A bearded man in a blue top sits behind a desk at a press conference
Rashad Sadygov is Azerbaijan's most capped player of all time with 110 caps.

The Azerbaijan national football team has represented Azerbaijan in international association football since 1992, after the country declared independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to this, Azerbaijani players had represented the Soviet Union national football team. Azerbaijan played their first official international match on 17 September 1992 in a friendly against neighbouring country Georgia which ended in a 6–3 defeat for Azerbaijan.[1][2] They are governed by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) and compete as a member of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which encompasses the countries of Europe and Israel,[3] after becoming members in 1994, also joining FIFA the same year.[4][5] As of March 2019, Azerbaijan have played 242 international matches since their debut, winning 47, drawing 66 and losing 129.[2] Azerbaijan have played Moldova and Uzbekistan most frequently, meeting each side ten times.[2] In global and continental competitions, Azerbaijan have competed in qualification groups for both the FIFA World Cup, since 1994, and the UEFA European Championship, since 1996, but have failed to qualify for any tournament finals.[6][7]

Defender Rashad Sadygov is Azerbaijan's most capped player of all time and is the only player to have accumulated 100 caps for the national team.[8][9] As of March 2019, Sadygov has played 110 times for the country having made his debut in 2001, against Sweden,[10] and received his last cap in 2017.[11] Gurban Gurbanov, who accumulated 66 caps during his international career, is the country's highest scorer of all time with 12 goals and is the only player to have scored ten or more goals for Azerbaijan as of March 2019.[12]

The first player to accumulate 25 caps for Azerbaijan was Tarlan Ahmadov, on 2 April 1997 in a 2–1 defeat to Finland.[13] He finished his career with 74 caps for the national team,[14] holding the cap record until 2007 when it was surpassed by Aslan Kerimov who earned 78 caps before retiring.[15] In September 2012, the current holder Sadygov overtook Kerimov's cap record and went on to reach 100 caps in October 2015.[11]

List

Appearances and goals are composed of FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship and each competition's required qualification matches, as well as numerous international friendly tournaments and matches. Players are listed by the number of caps. If the number of caps is equal, the players are then listed alphabetically. Statistics updated following match played on 25 March 2019.

Note: Azerbaijan has played three matches that are not recognised by FIFA as full internationals but are counted by the AFFA. These caps are not counted in the table below and the notes column lists which players appeared in the matches. The matches are:

