APIA, Samoa » Two days after winning for the first time in its soccer history, American Samoa stretched its unbeaten run to two games.

After Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Tonga, American Samoa drew 1-1 with the Cook Islands on Thursday. Another win against rival Samoa today will put the U.S. protectorate into the second round of World Cup qualifying in the Oceania region.

“We made it very hard for ourselves again but we got the result we needed to make the game against Samoa, who I consider the best team here, a meaningful contest,” said American Samoa coach Thomas Rongen. “It’s going to be great — Samoa and American Samoa is like a dream matchup.”

The team has also gained international attention because one of its players, defender Johnny Saelua, is part of the fa’afafine, biological males who identify themselves as a third sex in Polynesian culture.

Fa’afafine means “to be a woman” in Samoan. According to 30-year-old Alex Su’a, who heads the Samoa Fa’afafine Society, there are 1,500 fa’afafine in Samoa and American Samoa.

“To be fa’afafine you have to be Samoan, born a man, feel you are a woman, be sexually attracted to males and, importantly, proud to be called and labeled fa’afafine,” Su’a said.

“The fa’afafine are culturally accepted,” he said. “They have a role in Samoan society. They are the caretakers of the elders because their brothers and sisters get married, but the fa’afafine traditionally don’t.”

Said Saelua, 23, who is a performing arts major at the University of Hawaii: “In Samoa the fa’afafine are very reliable. We can do what the boys do and what the girls do.”

In the match against Tonga, Saelua provided an assist on one goal and made a 90th-minute goal-line clearance with American Samoa’s goalkeeper Nicky Salapu already beaten on the play.

“He’s like a brother to us and he’s like a sister to us,” Salapu said of Saelua.

American Samoa entered this year’s qualifying campaign with 30 straight losses in international soccer, including a record 31-0 loss to Australia in a 2001 World Cup qualifier. Overall, the team had been outscored 229-12.

In World Cup qualifying, the team lost all 12 of its matches before this year with a minus-127 goal difference, 129-2.

All that changed with Tuesday’s win, and Thursday’s draw has added to the hopes that the team can move on for the first time.

“Our game plan was to win, but the draw has gotten us to four points and puts us into a position on Saturday to play for a championship,” Rongen said. “I think we should have put the game away in the first half and scored two or three with the chances we had.”

Shalom Luani scored for American Samoa in the 24th minute. But in the 62nd, defender Tala Luvu headed a free kick from Paavo Mustonen into his own net.

Tuesday’s win elevated the country to almost star status in soccer circles.

“It’s been quite amazing really,” Football Federation of American Samoa general secretary Tavita Taumua said. “We’ve had people telephoning us, emailing us, congratulating us on our first win. Getting that first win was a big thing for us. Now we’re looking forward to Saturday’s game against Samoa.”