Kazakhstan national football team

The country of Kazakhstan declared independence from the Soviet Union on December 16, 1991. Its national team then split from the Soviet Union national football team (a UEFA member) and joined the Asian Football Confederation. At the time, they were one of strongest teams in Central Asia, and one of the most improving teams in Asia.

The team played their first match against another former-Soviet debutant, Turkmenistan, on June 1, 1992, as part of a Central Asian tournament. Kazakhstan won 1–0. The tournament also saw the footballing debuts of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. After beating Libya in a friendly in North Korea on July 3, Kazakhstan played the remainder of its Central Asian fixtures and avoided defeat in all of them. They beat Uzbekistan 1–0 at home on July 16, then drew 1–1 away in Turkmenistan on September 14, in Kyrgyzstan on September 26 and Uzbekistan on October 14. The final match was a 2–0 home victory over Kyrgyzstan on October 25.[2]

Kazakhstan entered qualification for the first time in the attempt to reach the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In the first round they were placed in Group 9 alongside Pakistan and Iraq. Kazakhstan's first qualifying match was won 3–0 at home in Almaty on May 11, 1997, against Pakistan. On June 6 they travelled to Baghdad to face Iraq and won 2–1, then five days later won an away match against Pakistan, 7–0 in Lahore. The result remains Kazakhstan's biggest-ever international win. They retained their 100% start to World Cup football by beating Iraq at home 3–1 on June 29.

In the second and final round of qualification, Kazakhstan came last in the group. Their only victory was on October 18, 1997, when they beat the United Arab Emirates 3–0 at home. Kazakhstan drew three other games – all at home (versus Uzbekistan, Japan and South Korea).

In the first round of Asian qualifying, Kazakhstan were placed in Group 6 alongside Iraq, Nepal and Macau. All games in the group were to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, after Nepal failed to organise matches in Kathmandu in March 2001. After an Iraqi protest, the first three games for each team were moved to Baghdad, Iraq.

Kazakhstan started off well in Baghdad by beating Nepal 6–0 with two goals by Oleg Litvinenko on April 12, and Macau 3–0 two days later. On April 16 they held Iraq to a 1–1 draw in front of 50,000. Ruslan Baltiev put the Kazakhs in front in the 6th minute and Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail equalised with a penalty in the 31st.

In Almaty Central Stadium, Kazakhstan beat Nepal 3–0 with two goals by Maksim Igorevich Shevchenko on April 21. Two days later they beat Macau 5–0, Dmitriy Byakov and Igor Avdeyev scored two each after a goalless first half. The final game on April 25 saw a 1–1 draw against Iraq in front of 25,000. Litvinenko put Kazakhstan ahead in the 32nd but Iraq equalised ten minutes later. Despite being level on points, Iraq advanced on goal difference mainly due to a 9–1 victory over Nepal.

Being a transcontinental country, Kazakhstan joined UEFA in 2002. They had to wait until the 2002 FIFA World Cup finished on June 30 before making the switch, as they had entered the tournament as an AFC member. Kazakhstan therefore could not enter qualification for UEFA Euro 2004, as the draw had been made on 25 January 2002. Since joining UEFA, Kazakhstan has been a relatively minnow force in the continent, with most of their qualifications being unsuccessful and often finish near dead last or bottom.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, now as members of UEFA, Kazakhstan was placed in the last drawing pot with Andorra and Luxembourg,[3] being placed in Group 2 alongside Turkey, Denmark, future UEFA Euro 2004 winners Greece, Ukraine, Georgia and Albania.[4]

Their first official UEFA match was on 8 September 2004 and ended in a home defeat by 2–1 against Ukraine. Kazakhstan lost their next 9 matches, including a 6–0 home defeat against Turkey, their tied-biggest defeat up to 2018 and conceding a home defeat to Greece into four minutes of the stoppage time. Their sole point of the qualifying came in the next match, on 8 October 2005, in a 0–0 away draw against Georgia played behind closed doors, before losing the last match at home against Denmark.[5]

For the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, Kazakhstan was once again placed in the last drawing pot. Their campaign started with two away draws against Belgium (0–0) and Azerbaijan (1–1). They lost the next three matches before getting their first official win as UEFA members in a 2–1 home triumph against Serbia with goals from Kairat Ashirbekov and Nurbol Zhumaskaliyev. After a home loss against Armenia, Kazakhstan got their sixth and seventh points after drawing again with Azerbaijan (1–1) and Belgium (2–2), both at home. Losses against Poland and Portugal were followed by their second win, this time away from home, with Sergei Ostapenko scoring the winning goal against Armenia. Their last match was a delayed game against Serbia, ending in defeat. In the end, Kazakhstan finished with 10 points and in 6th out of the 8 Group A teams.[6]

