Afghanistan national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Afghanistan

Nickname(s)	The Lions of Khorasan
Association	Afghanistan Football Federation
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	CAFA (Central Asia)
Captain	Farshad Noor
Most caps	Zohib Islam Amiri (67)
Top scorer	Faysal Shayesteh (10)
Home stadium	Ghazi Stadium
FIFA code	AFG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	147 (7 February 2019)
Highest	122 (April 2014)
Lowest	204 (January 2003)
Elo ranking
Current	170 2 (3 March 2019)
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)
World Cup
Appearances	0
Best result	TBD (2026 qualifying)
Asian Cup
Appearances	0
Best result	TBD (2027 qualifying)
CAFA Nations Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2023)
Best result	Group stage (2023)
SAFF Championship
Appearances	7 (first in 2003)
Best result	Champions (2013)
Medal record Men's football SAFF Championship Gold 2013 Nepal Team Silver 2011 India Team Silver 2015 India Team

The Afghanistan national football team (Persian: تیم ملی فوتبال افغانستان Tīm-e Millī-e Fūtbāl-e Afghānestān) 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". Afghanistan has never qualified for the AFC Asian Cup.

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.

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's ban on recreational activities, including football.

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, 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.

Players for the league were found through a reality television show called Maidan e Sabz ("Green Field"). 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.

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

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.

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 also known as Afghanistan's best ever player, 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. 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, 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. 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 in the history of Afghanistan football. In their 3rd match against Japan, Afghanistan lost again 6–0. Against Singapore they lost 1–0. They lost 5–2 against Syria. 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 include Amiri in the squad. Segrt disagreed with the AFF and made the decision to quit as the head coach 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. 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. The important Asian Cup qualification match against Vietnam ended in a 1–1 draw with a goal from Hassan Amin. 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. After the match it was announced that Pfister will leave his job and that Anoush Dastgir will be the new head coach of the national team with the addition of Shabir Isoufi as the new assistant coach of Afghanistan. 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.

Team image

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. In 2015, FIFA helped the AFF with the reconstruction of new youth teams and develop also women's football for the national team.

Kit

Since 2002 until 2004, the Japanese sports brand ASICS was the sponsor for the national team. From 2005, the German sports brand Adidas was the sponsor of the national team until 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. 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. 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. In December 2018, Hummel announced that it will no longer sponsor Afghanistan's football association after allegations emerged of abuse committed by male employees against the country's women's national team's players.

Sponsors

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

Flag

The Afghanistan national team still uses the old tricolor flag of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (the internationally recognized flag of Afghanistan) instead of the white flag of the Taliban government, despite the group's takeover of the country in 2021.

Rivalries

Afghanistan is currently rivals with Pakistan in many sports, including cricket and football. In a historic match in 2013, Afghanistan beat Pakistan, 3–0, to rekindle a famous rivalry and to play since the chaos in Afghanistan began. On 6 February 2015, they lost 2–1 to Pakistan in Lahore, Pakistan.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2023

Friendly 3 September	Bangladesh	0–0	Afghanistan	Dhaka, Bangladesh
TBD		https://globalsportsarchive.com/match/soccer/2023-09-03/bangladesh-vs-afghanistan/3158432/		Stadium: Bashundhara Kings Arena

Friendly 7 September	Bangladesh	1–1	Afghanistan	Dhaka, Bangladesh
TBD	Morsalin  62'	https://globalsportsarchive.com/match/soccer/2023-09-07/bangladesh-vs-afghanistan/3158433/	Sharza  52'	Stadium: Bashundhara Kings Arena

Friendly 12 September	Philippines	2–1	Afghanistan	Manila, Philippines
19:00 UTC+8	Rasmussen  74' Rontini  81'		Popalzay  64'	Stadium: Rizal Memorial Stadium

2026 World Cup qualifiers 12 October	Afghanistan	1–0	Mongolia	Dushanbe, Tajikistan
19:00 UTC+5	Sharza  60'	https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288264/400017147?gender=1&date=2023-10-11		Stadium: Central Republican Stadium Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)

2026 World Cup qualifiers 17 October	Mongolia	0–1 (0–2 agg.)	Afghanistan	Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
15:00 UTC+8		https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288264/400017159?date=2023-10-17	Noor  71'	Stadium: MFF Football Centre Attendance: 2,185

