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Afghanistan
افغانستان

Association	AFF
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	CAFA (Central Asia)
Head coach	Anoush Dastgir
Captain	Faysal Shayesteh
Most caps	Zohib Islam Amiri (47)
Top scorer	Balal Arezou (9)
Home stadium	Ghazi Stadium
FIFA code	AFG
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	149 2 (4 April 2019)[1]
Highest	122 (April 2014)
Lowest	204 (January 2003)
Elo ranking
Current	173 3 (27 March 2019)[2]
Highest	83 (August 1941)
Lowest	210 (November 2010)
First international
Afghanistan 0–0 Iran (Kabul, Afghanistan; 25 August 1941)
Biggest win
Bhutan 1–8 Afghanistan (New Delhi, India; 7 December 2011)
Biggest defeat
Turkmenistan 11–0 Afghanistan (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan; 19 November 2003)

The Afghanistan national football team (Pashto: د افغانستان د فوټبال ملي لوبډله Da Afghānestān da Fūṭbāl Millī Lobḍala; Dari: تیم ملی فوتبال افغانستان) is the national football team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. Founded in 1922, they played their first international game against Iran in Kabul, 1941. Afghanistan then joined FIFA in 1948 and the AFC in 1954, as one of the founding members. They play their home games at the Ghazi National Olympic Stadium in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. In 2013, Afghanistan won the 2013 SAFF Championship and earned the "FIFA Fair Play Award".^[3]

History

Early history

Afghanistan national football team in the 1920s

Formed in 1922 and affiliated to FIFA since 1948, the Afghanistan Football Federation was one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation in 1954.^[4]

The first football club established in the country, Mahmoudiyeh F.C., was founded in 1934. Three years later the team traveled to India and took part in 18 games of which they won 8, lost 9 and drew 1. The second football club founded was Ariana Kabul F.C. which was established in 1941. This team traveled to Tehran, Iran upon invitation, played 3 games, winning one game and losing two.

Afghanistan's only appearance and first FIFA international match was at the Olympic Games football tournament in the 1948 Summer Olympic Games when they played Luxembourg on 26 July 1948 and lost 6–0. Prior to 2002, Afghanistan was last seen on the international stage during the 1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification, with its last match lost 6–1 against Jordan on 20 September 1984. Afghanistan played no international games from 1984 to 2002, due to the latter years of the Soviet–Afghan War, civil war in Afghanistan (1992–1996), and the Taliban regime.

2001–2010

Following the demise of the Taliban regime, the Afghan national team eventually returned to the international arena in 2002, when they played South Korea in the Asian Games, losing 2–0. Afghanistan participated in their first international tournament in the 2003 SAFF Gold Cup where they lost all three group stage matches to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Later in the same year, Afghanistan took part in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification where they won against Kyrgyzstan but lost to Nepal and failed to make it to the next round. Afghanistan started its FIFA World Cup campaign for the first time in 2003 where they played Turkmenistan in 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification. They lost both matches in aggregate of 13–0. This was the first time Afghanistan participated in FIFA World Cup qualification though they had been affiliated since 1948. The team went to Pakistan to take part in the 2005 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup, which they lost to the Maldives.

Match scene between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan in a FIFA World Cup qualification match in Kabul, 2003.

They also participated in the first edition of the AFC Challenge Cup in 2006, for which they drew both matches with Chinese Taipei and the Philippines with Afghan footballers Hafizullah Qadami and Sayed Maqsood Hashemi both scoring to produce a drawn result, and on their second world cup campaign in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification were eliminated by Syria. In the SAFF Championship 2008 Afghanistan lost to Bhutan but drew with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Afghanistan entered the second round of the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008,^[5] by winning in group D of the AFC Challenge Cup Qualification, drawing with Bangladesh and winning against Kyrgyzstan. In the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, Afghanistan lost all group matches to India, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. In 2009 SAFF Championship Afghanistan lost all its matches to Maldives, India and Nepal. Hashmatullah Barakzai scored Afghanistan's only goal against Maldives in that loss.

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Afghanistan competed in their third World Cup qualifying campaign playing the first leg of their first match against Palestine in Tajikistan due to security reasons, which they lost, and the second leg of the match in Palestine which they drew with Balal Arezou scoring, meaning they failed to advance to the second round and were eliminated.

