Kyrgyzstan national football team

The Kyrgyzstan national football team (Kyrgyz: Кыргыз Республикасынын улуттук курама командасы (Kırgız Respublikasının uluttuk kurama komandası); Russian: Сборная Киргизии по футболу (Sbornaya Kirgizii po Futbolu)) represents Kyrgyzstan in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic, a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Central Asian Football Association.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Kyrgyzstan women's national football team.

Kyrgyzstan

Nickname(s)	Ак шумкарлар (The White Falcons)
Association	Football Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	CAFA (Central Asia)
Head coach	Aleksandr Krestinin
Captain	Valery Kichin
Most caps	Vadim Kharchenko (51)
Top scorer	Anton Zemlianukhin (12)
Home stadium	Dolen Omurzakov Stadium
FIFA code	KGZ
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	96 (16 July 2020)[1]
Highest	75 (April-May 2018)
Lowest	201 (March 2013)
First international
Uzbekistan 3–0 Kyrgyzstan  (Tashkent, Uzbekistan; 23 August 1992)[2]
Biggest win
Kyrgyzstan 7–0 Myanmar  (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; 10 October 2019)
Biggest defeat
Iran 7–0 Kyrgyzstan  (Damascus, Syria; 4 June 1997)
Asian Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2019)
Best result	Round of 16 (2019)
WAFF Championship
Appearances	1 (first in 2000)
Best result	Group stage (1 times)
AFC Challenge Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 2006)
Best result	Third place (2006)

History

1992 to 2010: Rough unfolding

After the breakup of the Soviet Union and declaration of its independence, Kyrgyzstan became a fully recognized FIFA and AFC member. They played their first match away in Tashkent, against Uzbekistan on 23 August 1992 in the Central Asia Tournament, losing 3–0.

In June 1993, Kyrgyzstan travelled to Tehran, Iran for the 1993 ECO Cup. They lost 3–2 on 6 June to Azerbaijan and then drew 1–1 two days later against Tajikistan.

In April 1994, Kyrgyzstan played other Central Asian teams in a tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. On 13 April they lost 5–1 to Turkmenistan, then on 15 April 1–0 to Tajikistan. On 17 April they drew 0–0 against Kazakhstan before losing 3–0 to the hosts two days later.[2]

Kyrgyzstan continues to struggle, due to little interests of developing football in the Republic. In a span of 20 years, the national team had got no more than 38 matches, with a win rate 26,3%. Lack of basic developments when comparing to its Central Asian neighbors made Kyrgyzstan remained backward behind Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Despite this, Kyrgyzstan still managed to achieve some significant results, such as winning bronze in the 2006 AFC Challenge Cup.

Since 2010s: The dawn

With the arrival of Sergey Dvoryankov, the team had witnessed a surge. Dvoryankov made change calling and naturalizing a number of foreign players into the national team of Kyrgyzstan such as Ghana's David Tetteh, Elijah Ari and Daniel Tagoe; Cameroon's Claude Maka Kum; Germany's Viktor Maier, Vitalij Lux, Viktor Kelm and Edgar Bernhardt; as well as calling more Kyrgyz-born Russian and German players to play for the team. As for the result, Kyrgyzstan's football dramatically improved. The White Falcons had made up significantly good result during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, when Kyrgyzstan managed to defeat its long time neighbor-rival, Tajikistan, or defeating Jordan, which team had also beaten Australia before, as well as managed to play well against Asian champions Australia despite losing both matches.

Under another Russian manager, Aleksandr Krestinin, Kyrgyzstan is heading to qualify for its first ever AFC Asian Cup since independence, when they placed themselves against India, Myanmar and Macau. On 22 March 2018, after thrashing Myanmar 5–1, Kyrgyzstan had finally qualified for their first ever AFC Asian Cup in the history.

2019 AFC Asian Cup

Kyrgyzstan was grouped with South Korea, China and the Philippines, all have better head-to-head records against theirs. The underdog's performance: losing to China and South Korea both by just one goal margin, before cruising against the Philippines 3–1 to progress as one of the best third-place team in their maiden debut. In the knockout stage, despite facing the host UAE, Kyrgyzstan played with full fighting spirit only to lose 2–3 after 120'.

