MONROVIA – Liberia senior men’s national football team Lone Star, has yet again crashed out of the qualifying round of a major international soccer event, as the team concluded their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea on October 13, 2025, at the Estadio de Malabo.

Despite finishing the qualifiers unbeaten in their final three matches, a feat pundits regard as a strong finish, including a 3-1 victory over Namibia and a 2-2 draw with Malawi, Liberia failed to advance, as the Lone Star were unable to secure a spot among the best four runners-up due to recent adjustments in the ranking criteria for that category.

Liberia ended the campaign with 14 points from nine matches, but with Tunisia already securing an automatic qualification from Group H, Liberia could not finish in the top four runners-up positions.

The team’s final match saw Equatorial Guinea take the lead in the 15th minute through Federico Bikoro, but Nicholas Andrews equalized in the 28th minute with his second goal of the campaign, securing a draw.

Although the result capped a positive end to the qualifiers for stand-in coach Thomas Kojo’s youthful squad, who had previously faced controversy, including the overturning of two wins due to the ineligibility of Emilio Nsue, it marks a period of over two decades since Liberia’s most recent appearance at a major international tournament. Liberia’s best performances were reaching the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996 and 2002.

The country has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, with its closest attempt at qualifying for that global football fiesta being the 2002 qualification campaign, where the Lone Star narrowly missed out on a spot in the finals by a single point to Nigeria.

Liberia was closest to qualifying for the FIFA World Cup in 2002, and during that qualification campaign, Lone Star finished top of their group, securing the only available spot for the tournament.

However, Liberia ultimately failed to qualify because of a home defeat sustained at the hands of Ghana Black Stars in the Lone Star’s penultimate group game; allowing Nigeria to overtake Liberia to claim the lone qualification spot in that group.