2011 SAFF Championship

Players are celebrating after winning their 2011 SAFF Championship Semi-final against Nepal

In 2011 SAFF Championship Afghanistan defeated Bhutan 8–1, the biggest victory in the history of the Afghanistan football team. In this match, Balal Arezou scored the only hat-trick of the competition with 4 goals and the team scored the quickest goal of the tournament through Ata Yamrali in the third minute. It was Afghanistan's first Semi-final. In the Semi-final of the tournament, the Afghans faced Nepal whom they beat 1–0 in extra time with the only goal scored by Balal Arezou in the 101st minute. It was the first win of Afghanistan over Nepal. In the final, Afghanistan played India to whom they lost 4–0.

2012 AFC Challenge Cup

Afghanistan defeated Bhutan 5–0 in 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification. In the first leg, they beat Bhutan 3–0 with Sidiq Walizada scoring all 3 goals, and 2–0 in the second leg. In the second qualification round, Afghanistan lost to Nepal and North Korea, whilst beating Sri Lanka but failed to qualify for the next stage.

Afghan Premier League

For the first time in the football history of Afghanistan the AFF announced a league where 8 teams will compete against each other. The league was established in 2012 with the first season running through September and October of that year. 8 teams were concurrently established in 2012 to become the inaugural competitors.^[6]

Players for the league were found through a reality television show called Maidan e Sabz ("Green Field").^[7] The concept came from the Afghanistan Football Federation and the Afghanistan-based MOBY Group, which owns a number of TV channels and radio stations and is the largest media group in the country. MOBY Group channels will broadcast matches. Players were voted onto teams by a jury and by the television audience. Eight teams of 18 players, one from every region, were formed.^[8]

The Afghan High Peace Council has praised the creation and development of the League as an, "opportunity to bring peace and stability" to Afghanistan.^[6]

2013 SAFF Championship winners

Hamidullah Karimi with the SAFF Championship trophy after their win against India

On 20 August 2013 before the 2013 SAFF Championship Afghanistan played Pakistan in a FIFA approved friendly for the first time in 36 years. This was also the first time on home ground after a decade which ended with a 3–0 victory over Pakistan with goals from Sandjar Ahmadi, Ahmad Hatifi and Maruf Mohammadi.^[9]

Afghanistan entered the 2013 SAFF Championship as the highest ranked team by FIFA in the tournament placed at 139th. Afghanistan started the campaign with a 3-goal victory over Bhutan, with goals from Amiri, Azadzoy and Barakzai. The second match again ended with a 3–1 victory over Sri Lanka with goals from Rafi, Amiri and Barakzai. The Semi-final of the tournament was the repeat of last year's edition with Afghanistan again defeating Nepal with a solitary goal of Sandjar Ahmadi, that took Afghanistan in to the final of the tournament against India once again. Mansur Faqiryar of Afghanistan showed an outstanding goalkeeping performance by saving two back to back penalty kicks from Nepal in the last minutes of the match. The Final match of the tournament saw the 2011 SAFF Championship finalists again at Dashrath Stadium Nepal, where Afghanistan outplayed the defending champions India by 2 goals.^[10] Afghanistan showed an outstanding performance. Goals from Azadzoy and Sandjar Ahmadi in each half of the game put the Afghan football team in front, to claim their first SAFF Championship title in their history.^[11] Mansur Faqiryar was named the best player of the tournament, for his outstanding goal keeping skills throughout the tournament.

AFC Challenge Cup 2014

In the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, Afghanistan did well to reach the Semi-final, losing to the eventual champions Palestine, 2–0. They finished their campaign in fourth spot, the country's highest finishing place in the short term the cup has existed, losing to Maldives on a penalty shoot out: (7–8) after a 1–1 draw for third spot of the competition. On 10 June 2014 Afghanistan Football Federation moved from South Asian Football Federation SAFF to the CAFF. At the 2014 Ballon D'or ceremony, the Afghanistan Football Federation won the FIFA Fair Play Award. Afghanistan was honored with the award for the outstanding performance of the Afghanistan football during the year, despite the chaos of war and difficult political situations the country is facing. FIFA made a statement and posted on its website that "Following a year of remarkable achievement in grassroots level football, building infrastructure to further develop football throughout the country and nurturing a professional league despite enduring over a decade of disorder stemming from war, Afghanistan has been presented the 2013 FIFA Fair Play Award."