The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification had Kazakhstan in the 5th of 6 drawing pots, drawn in Group 6 with Croatia, England, Ukraine, Belarus and Andorra.[7] They started the campaign with a 3–0 home win against Andorra on 20 August 2008.[8] However, that was the only opponent they managed to get points from, after they won the reverse fixture 3–1 on 9 September 2009 and losing all the other group matches. Kazakhstan finished in 5th, ahead only of Andorra, who lost all of their matches.[9]

Kazakhstan was drawn in the Group A of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying and lost the first five matches without managing to score a single goal before defeating Azerbaijan on 3 June 2011 by 2–1 with two goals from Sergey Gridin. They lost their next three games before ending the qualifying with a goalless home draw against Austria. They ended in the last place with 4 points, three behind Azerbaijan.[10]

Following recent unimpressive qualifying campaigns, Kazakhstan was once again in the last drawing pot for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. Their campaign in Group C started with two defeats before getting their first point in a goalless home draw against Austria on 12 October 2012. Losses to Austria and twice to Germany were followed by their first and only win of the qualification by 2–1 against Faroe Islands on 6 September 2013. They still got a fifth point in a 1–1 away drawn against the same opponents. Kazakhstan finished in 5th place, ahead only of the Faroese.

The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying had Kazakhstan once more in the last drawing pot. Their first match was a home 0–0 draw against Latvia on 9 September 2014, followed by six consecutive losses before another goalless draw, away from home, against Iceland. After their seventh defeat of the qualifying, Kazakhstan ended the campaign with a 1–0 away win against Latvia on 13 October 2015. The goal scored by Islambek Kuat got the Kazakhs the 5th place, tied in points with the Latvians, but with a better head-to-head record.[11]

Once again in the last drawing pot, Kazakhstan had an unimpressive 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, failing to win a single match. After two home draws against Poland and Romania in their first three matches, Kazakhstan lost their following six matches, ending the qualifying with a 1–1 home draw against Armenia and finishing last in Group E.[12]

For the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, Kazakhstan was in Pot 3 of League D, the fourth and lowest division of the UEFA Nations League. Drawn in Group 1 with Georgia, Latvia and Andorra, their campaign started with a 2–0 home loss against group winners Georgia. Away draws against Andorra and Latvia had Georgia with 9 points after the three first matches, with all the other teams tied with 2 points. Kazakhstan defeated Andorra by 4–0 on 16 October, but the Georgia win against Latvia got the Georgians promoted to League C with two matches still to be played. Their sixth and last point came in a 1–1 home draw against Latvia, before being defeated by Georgia in the last group match and finishing in the second place of the group.[13]

The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying for Kazakhstan once again was unsuccessful, with the team continued to fail in the qualification due to being inferior to Russia and Belgium. However, Kazakhstan won ten points in the qualification, its best performance up to date in any Euro qualifications, including a shock 3–0 home win over Scotland,[14] and a 1–1 away draw over Cyprus, though they still finished fifth at the end.[15]

Football at the Asian Games has been an under-23 tournament since 2002.

Asian Games record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1951	Did not exist
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994	Did not enter
1998	10th place	5	2	1	2	8	6
2002–present	See Kazakhstan national under-23 football team
Total	1/13	5	2	1	2	8	6

2000 WAFF Championship

The following table shows Kazakhstan's all-time international record, correct as of 17 November 2020.