2026 World Cup qualifiers 16 November	Qatar	8–1	Afghanistan	Doha, Qatar
18:45 UTC+3	Al-Haydos  11' Ali  15', 26', 33' (pen.), 45+3' (pen.) Meshaal  18' Alaaeldin  53' (pen.) Al-Abdullah  90+4'	https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288267/400017176?gender=1&date=2023-11-16	Sharifi  13'	Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium Attendance: 19,374 Referee: Nasrullo Kabirov (Tajikistan)

2026 World Cup qualifiers 21 November	Afghanistan	0–4	Kuwait	Dammam, Saudi Arabia
20:00 UTC+3		https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288267/400017168?gender=1&date=2023-11-20	Al-Khaldi  18' (pen.), 80' Daham  69' Saleh  82'	Stadium: Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium Attendance: 330 Referee: Ahmed Faisal Al-Ali (Jordan)

2024

2026 World Cup qualifiers 21 March 2024 (2024-03-21)	Afghanistan	0–0	India	Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia
22:00 UTC+3		https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288267/400017167		Stadium: Damac Club Stadium Attendance: 3,900 Referee: Kim Hee-gon (South Korea)

2026 World Cup qualifiers 26 March 2024 (2024-03-26)	India	1–2	Afghanistan	Guwahati, India
19:00 UTC+5:30	Chhetri  38' (pen.)	https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288267/400017170	Akbari  70' Mukhammad  88' (pen.)	Stadium: IGA Stadium Attendance: 8,932 Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia)

2026 World Cup qualifiers 6 June 2024 (2024-06-06)	Afghanistan	v	Qatar	TBA
--:--		https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288267/400017169		Stadium: TBA

2026 World Cup qualifiers 11 June 2024 (2024-06-11)	Kuwait	v	Afghanistan	Kuwait
--:-- UTC+3		https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/match-centre/match/520/288263/288267/400017173		Stadium: TBA

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Players

Current squad

The following players were named in the squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against  India between 21 and 26 March 2024.

• Caps and goals are correct as of 28 March 2024 after the match against  India.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Ovays Azizi	(1992-01-29) 29 January 1992 (age 32)	42	0	Hillerød
	1GK	Faisal Hamidi	(1997-03-16) 16 March 1997 (age 27)	10	0	Attack Energy
	1GK	Faisal Saeed Khil	(2005-02-19) 19 February 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Sarrafan
	2DF	Zohib Islam Amiri	(1990-02-15) 15 February 1990 (age 34)	68	6	Blainville
	2DF	Sharif Mukhammad	(1990-03-21) 21 March 1990 (age 34)	30	3	Free agent
	2DF	Zelfy Nazary	(1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 29)	15	1	St Albans Saints
	2DF	Mahboob Hanifi	(1997-03-22) 22 March 1997 (age 27)	11	0	Attack Energy
	2DF	Mosawer Ahadi	(2000-03-08) 8 March 2000 (age 24)	7	0	Free agent
	2DF	Habibullah Askar	(1999-08-09) 9 August 1999 (age 25)	4	0	Åtvidabergs
	2DF	Amid Arezou	(1996-02-17) 17 February 1996 (age 28)	0	0	Trauma
	3MF	Omid Popalzay	(1996-01-25) 25 January 1996 (age 28)	41	6	PSPS Riau
	3MF	Mustafa Azadzoy	(1992-07-24) 24 July 1992 (age 32)	37	3	Atlas Delmenhorst
	3MF	Jabar Sharza	(1994-04-06) 6 April 1994 (age 30)	15	4	Brønshøj
	3MF	Taufee Skandari	(1999-04-02) 2 April 1999 (age 25)	9	0	B36 Tórshavn
	3MF	Rahmat Akbari	(2000-06-22) 22 June 2000 (age 24)	5	1	Torpedo Kutaisi
	3MF	Yama Sherzad	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23)	3	0	Breitenrain
	3MF	Jamshed Asekzai	(1997-10-09) 9 October 1997 (age 27)	4	0	Lunds
	3MF	Edriss Hushmand	(1999-05-01) 1 May 1999 (age 25)	1	0	Ariana
	3MF	Siar Sadat	(2003-08-21) 21 August 2003 (age 21)	1	0	Blainville
	4FW	Balal Arezou	(1988-12-28) 28 December 1988 (age 35)	28	9	Trauma
	4FW	Omid Musawi	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23)	9	0	Para Hills Knights
	4FW	Fareed Sadat	(1998-11-20) 20 November 1998 (age 25)	7	0	PSKC Cimahi
	4FW	Sayeed Reza Hussaini	(1988-01-01) 1 January 1988 (age 36)	0	0	Para Hills Knights
	4FW	Amin Nabizada	(2007-06-21) 21 June 2007 (age 17)	0	0	Watford