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Afghan national team before the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Japan, Azadi Stadium

On 9 February 2015, it was confirmed that the AFF signed a new coach for the national team. German-Bosnian trainer Slaven Skeledzic, signed a 1-year contract with the AFF. The new trainer had earlier coached the under 17 and under 19 teams in Germany. Skeledzic played football in Germany and coached youth teams in the Bundesliga.^[12] On 27 April 2015 the AFF signed a contract with a new sponsor called Alokozay Group of Companies.

Afghanistan began the qualification with a 6–0 loss against Syria. After this match they had to play against lower ranked Cambodia. They won their first World Cup qualification match ever in the history of Afghanistan football. In their 3rd match against Japan, Afghanistan lost again 6–0. Against Singapore they lost 1–0 but deserved a win. With the position they were in they had to do something else. But unfortunately they lost against Syria with 5–2. In October 2015 the AFF forced Skeledzic to resign from his position, after the 5–2 defeat against Syria. In November 2015, the Afghan National Team announced that Petar Segrt was appointed as the new head coach. With a new coach and new players Afghanistan won their 2nd match against Cambodia with 3–0. After the qualifications the SAFF Championship started.

2015 SAFF Championship

This was the last edition of the SAFF Championship where the national team of Afghanistan would play. After the team was announced Afghanistan began preparing for the tournament. They were in a group of 4 countries which was: Maldives, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan. Afghanistan won the first match 4–0 against Bangladesh. After they won the second match against Bhutan 3–0 they qualified for the semi-finals. They won their last match against Maldives 4–1. In the semi-final Afghanistan had to play against Sri Lanka. The match ended in a 5–0 win for Afghanistan. Eventually after reaching the final quite easily, Afghanistan had to play against tournament favorite India. This was a replay of the finals in the 2011 and 2013 SAFF Championships. After 90 minutes the match ended in a 1–1 draw. After this moment India scored the 2–1 and won the 2015 SAFF Championship for the 7th time. Khaibar Amani was given the topscorer of the tournament award with 4 goals.

2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Afghan supporters watching their national team play against Japan during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification in Azadi Stadium, Tehran.

When the tournament ended Afghanistan still had a chance to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. After their second loss against Japan with a 5–0 defeat, Afghanistan had to win against Singapore to qualify as 4th best in their group. And so they did with a 2–1 win against Singapore and a qualification spot for the 3rd round of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

After the World Cup qualification ended Afghanistan played some friendly games. In September against Lebanon which the game ended in a 2–0 win for Lebanon. In October against Malaysia which ended in a 1–1 draw. Before the match against Tajikistan Segrt called up 24 players which did not include the player Zohib Islam Amiri because the player previously made the decision to not play anymore for Afghanistan. But without letting Segrt know the AFF did included Amiri in the squad. Segrt disagreed with the AFF and made the decision to quit as the headcoach of the national team. This was just after his 1-year anniversary with the national team. The match against Tajikistan ended in a 1–0 loss for Afghanistan. Anoush Dastgir led the team as interim coach for this match.

In February 2017 the AFF announced the signing of Otto Pfister as the new head coach of the national team.^[13] Afghanistan played a friendly game against Singapore before the Asian Cup qualification match against Vietnam. Afghanistan won the game with 2–1 with goals from Mukhammad and Azadzoy.^[14] The important Asian Cup qualification match against Vietnam ended in a 1–1 draw with a goal from Hassan Amin.^[15] However, Afghanistan since then has suffered a serious setback. In the match against opponent Cambodia in Phnom Penh, which Afghanistan once defeated 4–0, Afghanistan had shocked by losing 0–1 against the same rival. Later, Afghanistan suffered second defeat, this time against Jordan, with the score 1–4 in Amman. Between two official qualification matches, Afghanistan also lost 0–2 to Oman in a friendly match. Afghanistan's late effort later only helped them to manage a 3–3 draw against Jordan, and Afghanistan was near the verge of being eliminated if they could not defeat Vietnam in the fifth match. At the crucial match against Vietnam in Hanoi, despite Afghanistan had nearly outplayed the host, failed efforts and bad lucks had prevented Afghanistan to seal a victory, as the match ended 0–0, effectively eliminated Afghanistan from the qualification while Vietnam went to seal the ticket to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with Jordan, after 1–0 victory over Cambodia. Afghanistan played their last match against Cambodia who also failed to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. The match ended in a 2–1 victory for Afghanistan.^[16] After the match it was announced that Pfister will leave his job and that Anoush Dastgir will be the new headcoach of the national team with the addition of Shabir Isoufi as the new assistant coach of Afghanistan.^[17][18] On 13 July 2018 it was announced that Afghanistan will play a friendly game in Kabul, Afghanistan for the first time since 2013 against Palestine.^[19]

