Since joining FIFA in 1994, Turkmenistan have participated in Asian qualifying for each of six World Cups thereafter.
ASHGABAT (Turkmenistan): Turkmenistan are enjoying arguably their best Asian Qualifiers campaign for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.
Pitted against Korea Republic, DPR Korea, Lebanon and Sri Lanka in Group H in the second round of the Asian Qualifiers, the Karakum Warriors’ chances of making a real impact looked slim.
Their first few results didn’t suggest otherwise, with losses to Korea Republic and Lebanon sandwiching a 2-0 win in Sri Lanka.
Just as their campaign looked in jeopardy, however, Turkmenistan bounced back in unexpected fashion. A 3-1 home win over DPR Korea and another two-goal defeat of Sri Lanka propelled them top, one point clear of Korea Republic.
With three matches remaining, they are in with a genuine shout of seizing the pool’s only ticket to the next round, or at least reaching it as one of the four best runners-up.
“We are glad to see that we are in first place,” Turkmenistan captain Arslanmyrat Amanow told FIFA.com. “It was not easy to reach the top, but we deserve it. We have worked very hard en route to earning the victories.
“Of course, we understand that there is little room for complacency. There are three games remaining and we can’t take anything for granted. We must do our best to please our fans and make our country proud.”
Since joining FIFA in 1994, Turkmenistan have participated in Asian qualifying for each of the six World Cups thereafter.
Despite suffering early exits on each occasion, however, gradual progress has been made down the years.
Notably, they impressed in the same stage on the Road to Russia 2018, stunning Islamic Republic of Iran in a 1-1 draw and pulling off impressive wins against the likes of Oman and India.
