Azerbaijan national football team

In the early twentieth century, football began to become popular in Azerbaijan, which was then part of the Russian Empire. In 1912, Azerbaijani football players had their first "international match" and they won in Tbilisi, Georgia against the local "Sokol" team with 4:2. During 1912–1913, matches between Azerbaijani and Georgian football teams were organized, first in Tbilisi and then in Baku. In 1914, the Football Union was founded in Azerbaijan. The Football Union undertook the organization of official city championships and other competitions.[4]

The oldest records of football teams in Soviet Azerbaijan goes back to 1926–1927, when Trans-Caucasian Championship was organized in Tbilisi. Three South Caucasian countries participated: Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.[2] The Azerbaijan national football team held its first friendly matches against Georgia and Armenia in 1927 for the Trans-Caucasian Championship in Georgia.[2] Also in 1926, football players from Azerbaijan played three matches with Football team from Iran in Baku. In 1929, there were played three matches between these teams in Tehran. In all matches Azerbaijan players won.[5][6]

The 1960s is considered the Golden Age for Azerbaijani football as it produced great players like Anatoliy Banishevskiy, Alakbar Mammadov and the football referee Tofiq Bahramov, most famous for being the linesman who helped to award a goal for England in the 1966 World Cup Final between England and West Germany.

After Azerbaijan gained its independence in 1991, AFFA — Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan — was created. In 1992, renowned Azerbaijani footballer Alekper Mamedov became the first head coach of the Azerbaijani national football team, compiling a 3–1 record as coach that includes the first ever national team victory, over Georgia on May 25, 1993.[7][8] In 1994, the national team was accepted into FIFA and UEFA. The security issues, forced the team to play all of its home Euro 96 qualifiers in Trabzon, Turkey.[9]

Azerbaijani squad in 2008.

As of the early 2000s, Azerbaijani football federation started to integrate more players to the national team through FIFA's eligibility rules.[10] In February 2004, Carlos Alberto Torres, captain of the Brazil team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup was appointed its national coach. Despite a poor start, a 0–6 defeat to Israel on February 18, Azerbaijan won their first ever away match, 3–2 against Kazakhstan on April 28. In June 2005, following a 3–0 defeat by Poland, Torres stood down from the position, to be replaced by former Neftchi coach Vagif Sadygov, his third spell as coach of Azerbaijan. Shahin Diniyev took over as manager in November 2005. He resigned on 31 October 2007, and Gjoko Hadzievski was named as care-taking coach of Azerbaijan.[11]

In April 2008, former German football player and coach Berti Vogts was appointed as a manager of Azerbaijan on a two-year contract.[12] Azerbaijan had a mixed qualifying campaign, finishing with 5 points, just missing out on a last place to Liechtenstein with 2 points.

In November 2009, AFFA extended Berti Vogts' contract a further two years, making him the first manager to manage the weak Azerbaijani national team in two qualification cycles.[13][14]

In 2010, following a shock win over Turkey, the team reached 90th place in FIFA World Rankings, Azerbaijan's highest position ever in country's football history.[15][16] After victory over Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan also broke their scoring and points records by gaining 7 points and scoring 10 goals.[17][18]

In November 2011, AFFA extended Berti Vogts' contract a further two years, until the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification cycle.[19] Under Vogts, Azerbaijan had some poor results, not being able to defeat second-string sides. Vogts faced major criticism, protest and demonstration from local supporters and the media.[20][21] However, Azerbaijan managed to finish qualification cycle in fourth place, the team's best ever finish.[22] In December 2013, Vogts being granted a new two-year contract, with aim to lead Azerbaijan through EURO 2016 qualifying.[23] In July 2014, Azerbaijan beat its ranking record by reaching 73rd place in FIFA World Rankings. Following three straight losses, Vogts resigned from his post after spending six years in charge of Azerbaijan.[24][25]

Succeeding Vogts as full-time manager was former Croatia international Robert Prosinečki. He guided the Azerbaijani team to another record points haul (10) in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying, but the team still finished fifth in the six-team Group C. Prosinečki resigned after deciding not to extend his contract with the Azerbaijan Football Federation and was succeeded by fellow countryman Nikola Jurčević.

The UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying proved to be a disaster for Azerbaijan as the team finished in bottom with a complete seven defeats and only one draw, which surprisingly, a draw against 2018 FIFA World Cup runners-up Croatia, the home of the manager. Nikola Jurčević departed following the poor performance of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan national football team in October 2013.

As of UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying round, Azerbaijan's home colours are all-red kit. The team wears an all-blue kit for away games. This combination of colours is traditional for the national team since their first game. At the beginning of 90s, the team wore a white shirt, but towards the end of the decade it was transformed into blue-white striped shirts. At the beginning of the 2000s, the kit was replaced by the white shirt with a vertical tricolour stripe, formed of the colors from the national flag of Azerbaijan on the chest. The kit was changed into blue shirts, red shorts and green socks only for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying round. After the tournament, the national team went back to their usual combination of colours.

