Afghanistan national under-23 football team

Afghanistan Under-23

Afghanistan national under-23 football team Afghanistan
Nickname(s)	خراسان (The lions of Afghanistan) Team Mili
Association	AFC, CAFA, AFF
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Elyas Manochehr
Captain	Afghanistan   Sayed Mohammad Hashemi
Home stadium	Ghazi Stadium
FIFA code	AFG
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	179 (3.April 2025)
South Asian Games
Appearances	1 (first in 2010 )
Best result	Runner-up (2010)

The Afghanistan national under-23 football team also known as (Olympic Team or Afghanistan U-23) represents Afghanistan ^[1] in international football competitions in under-23 international football tournaments and Asian Games. ^[2]

History

Football is one of the most popular sports in the country. At present, Afghanistan has a low level of participation in football due to lack of funds and security problems inside the country. The team won Silver in 2010 South Asian Games, the first time Afghanistan reached the final of the tournaments. Balal Arezou of Afghanistan was named one of the most valuable player of the tournament.

Results and Fixtures 2023-2030

*Afghanistan score always listed first

  Win  Draw  Loss

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2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualification The Group E in   Uzbekistan

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Uzbekistan   v   Afghanistan

6 September 2023 (2023-09-06)	Uzbekistan	8-1	Afghanistan	JAR Stadium, Tashkent
14:00 (germany time)	Jaloliddinov 12', 55' Kholdorkhonov 36' Norchaev 49', 53', 88' Odilov 90' Khamraliev 90+3'	Report	Musawi 42'	Attendance: 3,380 Referee: Fariq Hitaba (Indonesia)

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Afghanistan   v   Iran

9 September 2023 (2023-09-09)	Afghanistan	0-4	Iran	Lokomotiv Stadium, Tashkent
14:00 (germany time)		Report	Ghorbani 29' Goodarzi 37' Sayyadmanesh 58' J.Hosseinnejad 74'	Attendance: 110 Referee: Mohamad Issa (Lebanon)

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Hong Kong   v Afghanistan  

12 September 2023 (2023-09-12)	Hong Kong	0-0	Afghanistan	Lokomotiv Stadium, Tashkent
14:00 (germany time)		Report		Referee: Khash-Erdene Bold (Mongolian)

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2022/2023 Asian Games In   China Group C

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  Afghanistan (withdrew) v Uzbekistan  

20 September 2023 (2023-09-20)	Afghanistan (withdrew)	-	Uzbekistan	Shengcheng Sports Centre, Hangzhou, China
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22 September 2023 (2023-09-22)

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Afghanistan   (withdrew)	-	Syria   (withdrew)

Shengcheng Sports Centre,Hangzhou, China

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24 September 2023 (2023-09-24)

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Afghanistan   (withdrew)	-	Hong Kong

Xiaoshan Sports Centre Stadium,Hangzhou, China

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2025

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2025 AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifications (1-9 Sep) in Group B Myanmar

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Afghanistan   v   Japan

September 2025	Afghanistan	vs	Japan	Yangon City, Myanmar
TBD

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Afghanistan   v   Kuwait

September 2025	Afghanistan	vs	Kuwait	Yangon City, Myanmar
TBD

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Afghanistan   v   Myanmar

September 2025	Afghanistan	vs	Myanmar	Yangon City, Myanmar
TBD

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Coaching staff

Role	Name
Head coach	Elyas Manochehr
Assistant coach	Shabir Isoufi Mustafa Mehrzad
Goalkeeping coaches	Hamidullah Yousufzai
Equipment manager	Mahdi Shirzad
National Team manager	Samir Homauni
Media	Mustafa Hashimi
Fitness coach	Alin Dragos Hogea

Coaching History

1.   Afghanistan, Mir Ali Asghar Akbarzada (2002-2004)

2.   Afghanistan, Abdul Rasul Rasekh (2004-2006)

3. ? (2006-2007)

4. Sung Jea-Lee (2007-2010)

5.   Afghanistan, Elyas Manochehr (2010-2014)

6.   Afghanistan, Khoda Dad Zahir (2014-2015)

7. Hosein Saleh (2015-2017)

8.   Afghanistan, Elyas Manochehr (2017-2018)

9.   Afghanistan, Mujtaba Faiz (2018-2023)

10. Abdullah Almutairi (2023-16.10.2023)

11. TBD

Records

AFC U23 Asian Cup

AFC U23 Asian Cup									AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifications
Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA		Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
2013	did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-		2012	did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-
2016	did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-		2015	Group Stage	4	1	1	2	2	8
2018	did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-		2017	Group Stage	3	0	0	3	0	18
2020	did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-		2019	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	3	4
2022	did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-		2021	Withdrew	0	0	0	0	0	0
2024	did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-		2023	Group Stage	3	0	1	2	1	12
2026	did not qualify	0	0	0	0	0	0		2025	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	0/10	0	0	0	0	0	0		Total	Best: Group Stage	13	2	2	9	6	42

Summer Olympics

Young teams were favoured by FIFA and the IOC, and since 1992, male competitors must be under 23 years old, with three over-23 players allowed per squad.

  Gold medalists    Silver medalists    Bronze medalists  

Summer Olympics											Qualification
Year	Host	Round	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Squad		Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	F	A
1900 to 1988		See Afghanistan national football team									See Afghanistan national football team
1992	Spain	Withdrew									Withdrew
1996 to 2004		Did not enter									Did not enter
2008	China	Did not qualify									PR1	1	0	0	1	0	2
2012	United Kingdom	Did not enter									Did not enter
2016	Brazil	Did not qualify									4th	4	1	1	2	2	8
2020	Japan										3rd	3	1	0	2	3	4
2024	France										3rd	3	0	1	2	1	12
Total		—	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0/4	11	2	2	7	6	26

Asian Games Records

Asian Games record
Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951	Fourth Place	2	0	0	2	0	5
1954	Group Stage	2	0	0	2	4	12
1958 to 1998	did not enter
2002	Group Stage	3	0	0	3	0	32
2006 to 2010	did not enter
2014	Group Stage	3	0	0	3	1	8
2018	did not enter
2022/2023	withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-
2026	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0
2030	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0
2034	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	Best: Fourth Place	10	0	0	10	5	57

Rankings

AFC	FIFA	CAFA	Country
34	179	6	Afghanistan

See also

• Football at the 2014 Asian Games
• Football at the 2014 Asian Games – Men's team squads
• 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification
• Afghanistan national football team
• Afghanistan women's national football team

Notable players

• Israfeel Kohistani
• Balal Arezou
• Faisal Sakhizada
• Waheed Nadeem

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-11-13. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
2. "11th South Asian Games :: Dhaka - 2010". Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. Retrieved 2011-12-20.