Togo national football team

The Togo national football team (French: Équipe nationale de football du Togo) represents Togo in international football and is controlled by the Togolese Football Federation. The national football team of Togo made their debut in the FIFA World Cup in 2006. Their team bus underwent a fatal attack in Angola prior to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. They withdrew and were subsequently banned from the following two tournaments by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). In 2013 for the first time in history, Togo reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Togo

Nickname(s)	Les Éperviers (The Sparrowhawks)
Association	Togolese Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Claude Le Roy
Captain	Emmanuel Adebayor
Most caps	Emmanuel Adebayor (87)
Top scorer	Emmanuel Adebayor (32)[1]
Home stadium	Stade de Kégué
FIFA code	TOG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	128 (10 December 2020)[2]
Highest	46 (August 2006)
Lowest	129 (April 2018)
First international
French Togoland 1–1 Gold Coast  and Trans-Volta Togoland (French Togoland; 13 October 1956)
Biggest win
Togo 6–0 Swaziland  (Accra, Ghana; 11 November 2008)  Togo 6–0 Mauritius  (Lomé, Mauritius; 12 November 2017)
Biggest defeat
Morocco 7–0 Togo (Morocco; 28 October 1979)  Tunisia 7–0 Togo (Tunis, Tunisia; 7 January 2000)
World Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2006)
Best result	Group stage, 2006
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	8 (first in 1972)
Best result	Quarter-finals, 2013

Members of the Togolese national football team before a warm-up match in Biberach/Riss a few days before the 2006 World Cup

History

They made their first FIFA World Cup appearance in their history in 2006, having been coached throughout the qualifying campaign by Stephen Keshi; German coach Otto Pfister managed the team at the finals, despite having resigned three days before their first match over a players' bonuses dispute, only to be persuaded by the players to return. Prior to gaining independence in 1960, the team were known as French Togoland.

2006 World Cup

Togo lost their opening game of the World Cup, despite having taken the lead against South Korea through a goal by Mohamed Kader. In the second half, Jean-Paul Abalo was sent off after 55 minutes, and goals from Lee Chun-Soo and Ahn Jung-Hwan sealed a 2–1 defeat for Togo.

Togo's next opponents in Group G were Switzerland, with the match scheduled for the afternoon of 19 June. However, the Togo squad and manager Pfister threatened to refuse to fulfill the fixture and take strike action. The squad and manager had been quoted as requesting payments from the Togolese Football Federation for participating in the tournament of around €155,000 (US$192,000) with added bonuses for victories or draws. FIFA negotiated with the squad and manager on 17 June, persuading them to travel to Dortmund in time to fulfill the fixture;[3] goals from Alexander Frei and Tranquillo Barnetta resulted in a 2–0 defeat. FIFA subsequently imposed a CHF100,000 fine on the Togolese federation for "behaviour unworthy of a participant in the World Cup."[4]

Togo's final group game against France ended in 2–0 defeat.

Sierra Leone air disaster

After a 2008 African Nations Cup qualifier away to Sierra Leone on 3 June 2007, 20 members of a delegation of sports officials from Togo, including Togolese Sports Minister Richard Attipoe, were killed when their helicopter exploded and crashed at Lungi International Airport. No players of the Togo national team were among the victims. The Togo players and officials of the team had been waiting to take the next helicopter flight to the island on which the airport is located.