Kit

In 2002, the Japanese sports brand ASICS was the sponsor for the national team until 2004. In 2005, the German sports brand Adidas was the sponsor of the national team till 2008. In 2009, the Danish sports brand Hummel equipped the national team. In 2011 the Afghanistan Football Federation had signed a four-year contract with Hummel, to provide both the men's and women's national teams with all of the sportswear from 2011 to 2015.^[20] On 6 March 2015, the Afghan Football Federation signed a new four-year contract with Hummel till 2019. On 27 April 2015, the AFF signed a contract with a new sponsor called Alokozay Group of Companies. This sponsor will be on the shirts of the national team.^[21] Hummel released in 2016 the new kits for Afghanistan. It included an integrated hijab for the female Afghanistan footballers to play with while being covered from head to toe.^[22] In December 2018, Hummel announced that it will no longer sponsor Afghanistan's football association after allegations emerged of physical, psychological and sexual abuse committed by male employees against players from the country's women's national team.^[23]

Sponsors

Alokozay, MOBY Group, Lemar & TOLO are the national team's sponsors.

Home stadium

The Ghazi Stadium in Kabul, which is now referred to as the Afghan Football Federation Stadium

Major football matches in Afghanistan are held at the Afghan Football Federation Stadium (popularly known as the Ghazi Stadium) in Kabul. It was built in 1923 during the reign of King Amanullah Khan, who is regarded as Ghazi (Hero) for the Afghan victory in the Third Anglo-Afghan War and gaining independence for his nation after the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919. The stadium has the capacity to house 25,000 people. The first international football match hosted there was played between Iran and Afghanistan in 1941 and ended as a draw, 0–0. Their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification second leg match was played at the Ghazi Stadium against Turkmenistan which Afghanistan lost 2–0, having previously lost the first leg 11–0. The stadium is maintained and controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. The Afghan Premier League and other local football tournaments take place in the stadium. The Ghazi Stadium was renovated in 2011 after the entire ground was removed and replaced with new soil and artificial turf placed on top. The stadium now holds bigger sporting events. The proposed construction of a new national stadium was completed in the 2013/2014 season which cost 25 million euros.^[24] In 2015 FIFA helped the AFF with the reconstruction of new youth teams and develop also women's football for the national team.^[25]

Results and fixtures

  Win
  Draw
  Loss

2017

Afghanistan  v  Jordan

10 October 2017 (2017-10-10) Third round	Afghanistan	3–3	Jordan	Dushanbe, Tajikistan
15:00 UTC+5	Khairullah  15' (o.g.) Islam Amiri  64' Amani  81'	Report	Abu Amarah  40' Al-Saify  43' (pen.) Khairullah  86'	Stadium: Pamir Stadium [note 1] Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Masoud Tufayelieh (Syria)

Vietnam  v  Afghanistan

14 November 2017 (2017-11-14) Third round	Vietnam	0–0	Afghanistan	Hanoi, Vietnam
19:00 UTC+7		Report		Stadium: Mỹ Đình National Stadium Attendance: 28,580 Referee: Jameel Abdulhusain Mohamed (Bahrain)

2018

Afghanistan  v  Cambodia

27 March 2018 (2018-03-27) Third round	Afghanistan	2–1	Cambodia	Dushanbe, Tajikistan
16:00 UTC+5	Sharza  26', 45'	Report	Laboravy  70'	Stadium: Pamir Stadium [note 1] Attendance: 3,011 Referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan)

Afghanistan  v  Palestine

19 August 2018 (2018-08-19) Friendly	Afghanistan	0–0	Palestine	Kabul, Afghanistan
19:00 UTC+4:30		Report		Stadium: Ghazi Stadium Attendance: 12,000

