2025 CAFA Nations Cup

Last updated
2025 CAFA Nations Cup
CAFA Nations Cup 2025 logo.png
Tournament details
Host countriesTajikistan
Uzbekistan
Dates29 August – 8 September
Teams8 (from 3 sub-confederations)
Venue(s)3 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsFlag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan (1st title)
Runners-upFlag of Iran.svg  Iran
Third placeFlag of India.svg  India
Fourth placeFlag of Oman.svg  Oman
Tournament statistics
Matches played14
Goals scored36 (2.57 per match)
Top scorer(s) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Igor Sergeev
(3 goals)
Best player(s) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Khojiakbar Alijonov
Best goalkeeper Flag of Iran.svg Payam Niazmand
Fair play awardFlag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan
2023
2027

The 2025 CAFA Nations Cup was the second edition of the CAFA Nations Cup, the biennial international men's football championship of Central Asia organized by the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA). The event was held in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from August 29 to September 8. Iran were the defending champions.

Contents

The final took place on 8 September at the Olympic City Stadium in Tashkent, between hosts Uzbekistan and Iran. Uzbekistan won the match 1–0 to claim their first CAFA Nations Cup title. [1] [2]

Background

In April 2025, it was announced that the second edition of the CAFA Nations Cup would be held around September 2025, commemorating the ten-year anniversary of the CAFA organization. [3] [4]

In June 2025, it was confirmed the second edition would be co-hosted in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan on 29 August to 8 September 2025 for the six member associations along with Malaysia and Oman as the guest teams. [5] [6]

On 15 July 2025, Malaysia announced their withdrawal from the competition, citing reasons including problems with logistics and players' availability. [7] [8] On 30 July 2025, India was announced as the guest team, replacing Malaysia in Group B. [9]

Participating nations

CountryAppearancePrevious best performance FIFA ranking
(3 April 2025)
Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan 2ndGroup stage (2023)160
Flag of India.svg  India [a] (invitee)1st127
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 2ndWinners (2023)18
Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan 2ndFourth place (2023)103
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman (invitee)2ndThird place (2023)77
Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan (co-hosts)2ndGroup stage (2023)104
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan 2ndGroup stage (2023)142
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan (co-hosts)2ndRunners-up (2023)57

Seeding

The following eight teams were divided based on their FIFA Ranking of April 2025. Malaysia (131 ranked) was part of the 3 July draw but later withdrew on 15 July.

Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4

Draw results

The draw was held in Dushanbe on 3 July 2025 at 16:00 (UTC+5), and was broadcast live on YouTube. The draw resulted in the following groups with Malaysia included at the time of the draw, later being replaced by India: [10] [11] [12]

Group A
PosTeam
A1Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan
A2Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan
A3Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan
A4Flag of Oman.svg  Oman
Group B
PosTeam
B1Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan
B2Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
B3Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan
B4Flag of India.svg  India [a]
  1. 1 2 3 India replaced Malaysia in Group B after the latter's withdrawal.

Venues

Flag of Tajikistan.svg Tajikistan
Hisor
2025 CAFA Nations Cup (Tajikistan)
Hisor Central Stadium
Capacity: 20,000
Central stadium hisar03.jpg
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Uzbekistan
Tashkent
2025 CAFA Nations Cup (Uzbekistan)
Olympic City Stadium JAR Stadium
Capacity: 12,000Capacity: 8,500
Olympic Stadium Tashkent.jpg Stadion "Dzhar".jpg

Squads

Each team was required to register a preliminary squad of up to 35 players, three of whom had to be goalkeepers, from which the matchday squad could be selected on a match-by-match basis. [8]

Officials

The following officials were chosen for the competition.
(†): Also performed as both in some matches.

Group stage

All times are local, Uzbekistan & Tajikistan Time (UTC+5).

Tiebreaker

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings.

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group;
  8. Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points);
  9. Drawing of lots.

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan (H)321072+57Advance to final
2Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 321053+27Advance to third place match
3Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan 30123521
4Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan 30122751
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Kyrgyzstan  Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg1–1Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan
  • Kojo Soccerball shade.svg45'
Report
JAR Stadium, Tashkent
Referee: Sajëçon Zajniddinov (Tajikistan)
Man of the Match: Joel Kojo (Kyrgyzstan)
Uzbekistan  Flag of Uzbekistan.svg1–1Flag of Oman.svg  Oman
Report
Olympic City Stadium, Tashkent
Referee: Mooud Bonyadifard (Iran)
Man of the Match: Khojimat Erkinov (Uzbekistan)

Oman  Flag of Oman.svg2–1Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan
Report
JAR Stadium, Tashkent
Referee: Hasan Akrami (Iran)
Man of the Match: Issam Al Sabhi (Oman)
Turkmenistan  Flag of Turkmenistan.svg1–2Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan
Report
Olympic City Stadium, Tashkent
Attendance: 2,037
Referee: Abdullo Davlatov (Tajikistan)
Man of the Match: Igor Sergeev (Uzbekistan)