2010 bus ambush and ban

On 8 January 2010, the Togo team bus was attacked by gunmen as it travelled to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, killing three and injuring several others. The separatist group Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) claimed responsibility for the attack. Goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale was reported dead a day after the attack.[5] Such reports were later dismissed by his club GSI Pontivy in a press announcement, stating the player was actually undergoing surgery in South Africa.[6]

Following the bus ambush attack, the Togolese Football Federation stated that they would withdraw from the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations; despite claims that the team had since reversed the decision and would compete "to show our national colours, our values and that we are men" (as announced by Thomas Dossevi),[7] the government later ordered that the team return home.[8]

Following the team's withdrawal, The Confederation of African Football (CAF) banned Togo from participating in the next two editions of the Cup of Nations and fined them $50,000 because of the "decision taken by the political authorities".[9][10][11] The CAF executive Committee considered that the Togolese team was in "forfeit notified less than twenty days before the start or during the final competition" (Art. 78 of the Regulations for the Africa Cup of Nations),[9][12] rather than having withdrawn (Art. 80), and refused to consider the circumstances as force majeure (Art. 87). Togo's government immediately said they would sue as CAF "have no consideration for the lives of other human beings" and this is further "insulting to the family of those who lost their lives and those traumatized because of the attack".[10] FIFA has yet to comment on the issue.[10] Togo footballer Thomas Dossevi said "We are a group of footballers who came under fire and now we can't play football any more. They are crushing us".[10] Togolese captain Emmanuel Adebayor described the decision as "outrageous" and said that CAF President Issa Hayatou had "completely betrayed" the Togo squad.[13]

As a result of the events, Emmanuel Adebayor announced his retirement from international football on 12 April 2010. But on 22 March 2011 Adebayor announced that he was again available for the national team.

Fake Togo Team

On 7 September 2010, Togo allegedly played Bahrain in a friendly losing the match 3–0. However, on 14 September, the Togo FA claimed that a fake team had played against Bahrain. Togo's Sport Minister Christophe Tchao said to the Jeune Afrique magazine that nobody in Togo had "ever been informed of such a game".[14] On 20 September 2010, it was revealed that former Togo manager Bana Tchanilé was the culprit and the Togo FA have given him a three-year ban in addition to the two-year ban he got in July 2010 for taking Togo players to play a tournament in Egypt.[15] The match fixing has been linked to Wilson Raj Perumal and the Singaporean match-fixing syndicate allegedly run by Tan Seet Eng.[16]

2014 World Cup Qualification

Togo began qualification for the 2014 World Cup on November 11, 2011 against Guinea-Bissau. They drew in the first leg 1–1. On November 15, 2011, they won the return leg 1–0. On June 3, 2012, they played Libya in Lome and drew 1–1. Shortly after on June 10, they played Congo DR at Kinshasa and lost 2–0. They resumed on March 3, 2013 and played Cameroon in Yaounde and lost 2–1. They met again on June 9 in Lome and Togo won 2–0. In the end, Togo failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Competition records

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter									Declined participation
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	0	4
1978										4	1	1	2	3	5
1982										2	1	0	1	2	2
1986	Withdrew									Withdrew
1990
1994	Did not qualify									5	0	0	5	2	11
1998										8	2	2	4	9	16
2002										10	3	4	3	13	13
2006	Group stage	30th	3	0	0	3	1	6		12	8	2	2	22	9
2010	Did not qualify									10	4	2	4	11	10
2014										8	2	2	4	6	12
2018										2	0	0	2	0	4
2022	To be determined									To be determined
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total	Group stage	1/21	3	0	0	3	1	6		63	21	13	29	68	86

Agassa

Abalo (c)

Nibombé

Tchangai

Amevou

Romao

Sènaya

Salifou

Kader

Adebayor

Touré

2006 FIFA World Cup starting lineup

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations record
Host nation(s) / Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1957	Part of  France
1959
1962	Not affiliated to CAF
1963
1965	Did not enter
1968	Did not qualify
1970
1972	Group stage	7th	3	0	2	1	4	6
1974	Withdrew
1976	Did not qualify
1978
1980
1982
1984	Group stage	8th	3	0	1	2	1	7
1986	Did not qualify
1988
1990	Withdrew
1992	Did not qualify
1994	Withdrew during qualifying
1996	Did not qualify
1998	Group stage	12th	3	1	0	2	3	3
2000		10th	3	1	1	1	2	3
2002		12th	3	0	2	1	0	3
2004	Did not qualify
2006	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	2	7
2008	Did not qualify
2010	Withdrew due to rebel attack
2012	Did not qualify
2013	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	4	4
2015	Did not qualify
2017	Group stage	16th	3	0	1	2	2	6
2019	Did not qualify
2021
2023	To be determined
Total	Quarter-finals	8/33	25	3	8	14	18	39