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Golali Rahimi	(1996-06-30) 30 June 1996 (age 28)	0	0	Abu Muslim	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
GK	Omid Haydari	(1999-04-24) 24 April 1999 (age 25)	0	0	Sorkh Poshan	v.  Mongolia, 17 October 2023
GK	Mohammad Jan Mohammadi	(2000-12-21) 21 December 2000 (age 23)	0	0	Afghan Muhajir	v.  Mongolia, 17 October 2023
DF	Amanullah Sardari	(2000-08-22) 22 August 2000 (age 24)	7	0	Abu Muslim	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
DF	Hussain Alizada	(1996-05-02) 2 May 1996 (age 28)	4	0	Attack Energy	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
DF	Ali Baset Nazari	(2001-11-06) 6 November 2001 (age 23)	3	0	Attack Energy	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
DF	Maruf Mohammadi	(2003-03-21) 21 March 2003 (age 21)	2	0	Sorkh Poshan	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
DF	Alireza Panahi	(2000-06-23) 23 June 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Mawj Sahel	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
DF	Farzad Ataie	(1991-12-30) 30 December 1991 (age 32)	16	0	Abu Muslim	v.  Qatar, 16 November 2023
DF	Najim Haidary	(1999-12-22) 22 December 1999 (age 24)	10	0	GVV Unitas	v.  Mongolia, 17 October 2023
MF	Samir Samandari	(2002-11-05) 5 November 2002 (age 22)	6	0	Attack Energy	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
MF	Reza Gholami	(1994-08-14) 14 August 1994 (age 30)	1	0	Attack Energy	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
MF	Omid Rajabi	(2005-01-01) 1 January 2005 (age 19)	1	0	Sorkh Poshan	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
MF	Ali Rahimi	(2006-02-20) 20 February 2006 (age 18)	1	0	Sorkh Poshan	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
MF	Hakim Niazi	(2006-08-14) 14 August 2006 (age 18)	1	0	Attack Energy	v.  Qatar, 16 November 2023
MF	Faysal Shayesteh	(1991-06-10) 10 June 1991 (age 33)	59	10	Sreenidi Deccan	v.  Mongolia, 17 October 2023
MF	Farshad Noor	(1994-10-02) 2 October 1994 (age 30)	33	4	DPMM	v.  Mongolia, 17 October 2023
MF	Noor Husin	(1997-03-03) 3 March 1997 (age 27)	20	0	Southend United	v.  Mongolia, 17 October 2023
MF	Adam Najem	(1995-01-19) 19 January 1995 (age 29)	15	0	Bhayangkara	v.  Mongolia, 17 October 2023
MF	Maziar Kouhyar	(1997-09-30) 30 September 1997 (age 27)	10	0	York City	v.  Mongolia, 17 October 2023
MF	Mohammad Noman Walizada	(2002-11-16) 16 November 2002 (age 22)	6	0	Istiqlal	v.  Mongolia, 17 October 2023
FW	Ramien Safi	(1999-10-17) 17 October 1999 (age 25)	0	0	Rödinghausen	v.  India, 21 March 2024WD
FW	Amredin Sharifi	(1992-03-23) 23 March 1992 (age 32)	29	4	Free agent	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
FW	Yar Zakarkhel	(1997-09-08) 8 September 1997 (age 27)	6	0	Attack Energy	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
FW	Sayed Fatemi	(1999-01-08) 8 January 1999 (age 25)	1	0	Preston Lions	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
FW	Jawad Rezai	(2001-08-24) 24 August 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Hume City	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
FW	Farhad Alizadeh	(2005-01-26) 26 January 2005 (age 19)	1	0	Sorkh Poshan	v.  Kuwait, 21 November 2023
Notes INJ = Withdrew due to injury PRE = Preliminary squad RET = Retired from the national team SUS = Serving suspension WD = Withdrew due to non-injury related reasons

Records

Players in bold are still active with Afghanistan.

