International football's biggest ever beating: 31-0
From Sporting Witness by BBC World Service
April 11, 2026 · 10 min
About this episode
The episode recounts the story of the biggest defeat in international football history, where American Samoa lost 31-0 to Australia in 2001.
In April 2001, the small island nation of American Samoa took on Australia in the World Cup qualifiers. You could only play for the team if you held an American passport, which automatically ruled out the majority of the American Samoans, leaving them to resorting to picking schoolboys to play for them. What followed was the biggest defeat in international football – 31-0. In 2024, goalkeeper Nicky Salapu told Uma Doraiswamy about how he felt as the 31 goals flew in past him. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded. Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look…
People in this episode
Host: Uma Doraiswamy
Guest: Nicky Salapu
Topics covered
- international football
- sports history
- World Cup qualifiers
- defeats
- American Samoa
- Australia
Keywords
- football
- defeat
- American Samoa
- Australia
- World Cup
- Nicky Salapu
- sports history
- qualifiers
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: American Samoa, Australia, BBC World Service
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