Turkmen footballers started the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Youth Team Championship (U20) in Tajikistan with a victory. In the first match of the tournament, which brought together representatives from five countries, our compatriots defeated their peers from Afghanistan 3:1.
The Turkmen took the lead in the 37th second, scoring one of the fastest goals in the CAFA Championship. The Afghan footballers failed to take a free kick. Arslan Vepayev immediately took the ball from defender Milad Darvish and sent it into the net without any interference.
Having firmly seized the initiative early in the match, the charges of Didar Hajyyev soon doubled their score. In the 9th minute, Yagmyr Hajyyev made a pass from the right flank to Yakupmuhammet Govshudov, who, after handling the ball, sent it low into the left corner of the goal – 2:0.
And in the 26th minute the score became 3:0 in favour of the Turkmenistan team. After an unsuccessful corner kick by the Afghans, our footballers launched a quick attack: Didargylych Urazov sent a precise pass from the centre of the field to Veyisgeldi Orazdurdyyev, who, after a battle with a defender from about 30 metres away, sent the ball over the collar of goalkeeper.
The Afghan footballers also scored a beautiful goal. In the 6th minute of stoppage time of the first half, they played a free kick on the right side of the pitch, after which they passed the ball to Yaser Safi, who from about 25 metres sent the ball into the top corner – 3:1.
The score remained unchanged in the second half. The captain of the Turkmenistan youth team, Yakupmuhammet Govshudov, was recognised as the best player of the match.
In another match of the day, the Uzbekistan national team won against the Kyrgyzstan team 2-0 at the «Talco Arena» stadium in Tursunzade.
As a reminder, the 2026 CAFA Championship involves teams from Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, all playing in a single-round roster. The winner will be determined by the highest number of points. The winner will be determined by the highest number of points scored.
After the first day of play, representatives of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan took the lead in the tournament with 3 points.
In the second round, the Turkmenistan youth team will play against their counterparts from Tajikistan, and in the other match, the teams from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan will meet.
