Kyrgyzstan, since independence from the Soviet Union, has struggled to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup. Not considering to be a top team, Kyrgyzstan was regarded as a weaker team, prior to the 2010s.

However, since the 2010s, with the subsequent managerial developments, especially from German and Russian managers, Kyrgyzstan has changed rapidly, and has emerged to become one of the better teams in the continent. Eventually, Kyrgyzstan registered history, by qualifying to their first ever Asian Cup, in 2019. ^[1] This successful achievement of Kyrgyzstan was deemed to have a positive impact to the nation, which is mostly known for wrestling and traditional archery.

2019 AFC Asian Cup

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	3	3	0	0	4	0	+4	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	China	3	2	0	1	5	3	+2	6
3	Kyrgyzstan	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
4	Philippines	3	0	0	3	1	7	−6	0

7 January 2019 (2019-01-07)

15:00

China	2–1	Kyrgyzstan
Matyash 50' ( o.g.) Yu Dabao 78'	Report	Israilov 42'

Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 1,839

Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed ( United Arab Emirates)

11 January 2019 (2019-01-11)

20:00

Kyrgyzstan	0–1	South Korea
	Report	Kim Min-jae 41'

Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain

Attendance: 4,893

Referee: Khamis Al-Marri ( Qatar)

16 January 2019 (2019-01-16)

17:30

Kyrgyzstan	3–1	Philippines
Lux 24', 51', 77'	Report	Schröck 80'

Rashid Stadium, Dubai

Attendance: 4,217

Referee: Turki Al-Khudhayr ( Saudi Arabia)

Ranking of third-placed teams

Pos	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	A	Bahrain	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4	Advance to knockout stage
2	C	Kyrgyzstan	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3 [a]
3	F	Oman	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3 [a]
4	D	Vietnam	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3 [b]
5	E	Lebanon	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	3 [b]
6	B	Palestine	3	0	2	1	0	3	−3	2

Knockout stage

Round of 16

21 January 2019 (2019-01-21)

21:00

United Arab Emirates	3–2 ( a.e.t.)	Kyrgyzstan
Esmaeel 14' Mabkhout 64' Khalil 103' ( pen.)	Report	Murzaev 26' Rustamov 90+1'

Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Attendance: 17,784

Referee: Fu Ming ( China PR)

2023 AFC Asian Cup

Group F

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Saudi Arabia	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Thailand	3	1	2	0	2	0	+2	5
3	Oman	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2
4	Kyrgyzstan	3	0	1	2	1	5	−4	1

16 January 2024 (2024-01-16)

17:30

Thailand	2–0	Kyrgyzstan
Supachai 26', 48'	Report

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 4,530

Referee: Adham Makhadmeh ( Jordan)

21 January 2024 (2024-01-21)

20:30

Kyrgyzstan	0–2	Saudi Arabia
	Report	Kanno 35' Al-Ghamdi 84'

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 39,557

Referee: Jumpei Iida ( Japan)

25 January 2024 (2024-01-25)

18:00

Kyrgyzstan	1–1	Oman
Kojo 80'	Report	Al-Ghassani 8'

Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 6,231

Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali ( Kuwait)

Asian Cup performance

AFC Asian Cup										AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1956 to 1992	Part of   Soviet Union									Part of   Soviet Union
1996	Did not qualify									4	1	0	3	3	7
2000										3	0	0	3	3	11
2004										2	1	0	1	3	2
2007	Did not enter									Did not enter
2011	Did not qualify									2010 AFC Challenge Cup was used to determine qualification for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup
2015										2012 and 2014 AFC Challenge Cup were used to determine qualification for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup
2019	Round of 16	15th	4	1	0	3	6	7		14	8	3	3	26	17
2023	Group stage	20th	3	0	1	2	1	5		11	5	2	4	23	13
Total	2/18	Best: 15th	7	1	1	5	7	12		34	15	5	14	68	50

References