
 Congo |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
 French Guiana |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
 Gabon |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 |
 Guadeloupe |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
 Kenya |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | -5 |
| Madagascar |
21 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 30 | 53 | -23 |
 Malawi |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | -6 |
| Maldives |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
 Martinique |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Mauritius |
35 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 39 | 101 | -62 |
 Mayotte |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 8 |
 New Caledonia |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Seychelles |
15 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 10 | 20 |
 Tanzania |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
 Togo |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Zaire |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
 Zimbabwe |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 |
| Total | 106 | 41 | 20 | 45 | 181 | 207 | –26 |
Honours
editRegional
edit
Other titles
editReferences
edit- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "World Football Elo Ratings". Archived from the original on 2016-07-02. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
- ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Réunion". eloratings.net. World Football Elo Ratings. 15 August 2018. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ "Goalkeeper saves ALL FIVE spot kicks in a bizarre penalty shootout in tropical island Mauritius". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
- ^ "Reunion". National Football Teams.
External links
edit- Official site – Réunion Island Football Association
- Réunion at CAF
- Réunion at FIFA