Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Football Federation was established in 1922 and joined FIFA in 1948. It was also one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954.

Afghanistan played its first official international match under FIFA at the 1948 Summer Olympics, where it faced Luxembourg on 26 July and lost 6–0. Before 2002, the last recorded international appearance for the team was in the 1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification, where they lost 6–1 to Jordan on 20 September. The team did not participate in international football between 1984 and 2002 due to political instability, including the Soviet invasion, civil war, and Taliban rule, which banned recreational activities such as football.

Following the fall of the Taliban regime, Afghanistan re-entered the international football scene in 2002.

In 2003, the national team competed in the 2003 SAFF Gold Cup, but suffered defeats in all group stage matches against India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Later that year, Afghanistan took part in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification, managing a win against Kyrgyzstan but falling short after a loss to Nepal, thus failing to advance. The team also entered the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification for the first time, where they were eliminated by Turkmenistan with a 13–0 aggregate score.

In the 2005 SAFF Gold Cup held in Karachi, Pakistan, Afghanistan was defeated by the Maldives. During the inaugural 2006 AFC Challenge Cup, the team earned draws against both Chinese Taipei and the Philippines, with goals from Hafizullah Qadami and Sayed Maqsood Hashemi securing the results.

In the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Afghanistan was knocked out by Syria. The team participated in the 2008 SAFF Championship, where they lost to Bhutan and drew with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. However, they managed to top their qualification group for the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup but were eliminated in the final tournament after three consecutive defeats to India, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

In the 2009 SAFF Championship, Afghanistan lost all three group matches—against Maldives, India, and Nepal—with their sole goal of the tournament scored by Hashmatullah Barakzai in a 3–1 loss to the Maldives.

Afghanistan entered their third World Cup qualification campaign and faced Palestine in the preliminary round. The first leg was played in Tajikistan due to security concerns and ended in defeat. The second leg in Palestine ended in a 1–1 draw, with Balal Arezou scoring for Afghanistan, resulting in their elimination.

In the 2011 SAFF Championship, Afghanistan achieved a dominant 8–1 victory over Bhutan, marking their second-biggest win in history. Balal Arezou scored four goals in that match. Afghanistan advanced to the semi-finals for the first time, defeating Nepal 1–0 after extra time, with Arzou scoring in the 101st minute. In the final, they lost 4–0 to India.

Afghanistan progressed from the first round of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualification by defeating Bhutan over two legs. In the second round, they were eliminated after losses to Nepal and North Korea, despite a win over Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan entered the 2013 SAFF Championship as the highest FIFA-ranked team in the tournament, standing at 139th globally. They opened the competition with a dominant 3–0 victory over Bhutan, with goals scored by Amiri—regarded as one of Afghanistan’s greatest players—Azadzoy, and Barakzai.

In their second group stage match, they continued their strong form with a 3–1 win over Sri Lanka, thanks to goals from Rafi, Amiri, and Barakzai.

In the semi-finals, Afghanistan faced host nation Nepal and secured a hard-fought 1–0 win, with Sandjar Ahmadi scoring the only goal in the 11th minute.

The final was a rematch of the 2011 edition against India. This time, Afghanistan prevailed with a 2–0 victory, claiming their first-ever international football title and marking a historic moment for Afghan football.

Afghanistan reached the semi-finals of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup but lost 2–0 to eventual champions Palestine. In the third-place match, they drew 1–1 with the Maldives and lost 8–7 in a penalty shootout. On 10 June 2014, the Afghanistan Football Federation moved from the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) to the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA). Later that year, the federation received the FIFA Fair Play Award at the 2014 Ballon d'Or Gala for its efforts to promote football under difficult circumstances.

On 9 February 2015, Slaven Skeledžić was appointed as head coach. The team started the qualifiers with a 6–0 loss to Syria but earned its first-ever World Cup qualification victory against Cambodia. After a poor run of results, Skeledžić resigned in October 2015. Peter Segrt took over in November and led the team to another win over Cambodia, 3–0. On 27 April 2015 the AFF signed a contract with a new sponsor called Alokozay Group of Companies.

This tournament marked Afghanistan’s final appearance in the SAFF Championship before moving to CAFA. The team won all its group stage matches—beating Bangladesh 4–0, Bhutan 3–0, and Maldives 4–1. In the semi-final, they defeated Sri Lanka 5–0. The final was a rematch with India, which Afghanistan lost 2–1 after extra time.

Following the SAFF Championship, Afghanistan had a chance to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup through expanded qualifiers. After a second heavy loss to Japan (5–0), they needed a win over Singapore, which they secured 2–1. The team then played friendlies against Lebanon (lost 2–0) and Malaysia (1–1 draw). In February 2017, Otto Pfister was appointed as head coach. Afghanistan drew 1–1 with Vietnam in the qualifiers, but losses to Cambodia and Jordan ended their qualification hopes. In July 2018, the federation announced a friendly match against Palestine in Kabul—their first home game since 2013.