Afghanistan national football team

Afghanistan
افغانستان

Nickname(s)	Afghan Lions other nicknames
Association	Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF)
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	CAFA (Central-Asia)
Head coach	Petar Segrt
Captain	Faysal Shayesteh
Most caps	Zohib Islam Amiri (56)
Top scorer	Balal Arezou (9)
Home stadium	Ghazi Stadium and Afghanistan Football Federation Stadium
FIFA code	AFG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	147 2 (24 November 2016)
Highest	122 (April 2014)
Lowest	204 (January 2003)
Elo ranking
Current	170 (October 2016)
Highest	167 (May 2014)
Lowest	207 (17 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 popularly known as the "Afghan Lions", ^[1][2][3] is the national football team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. Founded in 1933, and played their first international game against India 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. Afghanistan also earned the "FIFA Fair Play Award" in 2013.

History

Early History

Teens playing football inside the Ghazi Stadium, built during the 1920s under King Amanullah Khan.

Formed in 1933 and affiliated to FIFA since 1948, the Afghanistan Football Federation was one of the founding members of 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 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 Soviet war in Afghanistan, Civil war in Afghanistan (1992–1996), and the Taliban regime.

2001–2010

Afghanistan national football team (in red uniform)

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.^[5] 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 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.

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 campaign of world cup 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,^[6] 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 only goal of Afghanistan against Maldives which they lost.

2011–2013

Players are celebrating after winning their 2011 SAFF Championship Semi Final against the tournaments highest ranked team Nepal. It also marked Afghanistan's first win over Nepal.

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.

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.

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. 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.^[7][8]

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 Years 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.^[9] 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. Mansur Faqiryar was named the best Player of the tournament, by his outstanding goal keeping skills throughout the tournament.

Sharityar in red shirt fighting against the ball with Sunil Chhetri during the 2011 SAFF Championship in India.

2014–present

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

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 countries 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."

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.^[10] On 27 April 2015 the AFF signed a contract with a new sponsor called Alokozay Group of Companies. 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. After some problems and disagreements with the AFF Segrt made the decision to quit as the headcoach of the national team. This was just after his 1-year anniversary with the national team.

Nicknames

The Afghanistan national team has received several nicknames by supporters and media. The most common one used to refer the team is Afghan Lions. Many Afghans also prefer the nickname the Lions of Afghanistan. They are also called Melli Poshan or the Team Melli.

Kit

In 2002, the Japanese sports brand Asics was the sponsor for the Afghan Football Team till 2004. In the year 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.^[11] In 2011 the Afghanistan Football Federation had signed a 4-year contract with Hummel, to provide both the Men's and the Women's National Team for all of the sportswear from 2011 till 2015. On 6 March 2015, the Afghan Football Federation signed a new 4-year contract with Hummel till 2019. 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.^[12]

Period	Kit provider
2002–2004	Asics[13]
2005–2008	Adidas[14]
2009–2019	Hummel

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. Built during the reign of King Amanullah Khan in 1923, the stadium has a capacity of around 25,000 people.^[15] 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 Afghanistan Football Federation. The Afghan Premier League and other local football tournaments take place in the stadium.^[16]

Recent results and fixtures

The following are Afghanistan's results and fixtures as of: 30 November 2016

Date	Opponent	Result	Goal scorers	Venue	Competition
3 Jan 2016	India	1–2 (L) (a.e.t.)	Amiri (70')	Trivandrum International Stadium, Kariavattom, India	2015 SAFF Championship
24 Mar 2016	Japan	0–5 (L)	−	Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
29 Mar 2016	Singapore	2–1(W)	Amani(39'), Shirdel (78')	Takhti Stadium, Tehran, Iran	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification and 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
5 Sept 2016	Lebanon	0–2(L)		Saida International Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon	Friendly Match
11 Oct 2016	Malaysia	1–1	Amiri(30')	Shah Alam Stadium, Shah Alam, Malaysia	Friendly Match
13 Nov 2016	Tajikistan	0-1		Central Republican Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan	Friendly Match

  Win   Draw   Loss

Personnel

Current Technical Staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Anoush Dastgir (Interim)
Assistant coach	Vacant
Team Manager	Mustafa Mehrzad

