Guinea national football team

Infobox National football team
Name = Guinea
Badge =
Nickname = Syli Nationale
(National Elephants)
Association = Fédération Guinéenne
de Football
Confederation = CAF (Africa)
Coach = flagicon|FRA Robert Nouzaret
Home Stadium = Stade 28 Septembre
FIFA Rank = 41
FIFA max = 22
FIFA max date = August 2006
FIFA min = 123
FIFA min date = May 2003
Elo Rank = 60
Elo max = 23
Elo max date = 1977
Elo min = 125
Elo min date = June 1996

Most caps =
Top scorer =
FIFA Trigramme = GUI

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First game =flagicon|Nigeria Nigeria 4 - 1 Guinea flagicon|Guinea (Lagos, Nigeria; 2 October 1960)
Largest win =flagicon|Guinea Guinea 14 - 0 Mauritania flagicon|Mauritania (Guinea; 20 May 1972)
Largest loss =flagicon|Tunisia Tunisia 5 - 0 Guinea flagicon|Guinea (Tunis, Tunisia; 5 August 1988) flagicon|Côte d'Ivoire Côte d'Ivoire 5 - 0 Guinea flagicon|Guinea (Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana; 3 February 2008
World cup apps =
World cup first =
World cup best =
Regional name = African Nations Cup
Regional cup apps = 9
Regional cup first = 1970
Regional cup best = Second place, 1976The Guinea national football team, nicknamed "Syli Nationale", is the national team of Guinea and is controlled by the Fédération Guinéenne de Football. They have never qualified for the World Cup finals, and their best finish in the African Nations Cup was second in 1976.

History

Golden Years: 1970-82

Guinea have long been a significant force in African football. They qualified for their first African Nations Cup in 1970 and again in 1974. During the 70s and early 80s, its top club sides Hafia, Horoya and Kaloum Stars were significant players in African club football with Hafia and Horoya winning major trophies.

In 1976, Guinea came within minutes of winning the African Nations Cup, but a late equaliser for Morocco meant they finished runners-up. They qualified for the tournament again in 1980, which would be their last appearance for 14 years. Qualification for the World Cup eluded them during this period, with runs to the third round in the 1978 and 1982 qualifying series being their best performances.

Notable international players in this period included:
* Abdoulaye "Banks" Keita
* Cherif Souleymane
* Ousmane Thiam "Tollo"
* Ibrahima Sory Keita "Petit Sory"
* Mamadou Aliou "Njo Lea" Keita
* Amara Toure
* Naby Laye "Papa" Camara
* Bengally Sylla
* Seydouba Bangoura
* Kerfalla Bangoura
* Cheik Mohammed Keita

Post-1982

After 1982, Guinea endured a decade of anonymity before the emergence of Titi Camara in the early 1990s ushered in a new generation which qualified for the 1994 African Nations Cup. Since then they have qualified for 1998, 2004 and 2006 tournaments, reaching the quarter-finals in the latter two. They have qualified for the 2008 tournament.

Guinea Football Achievements

:Amilcar Cabral Cup :::*5 Times Champion (1981, 1982, 1987, 1988, 2005)::*1 Time Runners-up

World Cup record

*1930 to 1962 - "Did not enter"
*1966 - "Withdrew"
*1970 - "Entry not accepted by FIFA"
*1974 to 1998 - "Did not qualify"
*2002 - "Disqualified by FIFA during qualifying"
*2006 - "Did not qualify"

African Nations Cup record

*1957 to 1962 - "Did not enter"
*1963 - "Disqualified for failure to provide neutral officials"
*1965 - "Did not qualify"
*1968 - "Did not qualify"
*1970 - Round 1
*1972 - "Did not qualify"
*1974 - Round 1
*1976 - Second place
*1978 - "Did not qualify"
*1980 - Round 1
*1982 to 1992 - "Did not qualify"
*1994 - Round 1
*1996 - "Did not qualify"
*1998 - Round 1
*2000 - "Did not qualify"
*2002 - "Disqualified for failure to reinstall FA functionaries"
*2004 - Quarterfinals
*2006 - Quarterfinals
*2008 - Quarterfinals

Current squad

"Players selected for the friendly match against South Africa on 9 September 2008."

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Recent call ups

The following players have been called up for the team in 2008.

Famous players

*Bobo Balde
*Titi Camara
*Kaba Diawara
*Pascal Feindouno
*Alhassane Keita
*Abdoul Salam Sow
*Morlaye Soumah
*Mohammed Sylla
*Pablo Thiam
*Ibrahima Yattara
*Souleymane Youla
*Sambegou Bangoura
*Kemoko Camara