Afghanistan’s under-17 national football team suffered a 3–0 defeat to Uzbekistan on Thursday in its third match of the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Championship, continuing a difficult run in the tournament.
The loss leaves Afghanistan with one point from three matches, following an earlier draw against Turkmenistan and a 2–1 defeat to Kyrgyzstan.
The tournament, hosted by Uzbekistan, features five Central Asian teams and runs through the end of the month.
Afghanistan now sits at the bottom of the standings, having conceded five goals and scored just once, with a negative goal difference reflecting its struggles on both ends of the field.
The team is scheduled to face Tajikistan — currently one of the strongest sides in the competition — in its final match on Saturday.
The results mark a sharp contrast to Afghanistan’s performance in 2024, when the team won the CAFA title in Dushanbe. In that tournament, Afghanistan topped its group with victories over Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan before defeating Uzbekistan in the final to claim the championship.
Since then, however, the team’s form has declined significantly. In the 2025 edition of the competition, also held in Tashkent, Afghanistan finished last after losing all its matches, scoring just once and conceding seven goals.
This year’s tournament has so far followed a similar pattern, raising concerns about the team’s development and consistency.