Afghanistan  v  Turkmenistan

25 December 2018 (2018-12-25) Friendly	Afghanistan	0–2	Turkmenistan	Antalya, Turkey
16:00 UTC+3		Report	Orazsähedow  48' Annagulyýew  51'	Stadium: Miracle Resort Hotel Center Attendance: 150

2019

Friendly

Oman  v  Afghanistan

20 March 2019 2019 Airmarine Cup	Oman	5–0	Afghanistan	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
16:30 UTC+8	Al-Mahaijri  9' Saleh  26' Al-Balushi  45+2' Al-Muqbali  49' Al-Khaldi  90+3'	Report (WF) Report (FSA)		Stadium: Bukit Jalil National Stadium Referee: Nazmi Nasaruddin (Malaysia)

Afghanistan  v  Malaysia

23 March 2019 2019 Airmarine Cup	Afghanistan	1–2	Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
16:30 UTC+8	Shayesteh  32'	Report (WF) Report (FSA)	Faiz  44' Alikhil  84' (o.g.)	Stadium: Bukit Jalil National Stadium Referee: Chaireag Ngamsom (Thailand)

Afghanistan national football team all opponents

Coaching staff

Anoush Dastgir, on the right with Kanischka Taher on the left during the 2015 SAFF Championship.

Head Coach	Anoush Dastgir
Assistant Coach	Shabir Isoufi
National Team Manager	Mustafa Mehrzad
Coordinator	Sayed Ali Kazemi
Goalkeeping Coach	Mansur Faqiryar
Physiotherapist	Kevin van Geel
Sports-masseur	Marcel van Baardwijk
Conditioning coach	Siyar Kabiri
Equipment Manager	Sharif Sarwari

Current squad

The following 23 players have been called up for any upcoming matches.

Caps and goals are correct as of 23 August 2018, after the match against Palestine.^[26]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Ovays Azizi	(1992-01-29) 29 January 1992 (age 27)	22	0	B.1908
	1GK	Hamidullah Wakily	(1994-06-30) 30 June 1994 (age 24)	3	0	Toofaan Harirod F.C.
	2DF	Zohib Islam Amiri	(1987-05-05) 5 May 1987 (age 31)	47	7	New Radiant S.C.
	2DF	Mustafa Hadid	(1988-08-25) 25 August 1988 (age 30)	36	2	Altona 93
	2DF	Hassan Amin	(1991-10-12) 12 October 1991 (age 27)	22	2	SV Meppen
	2DF	Kanischka Taher	(1991-04-04) 4 April 1991 (age 28)	15	1	VfL 08 Vichttal
	2DF	Sharif Mukhammad	(1990-03-21) 21 March 1990 (age 29)	11	1	Karmiotissa
	2DF	Milad Intezar	(1992-11-04) 4 November 1992 (age 26)	10	0	FC Lienden
	2DF	Benjamin Nadjem	(1995-04-02) 2 April 1995 (age 24)	6	0	TSV Sasel
	2DF	Zelfy Nazary	(1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 24)	1	0	Olympic FC
	3MF	Faysal Shayesteh (captain)	(1991-06-21) 21 June 1991 (age 27)	34	7	Air Force United
	3MF	Abassin Alikhil	(1991-04-19) 19 April 1991 (age 27)	33	0	SC Hessen Dreieich
	3MF	Mustafa Zazai	(1993-05-09) 9 May 1993 (age 25)	24	2	Kelantan F.A.
	3MF	Norlla Amiri	(1991-08-23) 23 August 1991 (age 27)	20	3	Ariana FC
	3MF	Omid Popalzay	(1996-01-25) 25 January 1996 (age 23)	19	3	unattached
	3MF	Farshad Noor	(1994-10-02) 2 October 1994 (age 24)	7	0	Nea Salamis
	3MF	Maziar Kouhyar	(1997-09-30) 30 September 1997 (age 21)	2	0	Walsall
	3MF	Adam Najem	(1995-01-19) 19 January 1995 (age 24)	1	0	Memphis 901
	3MF	Noor Husin	(1997-03-03) 3 March 1997 (age 22)	0	0	Notts County
	4FW	Zubayr Amiri	(1990-05-02) 2 May 1990 (age 28)	22	3	SC Hessen Dreieich
	4FW	Jabar Sharza	(1994-04-06) 6 April 1994 (age 24)	2	2	Fremad Amager
	4FW	Omran Haydary	(1998-01-13) 13 January 1998 (age 21)	1	0	FC Dordrecht
	4FW	Fareed Sadat	(1998-11-10) 10 November 1998 (age 20)	0	0	FC Lahti