Competitions

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup										FIFA World Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1994	Did not enter									Did not enter
1998	Did not qualify									5	3	0	2	12	11
2002										6	1	1	4	3	9
2006										8	3	1	4	11	12
2010										2	1	0	1	2	2
2014										2	0	0	2	0	7
2018										8	4	2	2	10	8
2022	To be determined									To be determined
2026
Total	–	0/23	–	–	–	–	–	–		31	12	5	15	38	49

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

{{2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round Group B table |show_matches=no}}

Asian Cup record

Main article: Kyrgyzstan at the AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup										AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1996	Did not qualify									4	1	0	3	3	7
2000										3	0	0	3	3	11
2004										2	1	0	1	3	2
2007	Did not enter									Did not enter
2011	Did not qualify									2008 & 2010 AFC Challenge Cup
2015										2012 & 2014 AFC Challenge Cup
2019	Round of 16	15th	4	1	0	3	6	7		14	8	3	3	26	17
2023	To be determined									To be determined
Total	1/17	15th	4	1	0	3	6	7		23	10	3	10	35	37

AFC Challenge Cup record

AFC Challenge Cup Finals AFC Challenge Cup qualification Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA 2006 Third place 5 3 0 2 4 3 – – – – – – 2008 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 2 2010 Group stage 3 1 0 2 2 6 2 0 2 0 2 2 2012 Did not qualify 3 1 0 2 5 6 2014 Group stage 3 1 0 2 1 3 3 3 0 0 3 0 Total Best: Third place 11 5 0 6 7 12 10 5 2 3 12 10

West Asian Championship

Host nation(s) / year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GS	GA
2000	Group stage	3	0	0	3	0	8
Total	1/8	3	0	0	3	0	8

ELF Cup

In 2006, Kyrgyzstan 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 Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, who were both represented by their national futsal teams.

Year	Round	Position	Matches	Wins	Draws*	Losses	Goals Scored	Goals Against
2006	Semi-finals		5	2	1	2	11	8

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Recent fixtures and results

Main article: Kyrgyzstan national football team results

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

2019

Tajikistan  v  Kyrgyzstan

5 September 2019 2022 FWCQ R2	Tajikistan	1–0	Kyrgyzstan	Dushanbe, Tajikistan
19:00 UTC+5	A. Dzhalilov  41'	Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)		Stadium: Pamir Stadium Attendance: 18,700 Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

Kyrgyzstan  v  Myanmar

10 October 2019 2022 FWCQ R2	Kyrgyzstan	7–0	Myanmar	Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
20:30 UTC+6	Bernhardt  5', 10', 87' (pen.) Shukurov  20', 71' Alykulov  26' Kichin  45'	Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)		Stadium: Dolen Omurzakov Stadium Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Omar Mohamed Al-Ali (United Arab Emirates)

Mongolia  v  Kyrgyzstan

15 October 2019 2022 FWCQ R2	Mongolia	1–2	Kyrgyzstan	Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
16:00 UTC+8	Tsedenbal  57' (pen.)	Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)	Alykulov  13' Murzaev  42'	Stadium: MFF Football Centre Attendance: 2,182 Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)

Uzbekistan  v  Kyrgyzstan

9 November 2019 Friendly	Uzbekistan	3–1	Kyrgyzstan	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
17:00 UTC+5	Sergeev  11' Khamdamov  53' Iskanderov  80'	Report	Musabekov  30'	Stadium: Pakhtakor Stadium Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Bastian Dankert (Germany)

Kyrgyzstan  v  Japan

14 November 2019 2022 FWCQ R2	Kyrgyzstan	0–2	Japan	Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
17:15 UTC+6		Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)	Minamino  41' (pen.) Haraguchi  54'	Stadium: Dolen Omurzakov Stadium Attendance: 17,543 Referee: Mohammed Al-Hoish (Saudi Arabia)

Kyrgyzstan  v  Tajikistan

19 November 2019 2022 FWCQ R2	Kyrgyzstan	1–1	Tajikistan	Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
20:00 UTC+6	Kozubaev  83'	Report (FIFA) Report (AFC)	Ergashev  17'	Stadium: Dolen Omurzakov Stadium Attendance: 15,843 Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)

2020

Vietnam  v  Kyrgyzstan

TBD Friendly	Vietnam	v	Kyrgyzstan	Bình Dương, Vietnam
		Report		Stadium: Gò Đậu Stadium