African Nations Championship record

African Nations Championship
Appearances: 1
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2009	Did not qualify
2011	Did not qualify
2014	Did not qualify
2016	Did not qualify
2018	Did not qualify
2020	Group stage	11th	3	1	0	2	4	5
2022	To be determined
Total	Group stage	1/6	3	1	0	2	4	5

African Games record

Football at the African Games has been an under-23 tournament since 1991.

African Games record
Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1965	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1973	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1978	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1987	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1991–present	See Togo national under-23 football team
Total	4/4	0	0	0	0	0	0

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss

2019

14 November 2019 2021 AFCONQ	Togo	0–1	Comoros	Lomé, Togo
16:00 UTC±0			Selemani  51'	Stadium: Stade de Kégué

18 November 2019 2021 AFCONQ	Kenya	1–1	Togo	Kasarani, Kenya
19:00 UTC+3	Omolo  35'		Ouro-Sama  64'	Stadium: Moi International Sports Centre

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Comoros and Kenya on 14 & 18 November 2019.[17]

Caps and goals updated as of 18 November 2019 after the game against Kenya.[18]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Malcolm Barcola	14 May 1999	5	0	Lyon II
	GK	Abdoul Moubarak Aïgba	5 August 1997	1	0	OTR
	GK	Dové Abotchi	20 September 1992	0	0	JDR Stars
	DF	Djené Dakonam (Captain)	31 December 1991	51	0	Getafe
	DF	Hakim Ouro-Sama	28 December 1997	23	1	Lille B
	DF	Steve Lawson	8 August 1994	17	0	Livingston
	DF	Simon Gbegnon	27 March 1992	11	0	Béziers
	DF	Adewale Olufade	21 August 1994	8	0	Union Douala
	DF	Wilson Akakpo	10 February 1992	2	0	Al Ittihad
	DF	Abdoul Bodé	22 January 1995	4	0	Togo-Port
	DF	Kangnivi Amatchoutchoui	28 May 1994	0	0	Gbohloé-Su des Lacs
	MF	Lalawélé Atakora	9 November 1990	45	2	Gabala
	MF	Floyd Ayité	15 December 1988	43	11	Gençlerbirliği
	MF	Mathieu Dossevi	12 February 1988	32	5	Toulouse
	MF	Franco Atchou	3 December 1995	20	1	Fremad Amager
	MF	Ihlas Bebou	23 April 1994	20	1	TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
	MF	Gilles Sunu	30 March 1991	7	1	BB Erzurumspor
	MF	Marouf Tchakei	15 December 1995	6	2	ASKO Kara
	MF	Yendoutie Nane	23 June 1994	0	0	ASKO Kara
	FW	Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba	27 January 1992	28	12	Al Ain
	FW	Peniel Mlapa	20 February 1991	11	0	Kalba
	FW	Kévin Denkey	30 November 2000	8	1	Béziers
	FW	David Henen	19 April 1996	0	0	Grenoble

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Togo in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
}
^DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. ^PRE Preliminary squad. ^RET Player has retired from international football. ^SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records

As of 10 October 2019

Players in bold text are still active with Togo.

