Kyrgyzstan national football team

The Kyrgyzstan national football team (Kyrgyz: Кыргыз Республикасынын улуттук курама командасы; Russian: Сборная Кыргызской Республики по футболу), officially recognised by FIFA and AFC as Kyrgyz Republic, represents Kyrgyzstan in international football and is controlled by the Kyrgyz Football Union, a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Central Asian Football Association.

Kyrgyzstan

Nickname(s)	Ак шумкарлар (The White Falcons)
Association	Kyrgyz Football Union
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	CAFA (Central Asia)
Head coach	Maksim Lisitsyn
Captain	Kayrat Zhyrgalbek uulu
Most caps	Kayrat Zhyrgalbek uulu (75)
Top scorer	Mirlan Murzayev (16)
Home stadium	Dolen Omurzakov Stadium
FIFA code	KGZ
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	106 4 (19 September 2024)[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)  Myanmar 1–8 Kyrgyzstan  (Osaka, Japan; 11 June 2021)
Biggest defeat
Iran 7–0 Kyrgyzstan  (Damascus, Syria; 4 June 1997)
Asian Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 2019)
Best result	Round of 16 (2019)
CAFA Nations Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 2023)
Best result	Fourth place (2023)
WAFF Championship
Appearances	1 (first in 2000)
Best result	Group stage (2000)
AFC Challenge Cup
Appearances	3 (first in 2006)
Best result	Third place (2006)

Until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyrgyz football players played for the USSR national football team. After Kyrgyzstan gained independence on August 31, 1991, the national team was created. Kyrgyzstan played its first match on August 23, 1992, in the Central Asian Cup [ru] against Uzbekistan in Tashkent. The match ended in a 3-0 victory for Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan eventually finished in fourth place. The team was scheduled to play against Turkmenistan on July 16, 1992, but the match was cancelled due to the absence of the Turkmenistan team. In 1993, Kyrgyzstan participated in the 1993 ECO Cup in Iran, but failed to advance past the group stage.

In 1994, the Football Federation of Kyrgyzstan was admitted as a full member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA. The team participated in the Uzbekistan Independence Cup, finishing in last place. The team did not play any matches in 1995, and in 1996, they participated in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification, finishing in second place in their group and failing to advance. In 1997, Kyrgyzstan participated in 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification, but was eliminated in the first round after finishing second in their group.

In 1999, Kyrgyzstan played in 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification, but finished in last place in their group. The team participated in the 2000 WAFF Championship, but again finished in last place. In 2001, Kyrgyzstan participated in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification, but was eliminated in the first round after finishing third in their group.

In 2002, the team did not play any matches, and in 2003, they participated in the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification, finishing in second place in their group and failing to advance. That same year, they also participated in the first round of the qualifying tournament for the 2006 World Cup, advancing to the next round after defeating Pakistan in both matches. In 2004, Kyrgyzstan participated in the second stage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, but finished in fourth place in their group.

In the years since, Kyrgyzstan has seen some success, participating in the 2010, 2014, and 2018 editions of the AFC Challenge Cup, finishing in third place in 2010 and as runners-up in 2014 . During the third round of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Kyrgyzstan was grouped with India, Myanmar and Macau in which they got 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 lost seeing Kyrgyzstan qualified to their first-ever major tournament in the 2019 edition of the AFC Asian Cup.^[4] In the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, Kyrgyzstan was drawn in Group C alongside China, Philippines and heavyweights South Korea. The team lost back to back to China and South Korea needing a desperate win against the Philippines in the last match to at least qualified to the knockout stage which Vitalij Lux scored a hat-trick gaining Kyrgyzstan their first ever win in their history of the tournament seeing them through to the Round of 16 facing United Arab Emirates. Throughout the match, UAE was leading at 2–1 where in the 90' minute stoppage time, Tursunali Rustamov scored a header from a corner kick to equalised the match at 2–2 sending it into extra time however their luck ran out as Ahmed Khalil scored a penalty seeing Kyrgyzstan out from the tournament. In the same year, Kyrgyzstan reached their highest-ever FIFA ranking of 75th.

In the 2023 Asian Cup qualification, Kyrgyzstan hosted all of the Group F matches being grouped with neighbours, Tajikistan and two Southeast Asia countries, Myanmar and Singapore. In the first match, the team bounced back from 1–0 down as Valery Kichin converted a penalty to level the score in the 77' minute in which Viktor Maier scored the winner in the 82' minute to secure the three points for Kyrgyzstan. In the next fixture, Viktor Maier scored a brace against Myanmar securing another three points for Kyrgyzstan before facing Tajikistan in a goalless draw in the final fixture seeing both team advancing to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.

In 2023, Kyrgyzstan alongside Uzbekistan hosted the inaugural 2023 CAFA Nations Cup.

Home matches are played at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek, which has a capacity of 23,000.

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

As of 16 June 2024.^[5]

The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification game against   Iran and   Uzbekistan on 5 and 10 September 2024, respectively.^{[citation needed]}

Caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2024, after the match against   Uzbekistan.

As of 10 September 2024^[8]

Players in bold are still active with Kyrgyzstan.

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.

*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

As of 10 September 2024.^[9]

• AFC Challenge Cup
  •   Third place (1): 2006

• Aceh World Solidarity Cup
  •   Champions (1): 2017

• Kyrgyz FA (in Kyrgyz and Russian)
• Kyrgyz Republic at AFC
• Kyrgyz Republic at FIFA