Most appearances

Zohib Islam Amiri is Afghanistan's most capped player with 68 appearances.

Top goalscorers

Faysal Shayesteh is Afghanistan's top scorer with 10 goals.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 27 March 2024 after the match against India.

FIFA World Cup										Qualification
Year	Host	Round	Pld	W	D	L	F	A		Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	F	A
1930 to 1938		Not member of FIFA								Not member of FIFA
1950 to 2002		Did not enter								Did not enter
2006	Germany	Did not qualify								1st round	2	0	0	2	0	13
2010	South Africa									1st round	2	0	0	2	1	5
2014	Brazil									1st round	2	0	1	1	1	3
2018	Russia									4th	8	3	0	5	8	24
2022	Qatar									4th	8	1	3	4	5	15
2026	Canada  Mexico  United States	To be determined							TBD	6	3	1	2	5	13
2030	Morocco  Portugal  Spain								To be determined
2034	Saudi Arabia
Total		—	!–	–	–	–	–	–	0/19	28	7	5	16	20	73

AFC Asian Cup

Year	AFC Asian Cup record								AFC Asian Cup qualification
	Round	Pld	W	D	L	F	A		Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	F	A
1956	Withdrew								Withdrew
1960	Did not enter								Did not enter
1964	Withdrew								Withdrew
1968	Did not enter								Did not enter
1972
1976	Did not qualify								4th	6	0	1	5	3	18
1980									3rd	4	0	1	3	4	11
1984									5th	4	0	1	3	1	20
1988	Did not enter								Did not enter
1992
1996
2000
2004	Did not qualify								3rd	2	1	0	1	2	5
2007	Did not enter								Did not enter
2011
2015	Did not qualify								AFC Challenge Cup
2019									3rd	6	1	3	2	7	10
2023									3rd	11	1	4	6	9	21
2027	TBD	TBD
Totals	0/17	–	–	–	–	–	–		—	33	3	10	20	26	85

Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks; correct as of 27 March 2018 after the match against Cambodia.

CAFA Championship

Year	CAFA Nations Cup record
	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2023	Group stage	2	0	0	2	1	9
Total	1/1	2	0	0	2	1	9

SAFF Championship (2003-2015)

SAFF Championship record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1993	Not a part of SAFF
1995
1997
1999
2003	Group stage	8th	3	0	0	3	0	6
2005	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	3	11
2008	Group stage	7th	3	0	2	1	5	7
2009	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	1	7
2011	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	13	7
2013	Champions	1st	5	4	1	0	9	1
2015	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1	17	3
2018 – onwards	Not a part of SAFF
Totals	1 title	7/11	27	12	4	11	48	42

Afghanistan were members of the South Asian Football Federation between 2005 and 2015. As a result, they did not enter the competition between 1993 and 1999 and have not entered it since 2015.

Summer Olympics

Summer Olympics record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1900 to 1936	did not enter
1948	Preliminary round	1	0	0	1	0	6
1952	did not enter
1956 to 1960	Withdrew
1964 to 1988	did not enter
Since 1992	See Afghanistan under-23 team.
Total	1/20	1	0	0	1	0	6

Asian Games

Asian Games record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951	Fourth place	2	0	0	2	0	5
1954	Group stage	2	0	0	2	4	12
1958 to 1998	did not enter
Since 2002	See Afghanistan under-23 team.
Totals	2/13	4	0	0	4	4	17

AFC Challenge Cup (2006-2014)

Year	Final Tournament								Qualification
	Round	Pld	W	D	L	F	A		Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	F	A
2006	Group stage	3	0	2	1	3	5		Qualified automatically
2008	Group stage	3	0	0	3	0	10		1st	2	1	1	0	1	0
2010	Withdrew								Withdrew
2012	Did not qualify								3rd	5	3	0	2	6	3
2014	Fourth place	5	1	3	1	4	4		1st	3	2	1	0	3	1
Totals	3/5	11	1	5	5	7	19		—	!10	6	2	2	10	4

Honours

Regional

• SAFF Championship
  • Champions (1): 2013
  • Runners-up (2): 2011, 2015
• South Asian Games
  • Silver Medal (1): 2010

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Afganistán para niños

• 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