Turkmenistan  Flag of Turkmenistan.svg1–2Flag of Oman.svg  Oman
Report
JAR Stadium, Tashkent
Referee: Vahid Kazemi (Iran)
Man of the Match: Muhsen Al Ghassani (Oman)
Uzbekistan  Flag of Uzbekistan.svg4–0Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan
Report
Olympic City Stadium, Tashkent
Referee: Sadullo Gulmurodi (Tajikistan)
Man of the Match: Otabek Shukurov (Uzbekistan)

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 321083+57Advance to final
2Flag of India.svg  India 31112424 [a] Advance to third place match
3Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan (H)311154+14 [a]
4Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan 30121541
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Head-to-head points: India 3, Tajikistan 0.
Iran  Flag of Iran.svg3–1Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg  Afghanistan
Report
Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor
Attendance: 4,520
Referee: Sanzhar Zhakypbekov (Kyrgyzstan)
Man of the Match: Majid Aliyari (Iran)
Tajikistan  Flag of Tajikistan.svg1–2Flag of India.svg  India
Report
Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor
Attendance: 17,450
Referee: Firdavs Norsafarov (Uzbekistan)
Man of the Match: Sandesh Jhingan (India)

India  Flag of India.svg0–3Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Report
Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor
Attendance: 1,050
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
Man of the Match: Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh (Iran)
Afghanistan  Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg0–2Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan
Report
Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor
Referee: Zayniddin Alimov (Kyrgyzstan)
Man of the Match: Ehson Panjshanbe (Tajikistan)

Afghanistan  Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg0–0Flag of India.svg  India
Report
Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor
Attendance: 1,100
Referee: Nurzatbek Abdıkadırov (Kyrgyzstan)
Man of the Match: Anwar Ali (India)
Tajikistan  Flag of Tajikistan.svg2–2Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Report
Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor
Referee: Axrol Riskullayev (Uzbekistan)
Man of the Match: Zoir Dzhuraboyev (Tajikistan)

Knockout round

Bracket

 
Final
 
  
 
8 September – Tashkent
 
 
Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 0
 
 
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan (a.e.t.)1
 
 
 
 
 
Third place match
 
 
8 September – Hisor
 
 
Flag of India.svg  India (p) 1 (3)
 
 
Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 1 (2)
 

Third place match

India  Flag of India.svg1–1 (a.e.t.)Flag of Oman.svg  Oman
Report
Penalties
3–2
Hisor Central Stadium, Hisor
Referee: Firdavs Norsafarov (Uzbekistan)
Man of the Match: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (India)

Final

Uzbekistan  Flag of Uzbekistan.svg1–0 (a.e.t.)Flag of Iran.svg  Iran
Report
Olympic City Stadium, Tashkent
Attendance: 11,482
Referee: Nurzatbek Abdıkadırov (Kyrgyzstan)
Man of the Match: Khojiakbar Alijonov (Uzbekistan)

Goalscorers

There have been 36 goals scored in 14 matches, for an average of 2.57 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Source: GSA

Awards

The following awards were presented at the end of the tournament: [13]

Best Player
Top Goalscorer
Best Goalkeeper
Fair Play Award

Broadcasting rights

TerritoryRights holder(s)
Uzbekistan UZ NTRC Sport
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz Sport TV
Tajikistan TV Futbol
Iran IRIB TV3
India FanCode [14] [15]
InternationalThe PRO Company [16]
FIFA+ TV (final and third-place match only) [17]

Sponsors

See also

Notes

    References

    1. "10-man Iran runners-up at 2025 CAFA Nations Cup". Tehran Times. 8 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
    2. "Uzbekistan defeats Iran to win 2025 CAFA Nations Cup". KUN.uz. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
    3. "Iran to play friendly matches against Russia and Chile – PersianFootball.com".
    4. Tukueva, Tilebaldy (6 January 2025). "Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) changes its logo". 24.KG.
    5. "CAFA Nations Cup-2025: A championship with fierce competition and new guests". Zamin.uz. 28 June 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    6. "Uzbekistan to host CAFA Nations Cup 2025". Qalampir.uz. 28 June 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    7. "Why did Malaysia withdraw from the CAFA Nations Cup 2025?". Zamin.uz. 15 July 2025.
    8. 1 2 "Malaysia's withdrawal from CAFA Nations Cup disrupts tournament plans". MSN . 17 July 2025.
    9. "India to play CAFA Nations Cup 2025". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
    10. Official Draw | CAFA NATIONS CUP 2025. Central Asian Football Association. 3 July 2025 via YouTube.
    11. "Harimau Malaya drawn with Iran in Cafa Nations Cup". Free Malaysia Today. Bernama. 3 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
    12. "India to play CAFA Nations Cup 2025". AIFF Media Team . 30 July 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
    13. "CAFA Nations Cup-2025 winners announced, Uzbekistan stars shine". Zamin.uz. 9 September 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
    14. "Instagram".
    15. "CAFA Nations Cup 2025 Football, Watch Live, Videos, Highlights & info".
    16. "The PRO Company to Represent CAFA Media Rights Internationally". 14 August 2025.
    17. https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/showcase/central-asian-football-association/ea472f17-f28a-4667-b2a5-68721f984d9a
    18. "CAFAssociation". X.
    19. "Tajikistan's leading national telecom operator TOJIKTELECOM has become an official sponsor of the CAFA Nations Cup 2025 | Tajikistan News ASIA-Plus".
    20. "CAFAssociation". X.