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	TBD
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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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	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0		TBD	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 Olympic Games

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.

Summer Olympic Games									Summer Olympic Games qualifications
Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA		Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1900 to 1936	did not enter								1900 to 1936	did not enter
1948	did not qualify								1948	Round 1	1	0	0	1	0	6
1952	did not enter								1952	Declined participation
1956	Withdrew								1956	Withdrew
1960									1960	Withdrew	1	0	0	1	2	5
1964 to 2004	did not enter								1964 to 2004	did not enter
2008	did not qualify								2008	Round 1	1	0	0	1	0	2
2012	did not enter								2012	did not enter
2016	did not qualify								2016	Group Stage	4	1	1	2	2	8
2020									2020	Group Stage	4	0	0	3	0	18
2024	did not qualify								2024	did not qualify
Total	0/28	0	0	0	0	0	0		Total	Best: Group Stage	7	1	1	8	4	39

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
35	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.