Macau’s national team suffers another defeat, extending their winless streak since 2019.

The Macau men’s football team is enduring a true sporting ordeal, having suffered another defeat, this time against Aruba, by 4-1, in the second edition of the FIFA Series. This disastrous result keeps the team winless in official matches since 2019, a drought that has lasted almost seven years and raises serious questions about the future of football in the region.

The match took place at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, where the Caribbean team quickly asserted their dominance. Carlito Fermina opened the scoring just six minutes in, putting Macau in a difficult position from the start. The situation worsened when Jaybrien Romano scored the second goal in the 13th minute and, surprisingly, netted again shortly after, in the 16th minute, leaving the Macau team in shock.

In the second half, Aruba continued to dominate, and in the 66th minute, Conner van Kilsdonk sealed the rout with the fourth goal. The only glimmer of hope for Macau came in the 88th minute, when Amâncio Goitia, a player for Benfica de Macau, managed to reduce the deficit.

With this result, Aruba, currently ranked 191st in the FIFA rankings, is now waiting for the outcome of the other match in Group B, which pits Tanzania against Liechtenstein. The loser of that clash will have the opportunity to face Macau next Sunday, which could provide a new chance for the team to secure their first victory in nearly seven years.

Currently, Macau ranks 193rd in the FIFA world ranking, surpassed only by Timor-Leste, which is in 198th place among the 210 countries and regions that make up the list. This is an alarming situation for a national team that, after a historic victory against Sri Lanka in June 2019, found itself disqualified due to security issues following bomb attacks that shook the country.

The forced pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic was a severe blow for the team, which was one of the last to resume activity, returning to the pitch only in March 2023, after nearly four years of inactivity. This delay in competition may have contributed to the current state of the team, which seems to be struggling to find its way in an increasingly competitive international landscape.

Macau’s hopes of reversing this negative trend are becoming scarce, and the pressure on the team and the Macau Football Association is only likely to increase. The future of football in Macau needs an urgent restart, and the next opportunity against an opponent it has yet to defeat could be the key to initiating the long-awaited turnaround.

This article first appeared on Apito Final.