the second round. After managing a 1–1 draw in the first leg in Ashghabat, they were eventually defeated 4–3 in the second leg, 5–4 on aggregate, thus were knocked out of the contention for Brazil 2014. In winter 2012 the team gathered for a training camp in Turkey. In preparation for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup, Ýazguly Hojageldyýew arranged a friendly match with Romania, which saw them lost 4–0. In March 2012, the team went to Kathmandu to participate in the final tournament of the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup. They beat the hosts Nepal 3–0 and Maldives 3–1, while the final group stage match with Palestine ended in a goalless draw. In the semifinals, Turkmenistan defeated the Philippines 2–1. However, as in the previous edition, they lost the final match to North Korea with a scoreline of 1–2. In October 2012, Turkmenistan's team took second place at the 2012 VFF Cup, beating the teams of Vietnam and Laos, only to lose in the final match against the South Korean University Selection team 0–4. On 23 March 2013 Turkmenistan defeated Cambodia 7–0 in Manila, in the qualifying round of the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. In the second round, Turkmenistan was to meet Brunei, but the team did not arrive at the tournament, thus Turkmenistan was awarded a default 3–0 victory. In the last round, Turkmenistan lost to Philippines 1–0, but managed to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup finals as the best second placed team alongside Laos. In January 2014 Rahym Kurbanmämmedow was again in charge of the national team. They held three training camps in May and participated in the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage, thereby losing the chance to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup. In June 2014, as a result of their poor performance at the AFC Challenge Cup, the entire coaching staff was dismissed, including the head coach. In the spring of 2015, Amangylyç Koçumow was appointed as the new head coach of the national team to prepare the team for participation in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. The team started off badly, losing to one of the weakest team in Asia – Guam national football team 0–1. On 16 June 2015, for the first time, the Turkmenistan national team held a match outside Ashgabat, at the Spot toplumy Stadium in Dashoguz in the presence of 10,000 spectators, the