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Tajikistan has been making steady progress in the Asian scene although consistency is still a key factor. The former Soviet Republic nation has recorded some impressive victories particularly over their neighbours, including a 4-0 win over Uzbekistan in a 1996 Asian Cup qualifier and the 5-0 triumph over Turkmenistan in a France '98 preliminary.
However, the national team has encountered many near misses in its search for a place in the finals of a FIFA and AFC competition. At the World Cup level, the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification saw Tajikistan recording a 16-0 landslide victory over Guam. However, their lost of concentration in the second half against IR Iran shattered their dreams.
More recently, the team showed its potential when they held Asian Cup semi-finalist Bahrain to a 0-0 draw in the FIFA qualifications matches.
At the Asian level, 2004 nearly saw Tajikistan making it to the Asian Cup in China PR as one of the two best teams qualifying from Group A. They were edged out by Thailand by just one point. They had beaten Thailand but did themselves no favours when they drew with tiny Hong Kong.
Locally, Tajikistan is full of passion for football and currently has a league of ten teams. Regar-TadAZ has made the league their own, claiming the last four championships. Individually, Tajikistan has exported many of its players to foreign leagues in Austria, Germany, Russia and even as far as South Korea.
Once the team finds its consistency, they will undoubtedly be one of the more difficult teams to beat in Asia.
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