Myanmar  v  Kyrgyzstan

13 October 2020 (2020-10-13) 2022 FWCQ R2	Myanmar	v	Kyrgyzstan	Mandalay, Myanmar
				Stadium: Mandalarthiri Stadium

Kyrgyzstan  v  Mongolia

12 November 2020 (2020-11-12) 2022 FWCQ R2	Kyrgyzstan	v	Mongolia	Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
				Stadium: Dolen Omurzakov Stadium

Japan  v  Kyrgyzstan

17 November 2020 (2020-11-17) 2022 FWCQ R2	Japan	v	Kyrgyzstan	Suita, Japan
				Stadium: Panasonic Stadium

Coaching staff

As of 10 January 2019[3]

Head coach	Aleksandr Krestinin
Assistant coach	Nikolai Yuzhanin Vladimir Salo Igor Kudrenko Talant Samsaliev
Goalkeeping coach	Zakir Jalilov
Fitness coach	Dmitry Gureev
Executive director	Yevgeniy Frolov
Administrator	Azamat Alykulov
Medical	Nurbek Ismailov

Players

Current squad

9 November 2019 Friendly Match Uzbekistan Match date: 14 & 19 November 2019 Opposition: Japan & Tajikistan
Competition: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round
Caps and goals updated as of 19 November 2019.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Pavel Matyash	(1987-07-11) 11 July 1987	43	0	Alga Bishkek
13	1GK	Kutman Kadyrbekov	(1997-06-13) 13 June 1997	4	0	Dordoi Bishkek
16	1GK	Valery Kashuba	(1984-09-14) 14 September 1984	23	0	Dordoi Bishkek
2	2DF	Valery Kichin	(1992-10-12) 12 October 1992	33	2	Torpedo Moscow
3	2DF	Tamirlan Kozubaev	(1994-07-01) 1 July 1994	27	2	Persita Tangerang
4	2DF	Mustafa Iusupov	(1995-07-01) 1 July 1995	9	0	Dordoi Bishkek
5	2DF	Aizar Akmatov	(1998-08-24) 24 August 1998	4	0	Alga Bishkek
6	2DF	Viktor Maier	(1990-05-16) 16 May 1990	21	1	Wiedenbrück
7	2DF	Azamat Baimatov	(1989-12-03) 3 December 1989	32	4	Kuala Lumpur
14	2DF	Aleksandr Mishchenko	(1997-07-30) 30 July 1997	3	0	Dordoi Bishkek
17	2DF	Akram Umarov	(1994-02-07) 7 February 1994	2	0	Neftchi Kochkor-Ata
8	3MF	Gulzhigit Alykulov	(2000-11-25) 25 November 2000	6	2	Kairat Almaty
9	3MF	Edgar Bernhardt	(1986-03-30) 30 March 1986	37	4	Dhaka Abahani
11	3MF	Bekzhan Sagynbaev	(1994-09-11) 11 September 1994	19	4	Dordoi Bishkek
12	3MF	Odiljon Abdurakhmanov	(1996-03-18) 18 March 1996	11	0	Alay
15	3MF	Murolimzhon Akhmedov	(1992-01-05) 5 January 1992	10	0	Saif SC
18	3MF	Kairat Zhyrgalbek Uulu	(1993-06-13) 13 June 1993	41	2	Dordoi Bishkek
20	3MF	Bakhtiyar Duyshobekov	(1995-06-03) 3 June 1995	28	1	Bashundhara Kings
21	3MF	Farhat Musabekov	(1994-01-03) 3 January 1994	35	1	Dordoi Bishkek
22	3MF	Alimardon Shukurov	(1999-09-28) 28 September 1999	8	2	Boluspor
23	3MF	Akhlidin Israilov	(1994-09-16) 16 September 1994	25	2	Samut Sakhon
10	4FW	Mirlan Murzaev	(1990-03-29) 29 March 1990	46	10	Dordoi Bishkek
19	4FW	Vitalij Lux	(1989-02-27) 27 February 1989	31	8	SSV Ulm 1846