https://www.worldfootball.net/teams/kasachstan-team/21/

The following players were called up for the UEFA Nations League match against Lithuania on 18 November 2020.
Caps and goals are correct as of 18 November 2020, after the game against Lithuania.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Stas Pokatilov	(1992-12-08) 8 December 1992	21	0	Kairat
12	1GK	Dmytro Nepohodov	(1988-02-17) 17 February 1988	12	0	Astana
15	1GK	Mukhammejan Seisen	(1999-02-14) 14 February 1999	0	0	Taraz
3	2DF	Yuriy Logvinenko	(1988-07-22) 22 July 1988	53	5	Rotor Volgograd
11	2DF	Yan Vorogovskiy	(1996-09-07) 7 September 1996	16	1	Beerschot
22	2DF	Aleksandr Marochkin	(1990-07-14) 14 July 1990	13	0	Tobol
19	2DF	Dmitri Miroshnichenko	(1992-02-26) 26 February 1992	11	0	Tobol
16	2DF	Temirlan Yerlanov	(1993-07-09) 9 July 1993	9	1	Tobol
3	2DF	Nuraly Alip	(1999-12-22) 22 December 1999	6	0	Kairat
13	2DF	Olzhas Kerimzhanov	(1989-05-16) 16 May 1989	4	0	Unattached
5	3MF	Islambek Kuat	(1993-01-12) 12 January 1993	38	5	Khimki
21	3MF	Abzal Beisebekov	(1992-11-30) 30 November 1992	31	0	Astana
8	3MF	Askhat Tagybergen	(1990-08-09) 9 August 1990	27	0	Unattached
14	3MF	Yuriy Pertsukh	(1996-05-13) 13 May 1996	16	1	Aktobe
6	3MF	Aybol Abiken	(1996-06-01) 1 June 1996	11	1	Kairat
10	3MF	Aslan Darabayev	(1989-01-21) 21 January 1989	8	0	Unattached
4	3MF	Timur Dosmagambetov	(1989-05-01) 1 May 1989	7	0	Ordabasy
9	4FW	Sergei Khizhnichenko	(1991-07-17) 17 July 1991	52	8	Ordabasy
7	4FW	Aleksey Shchotkin	(1991-05-21) 21 May 1991	34	3	Rotor Volgograd
20	4FW	Maxim Fedin	(1996-06-08) 8 June 1996	17	1	Unattached
17	4FW	Abat Aimbetov	(1995-08-07) 7 August 1995	12	2	Unattached
18	4FW	Toktar Zhangylyshbay	(1993-05-25) 25 May 1993	7	0	Ordabasy

The following players have also been called up to the Kazakhstan's squad in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Vladimir Plotnikov	(1986-04-03) 3 April 1986	2	0	Ordabasy	v.  Belarus, 14 October 2020
GK	Danil Ustimenko	(2000-08-08) 8 August 2000	0	0	Kairat	v.  Belarus, 7 September 2020
GK	Igor Shatskiy	(1989-05-11) 11 May 1989	1	0	Shakhter Karagandy	v.  Lithuania, 4 September 2020 INJ
DF	Dmitri Shomko	(1990-03-19) 19 March 1990	45	2	Rotor Volgograd	v.  Lithuania, 4 September 2020 PRE
DF	Serhiy Malyi	(1990-06-05) 5 June 1990	44	0	Tobol	v.  Montenegro, 11 November 2020 INJ
DF	Gafurzhan Suyumbayev	(1990-08-19) 19 August 1990	38	4	Kairat	v.  Albania, 15 November 2020 INJ
DF	Marat Bystrov	(1992-06-19) 19 June 1992	5	0	Akhmat Grozny	v.  Albania, 15 November 2020 INJ
DF	Sultan Abilgazy	(1997-02-22) 22 February 1997	0	0	Tobol	v.  Belarus, 14 October 2020
MF	Bauyrzhan Islamkhan	(1993-02-23) 23 February 1993	46	3	Al-Ain	v.  Montenegro, 11 November 2020 SUS
MF	Serikzhan Muzhikov	(1989-06-17) 17 June 1989	21	1	Tobol	v.  Montenegro, 11 November 2020 INJ
MF	Baktiyar Zaynutdinov	(1998-04-02) 2 April 1998	16	7	CSKA Moscow	v.  Montenegro, 11 November 2020 INJ
MF	Duman Narzildaev	(1993-09-06) 6 September 1993	1	0	Kaisar	v.  Montenegro, 11 November 2020 INJ
MF	Vladislav Vasiliev	(1997-04-10) 10 April 1997	1	0	Rukh Brest	v.  Montenegro, 11 November 2020 WD
FW	Aybar Zhaksylykov	(1997-07-24) 24 July 1997	2	0	Zhetysu	v.  Belarus, 14 October 2020
PRE Preliminary squad. INJ Injured after call up squad. SUS Suspended for the next match. WD Player was withdrawn from the roster for non-injury related reasons. RET Retired from the national team.

Period	Kit Provider
1994–1996	Adidas
1996–1998	Puma
1998–1999	Grand Sport
1999–2000	Adidas
2000–2002	Nike
2002–2003	Umbro
2003–2004	Nike
2004–2005	Puma
2005–2008	Diadora
2008–2012	Umbro
2012–present	Adidas

Source: FootballShirtsVoltage.com[16]