Pacific islanders Guam bare teeth in World Cup quest

Coached by Englishman Gary White, Guam have put the rugby-score losses of the past behind them with some giant-killing performances and face Iran on Tuesday determined to preserve a remarkable unbeaten home record.

"Mathematically we're still in it," White told AFP by telephone on Monday, defiant despite last week's disappointing 1-0 defeat by India.

"We need to get a minimum of four points from the next two games to have a sniff but in football anything is possible. This is not an easy place for anybody to come. We've won two and drawn one at home so we want to try to keep it as a fortress."

He added: "We've already achieved one of our team goals by reaching the final round of 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers, which is an amazing achievement."

Guam's population is just 170,000 but White's "Matao" -- a name derived from the noble classes of Micronesia's ancient Chamorro society -- have consistently punched above their weight, with victories against Turkmenistan and India, a country of 1.2 billion.