Current Squad

• Upcoming match against: Pakistan
• Caps and goals correct as of: 30 November 2016

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Ovays Azizi	29 January 1992	15	0	BK Avarta
	GK	Hamidullah Wakily	2 February 1990	4	0	Toofaan Harirod F.C.
	GK	Emal Gariwal	28 September 1984	3	0	Oqaban Hindukush F.C.
	DF	Zohib Islam Amiri	2 May 1987	56	5	Mohun Bagan A.C.
	DF	Hassan Amin	12 October 1991	17	0	SV Waldhof Mannheim
	DF	Sayed Mohammad Hashemi	2 March 1994	9	1	Shaheen Asmayee F.C.
	DF	Masih Saighani	22 September 1986	11	2	FC Ederbergland
	DF	Anoush Dastgir	27 November 1989	5	0	NEC Amateurs
	DF	Modjieb Jamali	30 April 1991	6	0	CSM Metalul Reșița
	DF	Roholla Iqbalzadeh	2 November 1994	3	0	Byåsen Toppfotball
	DF	Qesmat Ahmadi	13 August 1996	1	0	Mawjhai Amu F.C.
	DF	Abdul Manan Azimi	19 October 1993	0	0	De Maiwand Atalan F.C.
	DF	Selaab Ghafouri		0	0	CD Aguiluchos USA
	MF	Ahmad Hatifi	13 March 1986	35	4	CD Aguiluchos USA
	MF	Abassin Alikhil	19 April 1991	26	0	SC Hessen Dreieich
	MF	Mustafa Azadzoy	24 July 1992	24	2	Nara United F.C.
	MF	Faysal Shayesteh (Captain)	21 June 1991	23	7	Pahang F.C.
	MF	Norlla Amiri	23 August 1991	14	{{{goals}}}	Trelleborgs FF
	MF	Kanischka Taher	4 April 1991	12	1	SC Kapellen-Erft
	MF	Milad Salem	3 March 1988	5	0	Holstein Kiel
	MF	Saber Azizi	13 January 1996	1	0	Landskrona BoIS
	MF	Edriss Hushmand	2 May 1999	1	0	BK Olympic
	FW	Zubayr Amiri	2 May 1990	16	2	SC Hessen Dreieich
	FW	Fardin Hakimi	16 November 1994	5	0	Toofaan Harirod F.C.
	FW	Amredin Sharifi	23 March 1992	4	1	Shaheen Asmayee F.C.
	FW	Noor Zadran	23 August 1994	3	0	FC Rosengård 1917
	FW	Faiz Mohammad Faizi	22 October 1992	0	0	De Maiwand Atalan F.C.

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	Ahmad Zohaib Aseel	26 December 1991	0	0	De Spin Ghar Bazan F.C.	v.  Lebanon, 5 September 2016
GK	Mahboobullah Kakar	3 August 1994	0	0	Mawjhai Amu F.C.	v.  India, 3 January 2016
GK	Fardeen Kohistani	4 April 1994	3	0	unattached	v.  India, 3 January 2016
DF	Milad Intezar	4 November 1992	1	0	FC Lienden	v.  Malaysia, 11 October 2016
DF	Haseeb Rahim		0	0	unattached	v.  Malaysia, 11 October 2016
DF	Omid Homauoni	1 January 1994	2	0	Shaheen Asmayee F.C.	v.  Lebanon, 5 September 2016
DF	Hassan Rahmani	15 March 1996	0	0	Follo FK	v.  Lebanon, 5 September 2016
DF	Mustafa Hadid	25 August 1988	26	2	Altona 93	v.  Singapore, 29 March 2016
DF	Abdullah Abdalli	6 June 1995	1	0	Shaheen Asmayee F.C.	v.  Singapore, 29 March 2016
MF	Omid Popalzay	25 January 1996	10	2	Achilles '29	v.  Malaysia, 11 October 2016
MF	Mohammad Mashriqi	7 July 1987	26	1	unattached	v.  Malaysia, 11 October 2016
MF	Maziar Kouhyar	30 September 1997	0	0	Walsall F.C.	v.  Malaysia, 11 October 2016
MF	Rohid Samandary	12 July 1995	0	0	Shaheen Asmayee F.C.	v.  Lebanon, 5 September 2016
MF	Mustafa Zazai	9 May 1993	19	2	TSG Neustrelitz	v.  Lebanon, 5 September 2016
MF	Sharif Mukhammad	21 March 1990	2	0	PFC Spartak Nalchik	v.  Singapore, 29 March 2016
MF	Shabir Isoufi	9 March 1992	5	1	ASWH	v.  Bangladesh, 24 December 2015
FW	Josef Shirdel	3 April 1993	3	1	unattached	v.  Malaysia, 11 October 2016
FW	Khaibar Amani	6 February 1987	11	6	SC Hessen Dreieich	v.  Lebanon, 5 September 2016
FW	Anwar Akbari	2 August 1993	4	0	Toofaan Harirod F.C.	v.  Lebanon, 5 September 2016
FW	Mustafa Afshar	6 July 1984	0	0	Toofaan Harirod F.C.	v.  India, 3 January 2016

