Hema Polovili
Hemaloto Polovili (born 27 July 1997) is a Tongan footballer who plays as a forward for Lotoha'apai United and the Tonga national football team. He made his debut for the national team on August 19, 2015 in a 5–0 loss against Fiji.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hemaloto Polovili | ||
| Date of birth | July 27, 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Tonga | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Lotoha'apai United | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Tonga Football Academy | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2014 | Lotoha'apai United | ||
| 2014 | Asia–Pacific Football Academy | ||
| 2014 | Lotoha'apai Youth | ||
| 2014–2015 | Lotoha'apai United | ||
| 2015– | Veitongo | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| 2011–2013 | Tonga U17 | 7 | (4) |
| 2016 | Tonga U20 | 2 | (3) |
| 2012–2019 | Tonga U23 | 4 | (2) |
| 2015– | Tonga | 11 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22 March 2020 | |||
International career
In 2014 Polovili was selected, together with countrymate Soakai Vea, by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to train for a few weeks at the Asia–Pacific Football Academy. The duo also had a chance to train at the Wellington Phoenix Football academy Scott College in the following year.
Tonga U17
Polovili was only 13 when he made his debut for Tonga U17. He did this on January 9, 2011 against Tahiti during the 2011 OFC U-17 Championship. At this time Polovili was the youngest player ever who had played in the OFC U-17 Championship. However, during the 2015 OFC U-17 Championship Gabriel Taumua of American Samoa made his debut at the age of 12. In the 2013 OFC U-17 Championship Preliminary he was nominated for the golden boot of the tournament.
Tonga U20
Polovili captained the Tongan side in the 2016 OFC U-20 Championship Preliminary scoring a hat trick in the last game against Samoa, so far all the goals for Tonga in the game.
Tonga U23
At the age of 14, he made his debut for the Tonga national under-23 football team. He did this on March 8, 2012 during the 2012 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Football Tournament in a match against Papua New Guinea which Tonga lost 3-0.
Career statistics
International
| Tonga | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 8 | 1 |
Statistics accurate as of match played 14 December 2017[1]
International goals
- Scores and results list Tonga's goal tally first.[1]
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 14 December 2017 | Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu |  Tuvalu | 1–0 | 3–4 | 2017 Pacific Mini Games |
References
- "Ne'emia Kaleopa". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
External links
- Hema Polovili at National-Football-Teams.com
- oceaniafootball.com at the Wayback Machine (archived October 4, 2015)
- ffas.as at the Wayback Machine (archived October 3, 2015)