Azerbaijan national futsal team Facts for Kids

The Azerbaijan national futsal team represents Azerbaijan in international futsal games. Futsal is a type of football played on a smaller indoor field. The team is managed by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. They compete in big tournaments like the FIFA Futsal World Cup and the European Championships.

As of August 10, 2021, Azerbaijan was ranked 13th in the world. They are the highest-ranked team from the Caucasus region. They were also ranked 7th in Europe at that time.

Azerbaijan did not qualify for the FIFA Futsal World Cup until 2016. However, they have played in the last six European Championships.

Quick facts for kids
Azerbaijan

Nickname(s)

Milli (The National Team)

Association

AFFA

Confederation

UEFA (Europe)

Head coach

Vitaliy Borisov

Captain

Emin Kurdov

Most caps

Rizvan Farzaliyev (42)

Top scorer

Vitaliy Borisov (23)

FIFA code

AZE

FIFA ranking

15 (4 April 2025)

Home colours

Away colours

First international

Poland 4–6 Azerbaijan

(Goirle, Netherlands; 23 October 1995)

Biggest win

Kazakhstan 2–14 Azerbaijan

(Tbilisi, Georgia; 28 July 2002)

Biggest defeat

Czech Republic 10–2 Azerbaijan

(Enschede, Netherlands; 27 October 1995)

World Cup

Appearances

1 (First in 2016)

Best result

Quarterfinals (2016)

European Championship

Appearances

6 (First in 2010)

Best result

4th place (2010)

Team History
- Early Success
Tournament Achievements
Team Players
- Current Squad
- Recent Call-ups
Managers
See also

Team History

Early Success

Azerbaijan first made a big impact at the 2010 UEFA Futsal Championship. They played very well in the qualifying rounds and did not lose any games. They finished second in their group, just behind Portugal.

A coach named Alesio helped build a strong team. He combined talented players from South America who became Azerbaijani citizens with local Azerbaijani players like Vitaliy Borisov. Many players from the national team also played for the champion club Araz Naxçivan. This club reached the UEFA Futsal Cup finals.

Even though it was their first time, Azerbaijan finished in fourth place at the 2010 European Championship. This was the best performance by a new team since the very first UEFA Futsal Championship in 1996. One of Azerbaijan's players, Biro Jade, was a top scorer in the tournament with five goals.

Tournament Achievements

FIFA Futsal World Cup

The FIFA Futsal World Cup is the most important international futsal competition. Azerbaijan qualified for this tournament for the first time in 2016. They reached the quarterfinals, which was a great achievement.

FIFA Futsal World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Games played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goals for	Goals against	Squad	Outcome	Games played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goals for	Goals against
1989	Part of Soviet Union									Part of Soviet Union
1992	Not a FIFA member									Part of CIS
1996	Did not qualify									1996 UEFA Futsal Championship qualifying served as qualifiers
2000										Group D 3rd place	4	1	1	2	19	22
2004										Group 7 Runners-up	2	0	1	1	5	10
2008										Group 6 Runners-up	3	2	0	1	15	6
2012										Play-offs	5	2	1	2	16	11
2016	Quarterfinals	6th	5	2	1	2	25	18	Squad	Play-offs	5	3	2	0	28	13
2021	Did not qualify									Group C 3rd place	6	4	1	1	15	11
2024	Did not qualify									Did not qualify							Group A 4th place	10	4	0	6	29	31
Total	Quarterfinals	1/10	5	2	1	2	25	18	—	7/8	40	17	6	17	139	129

UEFA European Futsal Championship

The UEFA European Futsal Championship is the main futsal competition for European teams. Azerbaijan has participated in this tournament several times, with their best result being fourth place in 2010.

UEFA Futsal Euro record									Qualification record
Year	Round	Games played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goals for	Goals against	Squad	Outcome	Games played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goals for	Goals against
1996	Did not qualify								Group A 6th place	5	1	0	4	12	25
1999									Group B Runners-up	2	0	2	0	4	4
2001									Group C 3rd place	3	1	1	1	12	8
2003									Group E 3rd place	3	1	0	2	5	9
2005									Group E 3rd place	3	1	0	2	8	10
2007									Group D Runners-up	3	1	2	0	17	12
2010	4th Place	5	2	2	1	18	13	Squad	Group 6 Runners-up	3	2	1	0	12	7
2012	Group stage	2	0	0	2	9	13	Squad	Group 1 Runners-up	3	2	0	1	13	13
2014	Group stage	2	1	0	1	7	13	Squad	Group 2 Winners	3	3	0	0	11	3
2016	Quarterfinals	3	1	0	2	8	14	Squad	Play-offs	5	3	1	1	20	8
2018	Quarterfinals	3	1	0	2	6	12	Squad	Group 2 Winners	3	3	0	0	16	5
2022	Group stage	3	1	1	1	8	7	Squad	Group 3 Winners	6	5	1	0	22	6
2026	Qualification in progress								Qualification in progress
Total	6/13	18	6	3	9	56	72	—	13/13	42	23	8	11	152	110

Minor Tournaments

The team also plays in smaller tournaments, often called Four or Three Nations Cups. They have won several of these cups, showing their strength in different competitions.

