( CNN ) -- Talk about something to be grateful for this Thanksgiving . The American Samoa soccer team , ranked dead last among soccer teams around the world by FIFA , soccer 's international governing body , made history this week when it won its first ever international game . That 's cause for celebration for a team that for 16 years had never savored victory . A team that played 30 games since 1994 , losing all 30 . One that set a record for the largest loss in international soccer history , when Australia trounced it 30-1 in 2001 . But all that changed Tuesday when it beat Tonga 2-1 in a pre-qualifying game for the 2014 World Cup . `` I hope that we can now improve our standing in the FIFA rankings and get into the hundreds , '' said coach Thomas Rongen to the country 's football federation . `` We are 204 at the moment and this win will have helped . '' Rongen , who until May coached the U.S. Under-20 team , was hired just three weeks ago . He told the Football Federation he was n't even sure where the tiny U.S. protectorate in the South Pacific was located when he was approached for the job . `` I live in Florida and own some property in the Bahamas , so I 'm an island kind of guy , '' he said . `` I looked at a map and said to my wife , 'Hey , it 's an island . Do you want to do it ? ' She said , 'Let 's go . So we headed down . '' Soccer is n't a big draw in the island of about 55,000 . And , Rongen said , the sport is a labor of love for the squad . `` They 're not getting anything to be here and some are spending time away from their jobs and are losing money because of that , '' he said . `` It 's amateur football at its best . The game at the highest level can be very cynical , but this is just about 23 guys making sacrifices , '' Rongen said .
The team is ranked FIFA in 204th soccer standings . It made the record books when it lost to Tonga 30 -1 . It lost 30 consecutive games before its win against Australia .