Key
*
 Still active for the national team[a]
=
 Player is tied for the number of caps
GK Goalkeeper
DF Defender
MF Midfielder
FW Forward
A man wearing a red t-shirt stands on field
Gurban Gurbanov is Azerbaijan's top international goalscorer of all time with 12 goals.
A man wearing a blue t-shirt standing in front of a tree
Aslan Kerimov made 78 appearances for Azerbaijan and held the all-time cap record between 2007 and 2012.
Azerbaijan national team footballers with at least 25 appearances[8][6][19]
No. Name Position National team
career 		Caps Goals Notes
1 Rashad Sadygov* DF 2001–2017 110 5 [b]
2 Kamran Agayev* GK 2008–2018 79 0
3 Aslan Kerimov DF 1994–2008 78 0 [c][b][d]
4 Mahir Shukurov* DF 2004–2014 76 4
5 Tarlan Ahmadov DF 1992–2005 73 0 [b]
6 Mahmud Gurbanov MF 1994–2008 70 1 [b]
7 Gurban Gurbanov FW 1992–2005 66 12 [d][e]
8 Emin Agayev DF 1992–2005 65 1
9 Vugar Nadirov* FW 2004–2015 61 4
10 Rahid Amirguliyev* MF 2007–2018 60 3
11 Vagif Javadov* FW 2006–2014 58 9
12 Ruslan Abyshov* DF 2009–2018 56 4
13 Maksim Medvedev* DF 2009–2019 55 3
14= Aleksandr Chertoganov* MF 2006–2012 54 0
Javid Huseynov* MF 2008–2018 54 2
16 Emin Quliyev MF 2000–2008 51 3 [b]
17 Gara Garayev* MF 2013–2019 50 0
18 Rauf Aliyev* FW 2010–2018 47 7
19= Samir Abbasov* DF 2004–2010 46 0
Kamal Guliyev MF 2000–2005 46 0 [b]
21 Vyacheslav Lychkin MF 1995–2001 45 4
22 Emin Imamaliyev MF 2000–2007 44 0 [b]
23 Arif Asadov DF 1993–2002 43 0 [d][e]
24= Afran Ismayilov* MF 2010–2018 40 5
Rail Malikov* DF 2004–2011 40 0
Branimir Subašić* FW 2007–2013 40 7
Zaur Tagizade MF 1997–2008 40 6
28= Rasim Abushev MF 1993–1999 39 3 [d]
Dimitrij Nazarov* FW 2014–2019 39 6
30 Elnur Allahverdiyev* DF 2008–2014 38 0
31= Badavi Huseynov* DF 2012–2019 37 0
Elvin Mammadov* MF 2008–2017 37 7
33 Vidadi Rzayev MF 1992–2001 35 5 [e][d]
34= Samir Aliyev FW 1997–2007 34 4
Yunis Huseynov FW 1993–1998 34 4
Jahangir Hasanzade GK 1998–2007 34 0
Vadim Vasilyev FW 1999–2004 34 2 [b]
Ilham Yadullayev DF 1998–2004 34 0 [b]
39= Araz Abdullayev* MF 2008–2019 33 3
Farrukh Ismayilov FW 1998–2007 33 5
Dmitry Kramarenko GK 1992–2005 33 0
42 Farhad Valiyev* GK 2006–2010 32 0
43= Elmar Bakhshiyev MF 2004–2014 30 0
Ilgar Gurbanov* DF 2004–2018 30 1
45 Ruslan Musayev MF 1997–2004 29 0 [b]
46= Rufat Guliyev MF 1997–2003 28 0
Volodimir Levin* DF 2008–2013 28 0
Sasha Yunisoglu DF 2007–2011 28 0
49 Rashad Sadygov* MF 2010–2015 26 0
50= Aftandil Hajiyev DF 2000–2006 25 0
Nadir Nabiyev FW 2002–2006 25 3 [b]
Ruslan Gurbanov* FW 2015–2018 25 1

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Players who are still active for the national team are players who have not retired from international football and are, subsequently, eligible to be called up.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Played in match against Iran U23 that is not recognised by FIFA.
  3. ^ RSSSF attributes Kerimov with one goal but all other sources award the goal to Kanan Karimov.
  4. ^ a b c d e Played in match against a Cyprus XI that is not recognised by FIFA.
  5. ^ a b c Played in match against Kazakhstan U21 that is not recognised by FIFA.

References

  1. ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Azerbaijan". eloratings.net. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Courtney, Barrie; Di Maggio, Roberto. "Azerbaijan – List of International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Why Does Israel's Football Team Play In Europe?". Sky News. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Recent strides bode well for Azerbaijan". UEFA. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  5. ^ "Azerbaijan". FIFA. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Azerbaijan". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  7. ^ Lahiri, Debjit. "Indian national team: Know your rivals Azerbaijan". goal.com. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  8. ^ a b Mamrud, Roberto. "Azerbaijan – Record International Players". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  9. ^ "The Remaining Active Players With 100 or More International Caps". Sports Illustrated. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  10. ^ "Northern Ireland v Azerbaijan Preview". Irish Football Association. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  11. ^ a b Mamrud, Roberto. "Rashad Farhad Sadygov – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  12. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Gurban Gurbanov – Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Tərlan Əhmədov". eu-football.info. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  14. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Tarlan Akhmedov– International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  15. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Aslan Kerimov – International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Kazakhstan* v Azerbaijan". eu-football.com. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  17. ^ "Cyprus* v Azerbaijan". eu-football.com. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  18. ^ Morrison, Neil. "2002 matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  19. ^ "Azerbaijan". eu-football.info. Retrieved 5 June 2018.

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