Qualification history
In FIFA World Cup™ qualifying Turkmenistan have never progressed to the final stage, which contrasts with the former Soviet republic's greatest achievement – reaching the 2004 AFC Asian Cup. Four years ago Turkmenistan reached the third stage only to finish bottom of a tough group behind Korea Republic, Korea DPR and Jordan.
The current crop
The failure to reach the global showpiece, however, has not prevented Turkmenistan from continuing to impress on the Asian stage. In this March's qualifying campaign for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup, they finished joint group winners, alongside India, to book their passage to Asia's second-tier competition. However, they were narrowly eliminated 5-4 on aggregate by Indonesia as their Brazil 2014 dreams were ended.
The key players
The majority of their AFC Challenge Cup squad will continue to feature in Asia’s qualifying for Brazil 2014, with the experienced attacking duo of Berdy Shamuradov and Didarklych Urazov the most notable. Further enhancing their potency upfront, coach Yazguly Hojageldiyev is likely to call on veteran striker Vladimir Bayramov, who can boast 18 FIFA World Cup qualifying appearances and five goals.
Coach: Yazguly Hojageldiyev
Best performance in a FIFA competition: None
Former stars: Kakha Gogoladze, Charyar Mukhadov
