The Turkmenistan national football team () represents Turkmenistan in men's international football and it is controlled by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan, the governing body for football in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan's home stadiums are the Ashgabat Olympic Stadium and the Kopetdag Stadium. The team represents FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). History After the country gained independence, they played their first match against Kazakhstan on 1 June 1992, and against fellow Central Asian nation Uzbekistan on 28 June the same year. 2000s They qualified for the 2004 Asian Cup by winning the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification, where they were placed in group G, alongside the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Sri Lanka. In the autumn of 2003, in the first leg of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), they defeated Afghanistan 11–0 in Ashgabat. Begench Kuliyev and Rejepmyrat Agabaýew each scored a hat-trick, while Guvanchmuhammet Ovekov scored twice. Other players on the scoresheet that day were Nazar Bayramov, Omar Berdiyev and Didarklych Urazov. In the second leg the team won 0–2, with both goals scored by Begench Kuliyev. In December 2003, the national team of Turkmenistan reached the top 100 in the FIFA rankings for the first time in its history, reaching the 99th position, thanks to the successes in the 2004 Asian Cup and the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. In the 2004 Asian Cup that took place in China, Turkmenistan was placed in group C, with neighbours Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. They were knocked out in the group stages following two defeats and a draw against Saudi Arabia. 2010s In February 2010, Turkmenistan's national football team was headed by Ýazguly Hojageldyýew, who was working for HTTU Aşgabat. Under his leadership the team went to Sri Lanka to participate in the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup. For the first time, they made it to the final, only to see them lose against North Korea in the penalty shootout. In the same year, the Football Association of Turkmenistan invited a native Turkmen, the head coach of FC Rubin Kazan, Kurban Berdyev to resume leadership. In March 2011, Turkmenistan successfully entered the final round of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup, beating Pakistan, Taiwan, and played in a draw with India in the qualifying competition in Kuala Lumpur. In the summer of 2011, in the race for a spot at the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil, they faced Indonesia in