Azerbaijan national team's away colours were yellow-black striped shirts, black shorts and yellow socks until UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying round, when it was decided to abandon this kit in favor of the completely blue. During the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying round games the team has used an all red kit.

Since 2017, Azergayjan's kit has been supplied by Nike. They took over from Puma who were Azerbaijan's kit suppliers between 2004 and 2006. Before that Umbro were Azerbaijan's kit suppliers between 2002 and 2004.

Azerbaijan is often referred to by the media and supporters as Milli (The National), which is the nickname associated with all of Azerbaijan's international sporting teams due to the team's utilization of the country's national colors.[26]

Most of Azerbaijan's home matches are played at the new Baku Olympic Stadium in Baku. It has been Azerbaijan's primary home stadium ever since the move from Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in 2015. Today, some qualifying matches and friendly matches are still hosted at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, whereas others are hosted at the Lankaran City Stadium, Bakcell Arena and Dalga Arena after it met UEFA stadium criteria.[27][28]

Azerbaijan's matches are presently covered by the public channel İTV.[29] 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match rights were held by AZTV and Idman Azerbaijan TV.[30]

AZTV, Idman Azerbaijan TV and Lider TV are among other networks that have previously shown live fixtures.[31]

Under Berti Vogts, Azerbaijan reached its highest position ever in FIFA World Rankings

As of 17 November 2020[32]

Manager	Azerbaijan career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Ahmad Alaskarov	17 September 1992	1	0	0	1	000.00
Alakbar Mammadov	25 May 1993 – 8 June 1993	4	3	1	0	075.00
Kazbek Tuayev (caretaker) Agaselim Mirjavadov (caretaker)	19 April 1994	1	0	0	1	000.00
Agaselim Mirjavadov	2 September 1994 – 6 September 1995	9	0	0	9	000.00
Kazbek Tuayev	11 October 1995 – 10 November 1996	11	3	3	5	027.27
Vagif Sadygov	1 March 1997 – 28 November 1998	20	6	3	11	030.00
Ahmad Alaskarov	6 March 1999 – 9 October 1999	9	1	2	6	011.11
Asgar Abdullayev (caretaker)	6 February 2000 – 4 June 2000	4	0	2	2	000.00
Igor Ponomaryov	26 July 2000 – 7 October 2001	15	2	2	11	013.33
Kazbek Tuayev (caretaker)	20 February 2002 – 27 March 2002	2	0	0	2	000.00
Vagif Sadygov	17 April 2002 – 12 October 2002	8	1	4	3	012.50
Asgar Abdullayev	20 November 2002 – 20 December 2003	9	1	2	6	011.11
Carlos Alberto Torres	18 February 2004 – 4 June 2005	18	2	6	10	011.11
Vagif Sadygov (caretaker)	17 August 2005 – 12 October 2005	4	0	1	3	000.00
Shahin Diniyev	28 February 2006 – 17 October 2007	20	4	7	9	020.00
Gjoko Hadžievski (caretaker)	17 November 2007 – 3 February 2008	3	0	1	2	000.00
Nazim Suleymanov (caretaker)	26 March 2008	1	0	0	1	000.00
Berti Vogts	1 June 2008 – 13 October 2014	71	15	22	34	021.13
Mahmud Gurbanov (caretaker)	16 November 2014	1	0	0	1	000.00
Robert Prosinečki	28 March 2015 – 8 October 2017	23	6	6	11	026.09
Gurban Gurbanov	30 January 2018 – 20 November 2018	12	4	5	3	033.33
Nikola Jurčević	11 February 2019 – 13 December 2019	10	1	2	7	010.00
Gianni De Biasi	10 July 2020 –	7	1	4	2	014.29

• The following players were called up for the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League.[33]
• Match dates: 22 and 25 September 2022
• Opposition:  Slovakia and  Kazakhstan
• Caps and goals correct as of: 25 September 2022, after the match against  Kazakhstan