Competition Records

FIFA World Cup Records

World Cup									World Cup qualifications
Hosts/Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA		Hosts/Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1930 to 2002	Did not enter								1930 to 2002	Did not enter
2006	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-		2006	Round 1	2	0	0	2	0	13
2010	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-		2010	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	5
2014	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-		2014	Round 1	2	0	0	2	1	3
2018	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-		2018	Round 2	8	3	0	5	8	24
2022	To be determined	-	-	-	-	-	-		2022	To be determined	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	Did not qualify	0	0	0	0	0	0		Total	Best: Round 2	14	3	0	11	10	45

AFC Asian Cup Records

AFC Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup qualifications Year Round GP W D L GF GA Year Round GP W D L GF GA 1956 to 1972 Did not enter 1956 to 1972 Did not enter 1976 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1976 Round 1 6 0 1 5 3 18 1980 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1980 Round 1 4 0 1 3 4 11 1984 Did not qualify - - - - - - 1984 Round 1 4 0 1 3 1 20 1988 to 2000 Did not enter 1988 to 2000 Did not enter 2004 Did not qualify - - - - - - 2004 Round 1 2 1 0 1 2 5 2007 to 2015 Did not qualify 2007 to 2015 Did not qualify 2019 To be determined - - - - - - 2019 Round 3 8 3 0 5 8 24 Total Did not qualify 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total Best: Round 3 24 4 3 17 18 78 Asian Games Records From 2002 onwards played by (Under-23 team) Asian Games Year Round GP 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 to 2010 Did not enter 2014 Group Stage 3 0 0 3 1 8 Total Best: 4th Place 10 0 0 10 5 57 SAFF Championship (1993–2015) SAFF Championship Year Round GP 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 Runner-Up 5 3 1 1 13 7 2013 Champion 5 4 1 0 9 1 2015 Runner-Up 5 4 0 1 17 3 Total Best: Champions 27 12 4 11 48 42 South Asian Games Records (2004–2010) South Asian Games Year Round GP 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 AFC Challenge Cup (2006–2014) AFC Challenge Cup Year Round GP 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 3 1 4 4 Total Best: 4th Place 11 1 5 5 7 19 Honours SAFF Championship Champions: 2013 Runners-Up: 2011, 2015 South Asian Games Runners-Up: 2010 FIFA Awards Winner: 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 futsal team Afghanistan Football Federation Roshan Premier League Football in Afghanistan Sport in Afghanistan Notes References dhakatribune sports in msn goal.com Afghanistan National Football Team at Afghan-web.com http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19668215 Afghanistan at AFC Challenge Cup 2008 at AFC Website Archived 13 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Afghanistan Defeats Pakistan in Historic Football Match. NATO channel. Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-15. http://ahmadfaisalsidiqi.blogspot.in/2013/08/afghanistan-vs-pakistan-afghanistan-for.html http://www.thehindu.com/sport/football/afghanistan-pips-india-to-win-saff-title/article5117118.ece http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/18133-skeledzic-afghanistans-new-national-football-coach http://www.hummel.net/AA/news/hummel-presents-new-afghanistan-football-shirt-with-hijab http://sports.ndtv.com/football/news/15569-stampede-in-kabul-match http://afghanpremierleague.com/ External links Official website ELORATINGS