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Oceania hopes end for American Samoa soccer

Awwwww so American Samoa's bid for a spot in Oceania's World Cup is over now.

Is it a small consolation maybe that the team who took them out is from the other Samoa? :)

Samoa ends American Samoa's dream run

APIA, Samoa (AP) -A last-minute goal put Samoa into the next stage of Oceania's World Cup qualifying, beating American Samoa 1-0 on Sunday to end the tiny Pacific nation's captivating run.

American Samoa, 204th and last in FIFA rankings, captured world attention when it beat Tonga in its opening match at the four-nation, round-robin tournament, notching its first-ever international win.

Another win Sunday would have seen it advance to round two of qualifying, and the defense, based around center back Johnny Saelua - thought to be the world's first transgender international - held strong until the 90th minute when Silao Malo scored on a counterattack.

Samoa now progresses to the next stage in Oceania qualifying, where it will be in a round-robin group pitted against New Caledonia, Tahiti and Vanuatu. The other second-round group involves 2010 World Cup qualifier New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, with the top two from each group to advance.

Full Story: SI CNN

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