The Chad national football team, also known as Les Sao, represents Chad in international football games. The Chadian Football Federation manages the team. This page is about the men's team.
Chad's national football team did not play a big role in world football until the 1990s. The national team had a difficult start − the first match they ever played was in the L'Amitié Tournament, which took place in Senegal in 1963, and it was a 2-1 defeat to Liberia.
The Chad national football team has never made it to the Africa Cup of Nations or the World Cup. The team has never qualified for the World Cup finals or Africa Cup of Nations.
Their first participation in the World Cup qualifiers was in 2000 when they were eliminated in the first round by Liberia, losing 0-1 at home, and playing 0-0 away. They were coached by Marcel Mao. Their next attempt was in 2003, under Yann Djim, but they were eliminated by Angola.
For the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, they played in a group with Mali, Sudan, and Congo. In the qualifying competition for the 2014 World Cup, Chad faced Tanzania in a first-round playoff. Tanzania advanced despite shockingly losing 1-0 at home at Dar es Salaam's National Stadium.
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In the qualifiers for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Chad played against Malawi. In the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Malawi was the opponent once again. Chad lost 2-0 in the first leg at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre, but they won 3-1 at Idriss Mahamat Ouya Stadium in N'Djamena, losing on the away goals rule.
Les Sao had a disappointing start into their qualifying campaign for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, losing 2-0 to Nigeria and slumping to a 5-1 defeat at home against Egypt. But it was then that things took a turn for the better, as coach Moudou Kouta, who was in charge of the side on an interim basis, took the team to an unexpected victory against Sierra Leone in the first round of the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.
Les Sao won 1-0 at home and even though they were beaten 2-1 in the return leg, they advanced to the second round of the qualifiers on away goals.
Chad's biggest success so far is winning the CEMAC Cup in 2014. They beat Congo 3-2 in the final on December 14 in Bata, Equatorial Guinea.
Here's a summary of Chad's performance in various competitions:
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| Competition | Achievement |
|---|---|
| CEMAC Cup | Winner (2014) |
| Africa Cup of Nations | Never qualified |
| World Cup | Never qualified |
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In March 2016, the Chadian Football Federation announced they were withdrawing from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification due to financial problems. In September 2019, Chad lost to Sudan in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.
In March 2021, the Chadian government stopped the Chadian Football Federation from working. This led to FIFA banning Chad from global football in April 2021. This ban was because governments are not allowed to interfere with how a country's football team is run. In April 2021, FIFA stopped the Chad national football team from playing in global football.
During the independence of Chad, the team competed in international matches and played in a blue shirt, blue shorts, and red socks. These are the national colours of the French flag. In the 1970s, Chad's home colors changed to blue-yellow-red. Their first away kit in 1960 was white shirt, red shorts, and white socks.
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