Recent call ups

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Avazbek Otkeev	(1993-12-04) 4 December 1993	5	0	Dordoi Bishkek	v.  Mongolia, 15 October 2019
DF	Daniel Tagoe	(1986-03-03) 3 March 1986	21	0	Shan United F.C.	v.  Mongolia, 15 October 2019
MF	Tursunali Rustamov	(1990-01-31) 31 January 1990	16	4	Alga Bishkek	v.  Mongolia, 15 October 2019
MF	Pavel Sidorenko	(1987-03-26) 26 March 1987	28	0	Dordoi Bishkek	v.  Mongolia, 15 October 2019
MF	Aziz Sydykov	(1992-06-23) 23 June 1992	27	1	Sanat Naft	v.  Mongolia, 15 October 2019
MF	Anton Zemlianukhin	(1988-12-11) 11 December 1988	29	13	Ilbirs Bishkek	v.  Mongolia, 15 October 2019
FW	Ernist Batyrkanov	(1998-02-21) 21 February 1998	6	0	Dordoi Bishkek	v.  Mongolia, 15 October 2019

^INJ Withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
^PRE Preliminary squad.

Records

Most capped players

As of match played 19 November 2019, the 10 players with the most caps:

#	Name	Career	Caps	Goals
1	Vadim Kharchenko	2003–2015	51	3
2	Mirlan Murzaev	2009–	46	10
3	Pavel Matiash	2009–	43	0
4	Kairat Zhyrgalbek Uulu	2014–	41	2
5	Vyacheslav Amin	2000–2009	38	1
6	Davron Askarov	2006–2014	37	0
	Ildar Amirov	2006–2016	37	2
8	Edgar Bernhardt	2014–	36	7
9	Talant Samsaliev	2003–2015	35	1
	Farhat Musabekov	2015–	35	1

Bold names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

Top goalscorers

As of match played 19 November 2019

#	Name	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/game
1	Anton Zemlianukhin	2007–	12	25	0.46
2	Mirlan Murzaev	2009–	10	46	0.2
3	Vitalij Lux	2015–	8	31	0.26
4	Azamat Baymatov	2010–	4	32	0.13
	Edgar Bernhardt	2014–	4	37	0.11
	Tursunali Rustamov	2012–	4	15	0.27
	Bekzhan Sagynbaev	2018–	4	19	0.21
8	Zamirbek Zhumagulov	1992–2003	3	18	0.17
	Farhat Haitbaev	1994–2000	3	17	0.18
	Sergey Kutsov	1996–2001	3	16	0.19
	Ruslan Jamshidov	1999–2011	3	28	0.11
	Sergey Chikishev	2003–2010	3	12	0.25
	Vadim Kharchenko	2003–2015	3	51	0.06
	Cholponbek Esenkul Uulu	2007–	3	9	0.33
	David Tetteh	2013–	3	14	0.21

Bold names denote a player still playing or available for selection.

Coaches

Manager	From	To	Record
			G	W	D	L	Win %
Meklis Koshaliyev	August 1992	February 1996	15	1	3	11	006.67
Yevgeniy Novikov	June 1997	February 2001	19	4	1	14	021.05
Nematjan Zakirov	March 2003	March 2006	12	4	2	6	033.33
Boris Podkorytov	March 2006	December 2006	6	3	0	3	050.00
Nematjan Zakirov	January 2007	December 2008	12	4	0	8	033.33
Anarbek Ormonbekov	January 2009	May 2011	13	3	3	7	023.08
Murat Jumakeev	May 2011	September 2012	3	0	0	3	000.00
Sergey Dvoryankov	September 2012	May 2014	6	3	1	2	050.00
Mirlan Eshenov (Caretaker)	May 2014	October 2014	3	0	0	3	000.00
Aleksandr Krestinin	October 2014	Present^a	41	16	7	18	039.02
Total			110	32	14	64	029.09
^a Accurate up to and including 6 December 2017.

Rivalries

The principal rival of the Kyrgyzstan national football team is the culturally, as well as the northern geographical neighbor of Kyrgyzstan — Kazakhstan national football team. The matches between these two teams are of great importance for the fans of both teams, and the matches with the participation of these teams turn into a full house among the fans. Also, the matches with the Tajikistan national football team — with the southern neighbor of Kyrgyzstan, as well as with other Central Asian teams (national teams of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) have some principle.

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
2. Hyung-Jin, Yoon (30 April 2006). "Kyrgyzstan International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
3. Национальная сборная (in Russian). Football Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic. 6 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.

External links

• Kyrgyzstan at FIFA.com
• Kyrgyz FA (in Kyrgyz and Russian)