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Afghanistan squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Baktash Akbari	(1992-03-02) 2 March 1992 (age 27)	0	0	Shaheen Asmayee F.C.	v.  Palestine, 19 August 2018
GK	Khaiss Wahab	(1999-07-17) 17 July 1999 (age 19)	0	0	TS Ober-Roden	v.  Cambodia, 27 March 2018
DF	Saber Azizi	(1996-01-13) 13 January 1996 (age 23)	4	0	Ariana FC	v.  Palestine, 19 August 2018
DF	Hosain Alizada	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 (age 22)	0	0	Toofaan Harirod F.C.	v.  Palestine, 19 August 2018
DF	Masih Saighani	(1986-08-22) 22 August 1986 (age 32)	13	2	Abahani Limited Dhaka	v.  Cambodia, 27 March 2018
DF	Mujtaba Ameen	(1993-11-25) 25 November 1993 (age 25)	0	0	unattached	v.  Cambodia, 27 March 2018
DF	Wais Said Ansary	(1993-01-20) 20 January 1993 (age 26)	0	0	unattached	v.  Cambodia, 27 March 2018
DF	Faisal Sakhizada	(1990-06-15) 15 June 1990 (age 28)	17	0	Kingston City FC	v.  Vietnam, 14 November 2017
DF	Farzad Ataie	(1991-12-30) 30 December 1991 (age 27)	10	0	Shaheen Asmayee F.C.	v.  Jordan, 10 October 2017
DF	Roholla Iqbalzadeh	(1994-11-02) 2 November 1994 (age 24)	3	0	Kolstad Fotball	v.  Jordan, 10 October 2017
DF	Modjieb Jamali	(1991-04-30) 30 April 1991 (age 27)	8	0	unattached	v.  Jordan, 10 October 2017
DF	Amanullah Sardari	(1999-12-02) 2 December 1999 (age 19)	1	0	Shaheen Asmayee F.C.	v.  Jordan, 10 October 2017
MF	Hassan Rahmani	(1996-03-15) 15 March 1996 (age 23)	2	0	Lysekloster IL	v.  Palestine, 19 August 2018
MF	Fardin Hakimi	(1994-11-16) 16 November 1994 (age 24)	7	0	Toofaan Harirod F.C.	v.  Palestine, 19 August 2018
MF	Milad Salem	(1988-03-03) 3 March 1988 (age 31)	7	0	unattached	v.  Cambodia, 27 March 2018
MF	Mustafa Azadzoy	(1992-07-24) 24 July 1992 (age 26)	26	3	Chiangmai	v.  Cambodia, 27 March 2018
FW	Amredin Sharifi	(1992-03-23) 23 March 1992 (age 27)	15	1	FC Alay	v.  Palestine, 19 August 2018
FW	Khaibar Amani	(1987-02-06) 6 February 1987 (age 32)	18	7	FC Hanau 93	v.  Palestine, 19 August 2018
FW	Suliman Shah Khorami	(1997-01-02) 2 January 1997 (age 22)	0	0	unattached	v.  Palestine, 19 August 2018
FW	Meraj Allahdad	(1995-05-06) 6 May 1995 (age 23)	0	0	ADO '20	v.  Cambodia, 27 March 2018
FW	Balal Arezou	(1988-12-28) 28 December 1988 (age 30)	26	9	Arendal Fotball	v.  Vietnam, 14 November 2017

Notes:

• 
  ^SUS Player suspended


• 
  ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury


• 
  ^RET Retired from the national team


• 
  ^WD Player withdrew from the squad for non-injury related reasons

Statistics

Most capped players

Updated 2 December 2017.

Still active national team players are highlighted

Top goalscorers

Updated 2 December 2017.

Still active national team players are highlighted

Manager history

Updated 3 August 2018.

