Tajikistan national football team

Tajikistan

Nickname(s)	The Crown (Persian: تاج,Tajik: Тоҷ) The Persian Lion (Persian: شیر پارسی ,Tajik: шери порси)
Association	Tajikistan National Football Federation
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Alimzhon Rafikov
Top scorer	Yusuf Rabiev (15)
Home stadium	Pamir Stadium
FIFA code	TJK
FIFA ranking	140
Highest FIFA ranking	114 (July 1997)
Lowest FIFA ranking	180 (July 2003)
Elo ranking	136
Home colours Away colours
First international
Tajikistan 2–2 Uzbekistan (Dushanbe, Tajikistan; 17 June 1992)
Biggest win
Tajikistan 16–0 Guam (Tabriz, Iran; 26 November 2000)
Biggest defeat
Japan 8–0 Tajikistan (Osaka, Japan; 11 October 2011)

The Tajikistan national football team (Tajik: тими миллии Тоҷикистон,Persian: تیم ملی تاجیکستان) represents Tajikistan in association football and is controlled by the Tajikistan National Football Federation, the governing body for football in Tajikistan. Tajikistan's home ground is Pamir Stadium in Dushanbe.

History

After the split of Soviet Union, they played their first match against Uzbekistan on June 17, 1992. It was not until 1994 that the Tajikistan National Football Federation was admitted to FIFA.

Tajikistan played its first official game on April 11, 1994 in Tashkent as part of a regional tournament. They lost that game against Kazakhstan 0:1. The first official competition the team entered was the Asian Nations Cup 1996 when it was seeded in the three-team Group 8 with Uzbekistan and Bahrain. Bahrain later withdrew leaving Tajikistan to play-off against their Middle Asian neighbors. Tajikistan won the first game 4:0, but were beaten in the away game 0:5 after extra time. They did not enter the World Cup qualifying competition until the France 1998 edition, recording four victories in their preliminary group stage including a 5–0 triumph over Turkmenistan, and losing only to China, which placed them second behind their eastern neighbors but out of the competition.

In a three-team qualifying section for Korea/Japan 2002, they had a record 16–0 win over Guam before losing 2–0 to Iran. After beating Bangladesh 4–0 on aggregate in the preliminary round of qualifiers for Germany 2006, they held AFC Asian Cup semi-finalists and eventual group winners Bahrain to a goalless draw on 31 March 2004.

The team won its first international tournament, the inaugural AFC Challenge Cup, in 2006, beating Sri Lanka 4–0 in Dhaka.

World Cup record

World Cup Finals										World Cup Qualifications
Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA		GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1994	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1998	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		6	4	1	1	15	2
2002	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		2	1	0	1	16	2
2006	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		8	4	1	3	9	9
2010	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		4	1	2	1	7	4
2014	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		6	2	0	4	6	14
Total	-		-	-	-	-	-	-		25	12	4	10	52	31

Asian Nations Cup record

Asian Cup Finals										Asian Cup Qualifications
Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA		GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1992	Did not enter		-	-	-	-	-	-
1996	Did not qualify		-	-	-	-	-	-		2	1	0	1	4	5
2000	Did not qualify		-	-	-	-	-	-		3	2	0	1	6	5
2004	Did not qualify		-	-	-	-	-	-		6	2	2	2	3	5
2007	Did not enter		-	-	-	-	-	-
2011	Did not enter		-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	Best:		-	-	-	-	-	-		11	5	2	4	13	15

• 2010 AFC Challenge Cup was used to determine qualification for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification

AFC Challenge Cup record

AFC Challenge Cup Finals									AFC Challenge Cup Qualifications
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA		GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
2006	Champions	6	5	0	1	18	2
2008	Runners-Up	5	2	2	1	7	5		3	2	0	1	7	1
2010	3rd Place	5	3	0	2	8	5
2012
Total	Best: Champions	16	10	2	3	32	12		3	2	0	1	7	1

Asian Games record

Host nation(s) / Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
National Team
Hiroshima 1994	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bangkok 1998	Second Round	5	1	1	3	8	13
Busan 2002	Banned by AFC	-	-	-	-	-	-
Doha 2006	Round 1	3	1	2	0	7	3
Guangzhou 2010	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-
Incheon 2014
Total	Best: Second Round	8	2	3	3	15	16

Note: As of 2002 only U23 teams permitted to take part in Asian Games Football Tournament. So in 2006 U23 team took part in the tournament.

RCD Cup/ECO Cup record

• 1965 to 1974: No international team
• 1993: Third Place

Other Tournaments

• 2005 Islamic Solidarity Games: Group Stage

ELF Cup

In 2006, Tajikistan took part in the inaugural ELF Cup in Northern Cyprus. This competition was originally intended to be for teams that were not members of FIFA; however, the organisers extended invitations to both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, who were both represented by their national futsal teams. Tajikistan failed to get past the group stage.

Kit

The team strip is currently sponsored by Italian company Legea. It is red,white and green to reflect the colors of the Tajik national flag.

Records versus other nations

Main article: Tajikistan national football Team's record against other nations

Managers

#	Name	Nat	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Win%
1	Sharif Nazarov		1992–1994
2	Vladimir Gulyamkhaydarov		1994–1995
3	Abdulla Muradov		c.1996
4	Sharif Nazarov		c.2003	9	4	2	2	45%
5	Zoir Babaev		2004	6	2	1	3	34%
6	Sharif Nazarov		2004–2006	11	6	2	3	55%
7	Makhmadjon Khabibulloev		2007– Dec 2007	7	1	3	3	14%
8	Pulod Kodirov		Jan 2008 – Aug 2011	17	10	4	3	59%
9	Alimzhon Rafikov		Aug 2011–	5	0	0	5	0%

Players

The following players were named for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Japan and Uzbekistan on 11 November and 15 November.

