Togo national football team

Infobox National football team
Name = Togo | Badge = Togo_FA.gif
FIFA Trigramme = TOG
Nickname = Les Eperviers
("The Sparrow Hawks")
Association = Fédération Togolaise
de Football
Confederation = CAF (Africa)
Coach = flagicon|TOG Kodjovi Mawuena
Captain = Emmanuel Adebayor
Most caps = Jean-Paul Abalo (66)
Top scorer = Emmanuel Adebayor(30)
Home Stadium = Stade de Kégué
FIFA Rank = 91
FIFA max = 46
FIFA max date = August 2006
FIFA min = 123
FIFA min date = April 1994

Elo Rank = 105

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First game =flagicon|France French Togoland 1 - 1 Gold Coast flagicon|Gold Coast (Togo; 13 October, 1956)
Largest win =flagicon|Togo Togo 5 - 0 fb-rt|UAE (Accra,Ghana; 21 November, 2007)
Largest loss =flagicon|Morocco Morocco 7 - 0 Togo flagicon|Togo (Morocco; 28 October, 1979) flagicon|Tunisia Tunisia 7 - 0 Togo flagicon|Togo (Tunis, Tunisia; 7 January, 2000)
World cup apps = 1
World cup first = 2006
World cup best = Round 1, 2006
Regional name = African Nations Cup
Regional cup apps = 6
Regional cup first = 1972
Regional cup best = Round 1, allThe national football team of Togo, nicknamed "Les Eperviers (The Sparrow Hawks)", is controlled by the Fédération Togolaise de Football.

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. Although Togo have qualified for the World Cup, they have never advanced past the first stage of the African Nations Cup

African Nations Cup record

*1957 to 1965 - "Did not enter"
*1968 - "Did not qualify"
*1970 - "Did not qualify"
*1972 - Round 1
*1974 - "Withdrew"
*1976 to 1982 - "Did not qualify"
*1984 - Round 1
*1986 - "Did not qualify"
*1988 - "Did not qualify"
*1990 - "Withdrew"
*1992 - "Did not qualify"
*1994 - "Withdrew during qualifying"
*1996 - "Did not qualify"
*1998 - Round 1
*2000 - Round 1
*2002 - Round 1
*2004 - "Did not qualify"
*2006 - Round 1
*2008 - "Did not qualify"

World Cup record

*1930 to 1970 - "Did not enter"
*1974 to 2002 - "Did not qualify"
*2006 - Round 1

World Cup 2006

* v South Korea in Frankfurt, loss, 2-1
* v Switzerland in Dortmund, loss, 2-0
* v France in Cologne, loss, 2-0

Current squad

The following players are called for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification against Zambia on September 10 2008.

Goalkeepers

Defenders

2006 World Cup Information

Togo lost their opening game of the World Cup, despite having taken the lead against South Korea through 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 June 19. However, the Togo squad and manager Pfitser threatened to refuse to fulfil the fixture and take strike action. The squad and manager had been quoted as requesting payments from the Fédération Togolaise de Football for participating in the tournament of around €155,000 (US$ 192,000) with added bonuses for victories or draws. FIFA personally negotiated with the squad and manager on June 17, persuading them to travel to Dortmund in time to fulfil the fixture [http://home.skysports.com/worldcup/article.aspx?hlid=396042&CPID=4&clid=1223&lid=13&title=Togo+strike+averted] ; 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" [http://www.fifa.com/en/media/index/0,1369,120470,00.html?articleid=120470]

Togo's final group game against France ended in 2-0 defeat. Togo left the tournament with no points gained.

ierra Leone air disaster

After a 2008 African Nations Cup qualifier away to Sierra Leone on June 3, 2007, twenty 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 soccer 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.

External links

* [http://www.ftf-enligne.tg/ Togo FA] official site
* [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Togo-nationalmannschaft.jpgPicture of team. Name of one player missing.]