Manager	Career Start	Career End
Unknown (1941–74)[note 2]
Vladimir Salenko	1975	1976
Sergei Salnikov	1976	1977
Nikolai Efimov	1976	1977
Islam Gul	1978	1979
Sayed Ahmad Zia Muzafari	1980	1981
Khwaja Aziz	1981	1987
Gennadi Sarychev	1987	1988
Caretaker (1988–2003)[note 3]
Mir Ali Asghar Akbarzada	10 January 2003	18 March 2003
Mohammad Yousef Kargar	19 November 2003	23 November 2003
Klaus Stärk	9 November 2005	8 June 2008
Mohammad Yousef Kargar	30 July 2008	10 September 2013
Erich Rutemöller (Interim)	13 April 2014	29 May 2014
Hossein Saleh (Interim)	6 February 2015	7 February 2015
Slaven Skeledzic	28 May 2015	13 October 2015
Petar Segrt	12 November 2015	11 October 2016
Anoush Dastgir (Interim)	13 November 2016	14 November 2016
Otto Pfister	23 March 2017	31 March 2018
Anoush Dastgir	10 July 2018	Present

Competitive record

As of 2 May 2018

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter									Did not enter
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006	Did not qualify									2	0	0	2	0	13
2010										2	0	0	2	1	5
2014										2	0	1	1	1	3
2018										8	3	0	5	8	24
2022	To be determined									To be determined
2026
Total	Best: None	0 titles	–	–	–	–	–	–		14	3	1	10	10	45

AFC Asian Cup

Asian Cup record										Asian Cup Qualification record
Hosts / year	Result	Position	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA		GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1956	Did not enter									Did not enter
1960										Did not enter
1964										Did not enter
1968										Did not enter
1972										Did not enter
1976 to 1984	Did not qualify
1988 to 2000	Did not enter
2004	Did not qualify
2007 to 2015	Did not enter
2019	Did not qualify
Total	Best: None	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Central Asian Championship

Summer Olympics

Young teams were favoured by FIFA and the IOC, and since 1992, male competitors must be under 23 years old, with three over-23 players allowed per squad.

Summer Olympics record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1900 to 1936	Did not enter
1948	Preliminary	1	0	0	1	0	6
1952	Did not enter
1956	Withdrew
1960
1964 to 2004	Did not enter
2008	Did not qualify
2012	Did not enter
2016	Did not qualify
2020	To be determined
Total	Best: Preliminary	1	0	0	1	0	6

Asian Games

From 2002 onwards played by Afghanistan under-23 team.

Asian Games record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951	4th place	2	0	0	2	0	5
1954	Group stage	2	0	0	2	4	12
1958 to 1998	Did not enter
2002	Group stage	3	0	0	3	0	32
2006	Did not enter
2010
2014	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	8
2018	Did not enter
Total	Best: 4th place	10	0	0	10	5	57

AFC Challenge Cup (2006–2014)

AFC Challenge Cup record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2006	Group stage	3	0	2	1	3	5
2008	Group stage	3	0	0	3	0	10
2010	Withdrew
2012	Did not qualify
2014	4th place	5	1	2	2	4	4
Total	Best: 4th place	11	1	4	6	7	19

SAFF Championship (2003–2015)

SAFF Championship record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1993 to 1999	Did not enter
2003	Group stage	3	0	0	3	0	6
2005	Group stage	3	1	0	2	3	11
2008	Group stage	3	0	2	1	5	7
2009	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	7
2011	Runners-up	5	3	1	1	13	7
2013	Champions	5	4	1	0	9	1
2015	Runners-up	5	4	0	1	17	3
Total	Best: Champions	27	12	4	11	48	42

South Asian Games (2004–2010)

South Asian Games record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1984 to 1999	Did not enter
2004	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	7
2006	Group stage	3	0	2	1	1	5
2010	Runners-up	3	3	0	0	5	1
Total	Best: Runners-up	9	3	2	4	7	13

Honours

Regional

• SAFF Championship

Champions : 2013

Runners-up : 2011, 2015

• South Asian Games

Silver Medal : 2010

Other

• 
  FIFA Fair Play Award 2013

See also

• Afghanistan women's national football team


• Afghanistan national under-23 football team


• Afghanistan national under-20 football team


• Afghanistan national under-17 football team


• Afghanistan national beach soccer team


• Afghanistan national futsal team


• Afghanistan Football Federation


• Roshan Premier League


• Football in Afghanistan


• Sport in Afghanistan

Notes

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Afghanistan national football team.

• Official website


• ELORATINGS