Current squad

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Alisher Tuychiev 3 March 1976 (aged 35) 17 0 Istiqlol 16 GK Mirali Murodov 20 April 1990 (aged 21) 0 0 Energetik 23 GK Vladimir Sysoev 5 August 1983 (aged 28) 0 0 Regar-TadAZ 3 DF Sokhib Suvonkulov 15 September 1988 (aged 23) 23 0 Istiqlol 4 DF Eradzh Razhabov 9 November 1990 (aged 20) 18 0 Istiqlol 5 DF Farrukh Choriev 24 July 1984 (aged 27) 14 0 Regar-TadAZ 6 DF Davron Ergashev 19 March 1988 (aged 23) 19 1 Istiqlol 12 DF Farkhod Vasiev 14 April 1990 (1990-04-14) 4 0 Shinnik Yaroslavl 14 DF Akmal Saburov 22 October 1987 (aged 23) 5 0 Istiqlol 19 DF Idibek Khabibulloev Khayr 22 DF Akhtam Nazarov 0 0 Energetik 2 MF Abdusamad Khojiboev Energetik 7 MF Ibrahim Rabimov 25 February 1990 (aged 21) 29 6 Istiqlol 8 MF Makhmadali Sodikov 20 March 1984 (aged 27) 9 0 Istiqlol 9 MF Nuriddin Davronov 16 January 1991 (aged 20) 9 1 Istiqlol 10 MF Jakhongoir Jalilov 29 September 1989 (aged 22) 3 0 Istiqlol 17 MF Dilshod Vasiev 12 February 1988 (aged 23) 17 1 Istiqlol 18 MF Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev 24 March 1990 (aged 21) 23 2 Istiqlol 20 MF Khurshed Makhmudov 8 August 1982 (aged 29) 22 3 Regar-TadAZ 21 MF Jamshed Ismoilov 12 January 1987 (aged 24) 6 1 Regar-TadAZ 11 FW Farkhod Tokhirov 29 May 1990 (1990-05-29) 5 0 Istiqlol 13 FW Akhtam Khamroqulov 30 January 1988 (1988-01-30) Regar-TadAZ 15 FW Kamil Saidov 25 January 1989 (aged 22) 19 4 CSKA

Recent callups

The following players have been called for the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK Alisher Dodov 4 August 1981 (1981-08-04) 9 0 Regar-TadAZ v. North Korea, September 6, 2011 DF Furug Kodirov 2 October 1992 (1992-10-02) 2 0 CSKA v. Syria, July 28, 2011 DF Odil Irgashev 10 February 1977 (1977-02-10) 24 1 Istiqlol v. North Korea, September 6, 2011 DF Safarali Karimov 17 November 1988 (1988-11-17) 3 0 Regar-TadAZ v. North Korea, September 6, 2011 DF Umed Khabibulloev 12 November 1978 (aged 32) 2 0 Istiqlol v. Japan, October 11, 2011 MF Asatullo Nurulloev 21 June 1984 (1984-06-21) 11 0 Vakhsh v. Syria, July 28, 2011 MF Samad Shohzukhurov 8 February 1990 (1990-02-08) 9 0 Energetik v. Syria, July 28, 2011 MF Manuchekhr Dzhalilov 27 September 1990 (1990-09-27) 2 0 FC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk v. North Korea, September 6, 2011 MF Ilkhomjon Ortiqov 25 October 1985 (aged 25) 5 0 CSKA v. Japan, October 11, 2011 FW Davronjon Tukhtasunov 14 May 1990 (1990-05-14) 16 2 CSKA v. Syria, July 28, 2011 FW Nizom Rakhimov 12 November 1979 (1979-11-12) 4 0 Khayr v. Sri Lanka, March 29, 2011 FW Numonjon Hakimov 5 September 1978 (1978-09-05) 34 13 Regar-TadAZ v. North Korea, September 6, 2011 FW Yusuf Rabiev 24 December 1979 (1979-12-24) 34 15 Istiqlol v. North Korea, September 6, 2011 FW Navruz Rustamov 0 0 Ravshan v. Japan, October 11, 2011

Player-drain to other countries

The following were Tajik-born players who chose other national teams:

• Alexander Huber – Germany U21
• Rashid Rakhimov – Russia
• Sergei Mandreko – Russia
• Mukhsin Mukhamadiev – Russia

Foreign players that chose to play for Tajikistan

• Vitaliy Parakhnevych – Ukraine born

Top goalscorers

As of 22 February 2010, the players with the most goals for Tajikistan are:

#	Name	Career	Goals
1	Yusuf Rabiev*	2003–	15
2	Numonjon Hakimov*	2003–	14
3	Tokhirjon Muminov	1993–2000	10
4	Alier Ashurmamadov	1992–2005	8
5	Ibrahim Rabimov*	2003–	7
5	Djomikhon Mukhidinov*	2003–	7
7	Chukhrat Djabarov	1997–2000	6
8	Sukhrob Khamidov	2000–2003	5
8	Arsen Avakov	1996–1997	5
8	Khurshed Makhmudov*	2005–	5

The records are collected based on data from RSSSF.
*denotes a player still playing or available for selection.

External links

• Tajikistan profile at FIFA.com (English)
• Tajikistan profile at Ukrainian Football News (Ukrainian)

Preceded by Newly Created

AFC Challenge Cup Champions 2006 (First title)

Succeeded by 2008 India