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Emil Balayev	(1994-04-17) 17 April 1994	13	0	Sabail
12	1GK	Şahruddin Mahammadaliyev	(1994-06-12) 12 June 1994	17	0	Qarabağ
23	1GK	Salahat Aghayev	(1991-01-04) 4 January 1991	19	0	Gabala
3	2DF	Elvin Jafarguliyev	(2000-10-26) 26 October 2000	6	0	Qarabağ
4	2DF	Bahlul Mustafazade	(1997-02-27) 27 February 1997	20	0	Qarabağ
5	2DF	Jalal Huseynov	(2003-01-02) 2 January 2003	4	0	Shamakhi
6	2DF	Hojjat Haghverdi	(1993-02-03) 3 February 1993	15	1	Tractor
13	2DF	Abbas Huseynov	(1995-06-13) 13 June 1995	21	0	Qarabağ
15	2DF	Badavi Huseynov	(1991-07-11) 11 July 1991	64	1	Qarabağ
17	2DF	Toral Bayramov	(2001-02-23) 23 February 2001	11	0	Qarabağ
18	2DF	Anton Krivotsyuk	(1998-08-20) 20 August 1998	25	0	Wisła Płock
	2DF	Amin Seydiyev	(1998-11-15) 15 November 1998	7	0	Sabah
7	3MF	Anatoliy Nuriyev	(1996-05-20) 20 May 1996	12	1	Sabah
8	3MF	Emin Mahmudov	(1992-04-27) 27 April 1992	34	8	Neftçi
14	3MF	Eddy Israfilov	(1992-08-02) 2 August 1992	21	0	Neftçi
16	3MF	Elvin Jamalov	(1995-02-04) 4 February 1995	7	0	Sabah
19	3MF	Filip Ozobić	(1991-04-08) 8 April 1991	10	1	Qarabağ
21	3MF	Ozan Kökçü	(1998-08-08) 8 August 1998	2	0	Eindhoven
22	3MF	Aleksey Isayev	(1995-11-09) 9 November 1995	9	0	Sabah
	3MF	Richard Almeida	(1989-03-20) 20 March 1989	27	3	Qarabağ
	3MF	Gismat Aliyev	(1996-10-24) 24 October 1996	1	0	Zira
2	4FW	Rustam Akhmedzade	(2000-12-25) 25 December 2000	6	0	Zira
9	4FW	Renat Dadashov	(1999-05-17) 17 May 1999	18	1	Grasshopper
10	4FW	Mahir Emreli	(1997-07-01) 1 July 1997	37	5	Dinamo Zagreb
11	4FW	Ramil Sheydayev	(1996-03-15) 15 March 1996	50	8	Qarabağ
20	4FW	Musa Gurbanli	(2002-04-13) 13 April 2002	3	0	Qarabağ

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Mehdi Jannatov	(1992-01-26) 26 January 1992	1	0	Zira	v.  Latvia, 29 March 2022
GK	Nijat Mehbaliyev	(2000-09-11) 11 September 2000	0	0	Sabah	v.  Latvia, 29 March 2022
DF	Maksim Medvedev	(1989-09-29) 29 September 1989	81	4	Qarabağ	v.  Belarus, 13 June 2022
DF	Azer Salahlı	(1994-04-11) 11 April 1994	22	1	Neftçi	v.  Belarus, 13 June 2022
DF	Bakhtiyar Hasanalizade	(1992-12-29) 29 December 1992	0	0	Sabah	v.  Belarus, 13 June 2022
DF	Tamkin Khalilzade	(1993-08-06) 6 August 1993	25	3	Zira	v.  Latvia, 29 March 2022
DF	Tellur Mutallimov	(1995-04-08) 8 April 1995	7	0	Sabah	v.  Qatar, 14 November 2021
DF	Mert Çelik	(2000-06-10) 10 June 2000	0	0	Neftçi	v.  Qatar, 14 November 2021
MF	Gara Garayev	(1992-10-12) 12 October 1992	76	0	Qarabağ	v.  Belarus, 13 June 2022
MF	Dimitrij Nazarov	(1990-04-04) 4 April 1990	46	7	Erzgebirge Aue	v.  Belarus, 13 June 2022
MF	Coşqun Diniyev	(1995-09-13) 13 September 1995	14	0	Zira	v.  Belarus, 13 June 2022
MF	Araz Abdullayev	(1992-04-18) 18 April 1992	44	3	Sumgayit	v.  Qatar, 14 November 2021
MF	Vugar Mustafayev	(1994-08-05) 5 August 1994	11	0	Sumgayit	v.  Qatar, 14 November 2021
FW	Namik Alaskarov	(1995-02-03) 3 February 1995	36	0	Sabah	v.  Belarus, 13 June 2022
FW	Aghabala Ramazanov	(1993-01-20) 20 January 1993	18	1	Sabail	v.  Latvia, 29 March 2022
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. COV Withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19.

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Position
1930 to 1990	Part of  Soviet Union									Part of  Soviet Union
1994	Did not enter									Did not enter
1998	Did not qualify									8	1	0	7	3	22	5/5
2002										10	1	2	7	4	17	6/6
2006										10	0	3	7	1	21	6/6
2010										10	1	2	7	4	14	5/6
2014										10	1	6	3	7	11	4/6
2018										10	3	1	6	10	19	5/6
2022										8	0	1	7	5	18	5/5
2026	To be determined									To be determined
Total		0/22							66	7	15	44	34	122	—

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

UEFA European Championship record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Position
1960 to 1988	Part of  Soviet Union									Part of  Soviet Union
as part of  CIS										as part of  CIS
1992	Group stage	8th	3	0	2	1	1	4		8	5	3	0	13	2	1/5
as  Azerbaijan										as  Azerbaijan
1996	Did not qualify									10	0	1	9	2	29	6/6
2000										10	1	1	8	6	26	5/6
2004										8	1	1	6	5	20	5/5
2008										12	1	2	9	6	28	8/8
2012										10	2	1	7	10	26	5/6
2016										10	1	3	6	7	18	5/6
2020										8	0	1	7	5	18	5/5
2024	To be determined									To be determined
Total		0/7								61	6	10	52	41	165	—