Four/Three Nations Cup record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GS	GA	Dif	Pts
2002 Tbilisi Cup	Third place	2	1	0	1	15	7	+8	3
2007 Izmir Cup	Champions	3	3	0	0	19	7	+12	9
2008 Baku Cup	Champions	2	2	0	0	7	4	+3	6
2009-1 Baku Cup	Champions	2	2	0	0	10	4	+6	6
2009-2 Baku Cup	Champions	2	2	0	0	11	3	+8	6
2011 Baku Cup	Champions	3	3	0	0	15	4	+11	9
2012 Baku Cup	Runners-up	3	1	1	1	7	7	0	4
2013 Baku Cup	Champions	3	3	0	0	14	3	+11	9
2014 Tashkent Cup	Runners-up	3	2	0	1	9	8	+1	6
2015 Cupa FMF Cup	Runners-up	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
Total	10/10	24	19	2	3	108	48	+60	58

Overall Statistics

Here is a summary of Azerbaijan's performance in all types of futsal matches up to November 15, 2016.

Tournament	Games played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goals for	Goals against	Difference	Points
FIFA World Cup Record	5	2	1	2	25	18	+7	7
FIFA World Cup Qualification Record	24	9	4	11	92	91	+1	31
European Championship Record	12	4	2	6	42	53	-11	14
European Championship Qualification Record	28	14	7	7	103	73	+40	49
Minor Tournament Record	24	19	2	3	108	48	+60	59
Friendly Match Record	36	17	8	11	105	90	+15	59
Total	129	65	24	40	475	373	+102	219

Team Players

Current Squad

These players were chosen for the UEFA 2024 FIFA Futsal World Cup qualification matches in October 2023. The head coach is Vitaliy Borisov.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	1GK	Emin Kurdov (captain)	(1984-07-10) 10 July 1984 (age 41)	Araz Naxçivan
12	1GK	Rovshan Huseynli	(1991-04-03) 3 April 1991 (age 34)	MFC Atyrau

6	2DF	Eduardo Borges	(1986-10-14) 14 October 1986 (age 38)	Anderlecht
7	2DF	Hadi Ahmadi	(1994-02-26) 26 February 1994 (age 31)	MFC Aktobe
13	2DF	Gallo	(1987-12-04) 4 December 1987 (age 37)	Manzanares FS
14	2DF	Amadeu	(1990-03-06) 6 March 1990 (age 35)	Araz Naxçivan
17	2DF	Amir Shojaei	(1988-04-01) 1 April 1988 (age 37)	Neftçi İK
20	2DF	Biel	(1990-04-26) 26 April 1990 (age 35)	Doukas

4	4FW	Murad Guluzadeh	(1996-06-14) 14 June 1996 (age 29)	Baku Fire
5	4FW	Maneca	(1997-05-09) 9 May 1997 (age 28)	Futsal Nyíregyháza
8	4FW	Novruz Kazikhanov	(2002-12-26) 26 December 2002 (age 22)	Araz Naxçivan
9	4FW	Rafael Vilela	(1993-03-12) 12 March 1993 (age 32)	Anderlecht
10	4FW	Felipinho	(1993-10-26) 26 October 1993 (age 31)	Araz Naxçivan
11	4FW	Khatai Baghirov	(1987-08-15) 15 August 1987 (age 37)	Araz Naxçivan
16	4FW	Khazar Agalizadeh	(2003-12-31) 31 December 2003 (age 21)	Araz Naxçivan

Recent Call-ups

These players have also been called to the team in the last year.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Javad Mammadov	(2001-10-12) 12 October 2001 (age 23)	Baku Fire	v. Poland, 7 March 2023

DF	Oktay Rustamli	(1994-04-06) 6 April 1994 (age 31)	Baku Fire	v. Netherlands, 20 September 2023

FW	Isa Atayev	(1989-08-07) 7 August 1989 (age 35)	Araz Naxçivan	v. Romania, 15 September 2023
FW	Thiago Bolinha	(1987-02-19) 19 February 1987 (age 38)	Unattached	v. Poland, 7 March 2023
FW	Fineo de Araujo	(1987-04-10) 10 April 1987 (age 38)	Unattached	v. Poland, 7 March 2023
FW	Ramiz Chovdarov	(1990-07-28) 28 July 1990 (age 35)	Fortuna Düsseldorf	v. Poland, 7 March 2023
FW	Farid Alakbarov	(1986-06-01) 1 June 1986 (age 39)	Baku Fire	v. Poland, 7 October 2022
FW	Fábio Poletto	(1989-02-13) 13 February 1989 (age 36)	Active Network	v. Poland, 7 October 2022 ^PRE
^COV Player withdrew from the squad due to contracting COVID-19. ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. ^PRE Preliminary squad. ^RET Retired from international futsal.

Managers

The Azerbaijan national futsal team has had several managers over the years:

Elman Alakbarov (2008–2009)
Alesio (2009-2014)
Tino Perez (2014-2016)
Miltinho (2016-2017)
Biro Jade (2017-2018)
Alesio (2018-2023)
Vitaliy Borisov (2023-present)

Azerbaijan national futsal team facts for kids

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