Most Caps # Player Caps Goals Career 1 Emmanuel Adebayor 87 32 2000– 2 Abdoul-Gafar Mamah 86 0 2000–2016 3 Mohamed Kader 85 24 1996–2009 4 Jean-Paul Abalo 75 1 1992–2008 5 Kossi Agassa 72 0 1998–2017 6 Daré Nibombé 71 2 2000–2013 7 Moustapha Salifou 69 9 2000–2013 8 Alaixys Romao 69 0 2005– 9 Komlan Améwou 65 5 2000–2015 10 Serge Akakpo 61 2 2008–

Top Goalscorers # Player Goals Caps Career 1 Emmanuel Adebayor 32 87 2000– 2 Mohamed Kader 24 85 1996–2009 3 Adékambi Olufadé 19 45 1997–2010 4 Bachirou Salou 17 39 1989–1998 5 Kossi Noutsoudje 13 35 1996–2002 6 Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba 12 27 2016– 7 Floyd Ayité 11 43 2007- 8 Djima Oyawole 10 27 1996–2006 9 Mohamed Kader 10 51 1995–2009 10 Moustapha Salifou 9 69 2000–2013

Previous squads

FIFA World Cup

• 2006 FIFA World Cup squad – Togo

Africa Cup of Nations

• 2017 Africa Cup of Nations squad – Togo
• 2013 Africa Cup of Nations squad – Togo
• 2006 Africa Cup of Nations squad – Togo
• 2002 Africa Cup of Nations squad – Togo
• 2000 Africa Cup of Nations squad – Togo
• 1998 Africa Cup of Nations squad – Togo
• 1984 Africa Cup of Nations squad – Togo
• 1972 Africa Cup of Nations squad – Togo

Coaches

• Boško Antić (1987–89)
• Eberhard Vogel (1997–98)
• Bana Tchanile (2000–02)
• Diego Garzitto (2002)
• Antônio Dumas (2002–04)
• Stephen Keshi (2004–06)
• Otto Pfister (2006)
• Stephen Keshi (2006–08)
• Henri Stambouli (2008)
• Kodjovi Mawuéna (2008–09)
• Jean Thissen (2009)
• Hubert Velud (2009–10)
• Thierry Froger (2010–11)
• Stephen Keshi (2011)
• Didier Six (2011, interim)
• Didier Six (2012–14)
• Tchakala Tchanilé (2014–15)
• Tom Saintfiet (2015–16)
• Claude Le Roy (2016–)

References

1. Mamrud, Roberto; Stokkermans, Karel. "Players with 100+ Caps and 30+ International Goals". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2010-12-16.
2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
3. "Sky Sports | Football News". Home.skysports.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-25. Retrieved 2010-02-04.
4. https://www.fifa.com/en/media/index/0,1369,120470,00.html?articleid=120470. Retrieved August 30, 2006. Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. "African Cup of Nations — NoConfusion over Togo death toll". Reuters. 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
6. "Kodjovi Obilalé n'est pas décédé des suites de ses blessures (Agence AFP)" (in French). Archived from the original on 2007-02-22. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
7. Nick Reeves (2010-01-10). "Togo in dramatic African Nations Cup u-turn". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
8. "Togo officially disqualified from Africa Cup of Nations". BBC Sport. BBC. 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
9. Togo's withdrawal, Confederation of African Football, 30 January 2010
10. "Togo banned from next two Africa Cups of Nations". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
11. "Togo suspended for next two Africa Nations Cup". Xinhua. Retrieved 31 January 2010.
12. Regulations of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations (PDF), Confederation of African Football
13. Togo captain Emmanuel Adebayor slams 'outrageous' ban, BBC Sport, 31 January 2010
14. 'Fake' Togo football team at Bahrain match being investigated, BBC News, 15 September 2010
15. Fake mastermind behind fake Togo team revealed!, Yahoo, 20 September 2010, archived from the original on 26 September 2010
16. Buncombe, Andrew (29 March 2013). "Dan Tan: the man who fixed football". The Independent. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
17. https://www.afrik-foot.com/can-2021-q-2-nouveaux-dans-la-liste-du-togo-contre-les-comores-et-le-kenya
18. "Togo".

External links

• Togo FA official site
• Togo national football team picture