The Kazakhstan national football team (Kazakh: Қазақстан Ұлттық футбол құрамасы, Qazaqstan Ūlttyq Futbol qūramasy, [qɑzɑqˈstɑn ʊɫt̚ˈtɤq fʊdˈboɫ qʊrɑmɑˈsə]) represents Kazakhstan in men's international football and it is governed by the Kazakhstan Football Federation. They split from the Soviet Union national team after independence in 1991 and joined the Asian Football Confederation's Central Asian Football Federation. After failing to qualify for the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, they joined UEFA, but are yet to qualify for a FIFA World Cup or a UEFA European Championship.
Contents
History
AFC member (1992–2002)
The country of Kazakhstan declared independence from the Soviet Union on 16 December 1991. Its national team then split from the Soviet Union national team (a UEFA member) and joined the Asian Football Confederation. At the time, they were one of the 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 1 June 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 3 July, Kazakhstan played the remainder of its Central Asian fixtures and avoided defeat in all of them. They beat Uzbekistan 1–0 at home on 16 July, then drew 1–1 away in Turkmenistan on 14 September, in Kyrgyzstan on 26 September and Uzbekistan on 14 October. The final match was a 2–0 home victory over Kyrgyzstan on 25 October.
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 11 May 1997, against Pakistan. On 6 June 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 29 June.
In the second and final round of qualification, Kazakhstan came last in the group. Their only victory was on 18 October 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 for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 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 12 April, and Macau 3–0 two days later. On 16 April they held Iraq to a 1–1 draw in front of 50,000 spectators. Ruslan Baltiev put the Kazakhs in front in the 6th minute and Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail equalised with a penalty in the 31st.
UEFA member (2002–present)
Being a transcontinental country, Kazakhstan joined UEFA in 2002. They had to wait until the 2002 FIFA World Cup finished on 30 June 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 relative minnow within the continent, with most of their qualifications being unsuccessful and often finishing 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, being placed in Group 2 alongside Turkey, Denmark, future UEFA Euro 2004 winners Greece, Ukraine, Georgia and Albania.
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.
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 placed 6th out of the 8 Group A teams.
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. They started the campaign with a 3–0 home win against Andorra on 20 August 2008. 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 lost all the other group matches. Kazakhstan finished 5th, ahead only of Andorra, who lost all of their matches.
Kits
Kit suppliers
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Rivalries
Though currently a UEFA member, Kazakhstan's best rivalries are mostly with AFC members from Central Asia, namely Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. They are arguably the second best national team in Central Asia, first being Uzbekistan. The Hawks' two biggest rivals are Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, which dates back from early USSR rule. These rivalries are still of great importance for many Kazakhs, since Kazakhstan does not have any real rivalry with any UEFA national team, although matches with Azerbaijan are somewhat important.
Results and fixtures
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
Current staff
Coaching history
As of 24 September 2025.
Players
Current squad
The following players were named in the squad for the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League matches against Faroe Islands, Slovakia, Moldova and Faroe Islands again on 26 and 29 September, and 2 and 6 October 2026, respectively.
Caps and goals updated as of 2 October 2026, after the match against Moldova.
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the Kazakhstan's squad in the last 12 months.
Player records
As of 6 October 2026
Players in bold are still active with Kazakhstan.
Competitive record
Record versus other countries
As of match played 6 October 2026 against Faroe Islands.