Syria national football team

Syria

Nickname(s)	Nosour Qasioun[1] (Arabic: نسور قاسيون, lit. 'Qasioun Eagles')
Association	Syrian Arab Federation for Football
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	WAFF (West Asia) UAFA (Arab world)
Head coach	Valeriu Tița
Captain	Omar Al Soma
Most caps	Maher Al-Sayed (109)
Top scorer	Firas Al Khatib (36)
Home stadium	Abbasiyyin Stadium Aleppo International Stadium
FIFA code	SYR
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	86 1 (23 December 2021)[2]
Highest	68 (1 July 2018)
Lowest	152 (September 2014, March 2015)
First international
Lebanon 1–2 Syria  (Beirut, Lebanon; 19 April 1942)[3]
Biggest win
Syria 13–0 Muscat and Oman (Cairo, Egypt; 6 September 1965)
Biggest defeat
Greece 8–0 Syria  (Athens, Greece; 25 November 1949)  Egypt 8–0 Syria  (Alexandria, Egypt; 16 October 1951)
Asian Cup
Appearances	6 (first in 1980)
Best result	Group stage (1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2019)
Arab Cup
Appearances	7 (first in 1963)
Best result	Runners-up (1963, 1966, 1988)
WAFF Championship
Appearances	8 (first in 2000)
Best result	Champions (2012)

The Syria national football team (Arabic: منتخب سوريا لكرة القدم) represents Syria in association football and is controlled by the Syrian Arab Federation for Football, the governing body for football in Syria. Syria has never qualified for the World Cup finals but did reach the fourth qualification round in 2018. The team is currently banned by FIFA from playing at home, as they have not hosted a game since December 2010.^[5]

History[]

Syria participated in the 1950 and 1958 World Cup qualifiers, one of the first teams in the region to do so. Between 1958 and 1961, the team combined with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic national football team, although the team's records are attributed only to Egypt by FIFA. In the 1966 World Cup qualifiers they were one of two teams from the Asian zone (the other being Israel) to be allocated to the European qualifying zone and were originally placed with Spain and the Republic of Ireland. However, they joined the Asian and African boycott of the 1966 qualifiers, due to the decision of FIFA to allocate just one place between Asia and Africa.

Syria has never qualified for the World Cup. The farthest they've gone in qualification was in the 1986 qualifiers when they reached the final qualifying round only to lose to Iraq. They were disqualified from the 2014 World Cup due to the use of an ineligible player.^[6]

In December 2012, Syria beat Iraq in the final of West Asia Cup to collect its first major trophy. Syria has, however, competed in six Asian Cups, the last being 2019, but on each occasion were eliminated at the group stage.

Ever since civil war broke out in the country, Syria have been banned from playing home games in their own country and in fact were one day away from being thrown out of the 2018 World Cup only for Malaysia to swoop in at the last minute and offer to host all of Syria's home games. Syria had a large upturn in fortune as they made it to 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round but were eliminated by Australia 3–2 on aggregate.^[7]

Kit suppliers[]

Kit supplier	Period	Notes
Diadora	2007–2011
Adidas	2012–2013
Lotto	2014–2016
Jako	2017–2020
Uhlsport	2021–

Schedule and recent results[]

  Win   Draw   Loss

2021[]

2022[]

Coaching staff[]

Current coaching staff[]

Manager history[]

Name	Nat	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Honours
Vinzenz Dittrich		1951
Francisc Mészáros		1954
József Albert		1956–1959					1957 Pan Arab Games winners
Miklós Vadas		1960–1965
Cornel Drăgușin		1965–1966
Ezzat Abdel-Wahab		1969
Moussa Shammas		1980
Avedis Kavlakian		1983–1985
Valeriy Yaremchenko		1985–1987					1987 Mediterranean Games winners
Anatoliy Azarenkov		1986–1990
Anatoliy Azarenkov		1992
Virgil Dridea		1992–1993
Yuri Kurnenin		1995-1996
Kevork Mardikian		1997
Mircea Rădulescu		1997–1998
Moussa Shammas		March 1999 – September 1999
Dragoslav Popović		September 1999 – February 2000
Dragoslav Sridović		March 2000 – April 2000
Božidar Vukotić		March 2001 – October 2001
Jalal Talebi		November 2001 – September 2002	10	9	0	1
Janusz Wójcik		March 2003 – August 2003
Božidar Vukotić		September 2003 – November 2003
Ahmed Rifaat		December 2003 – November 2004
Nizar Mahrous		November 2004 – 2005
Miloslav Radenović		2005 – August 2006
Fajr Ibrahim		5 August 2006 – February 2008	24	13	5	6
Mohammad Kwid		10 May 2008 – 20 August 2008	8	4	0	4
Fajr Ibrahim		13 November 2008 – 13 September 2010	28	13	9	6
Ayman Hakeem (Interim)		14 September 2010 – 20 December 2010	5	2	1	2
Ratomir Dujković		28 October 2010 – 8 December 2010	1	1	0	0
Valeriu Tiţa		21 December 2010 – 9 February 2011	6	1	0	5
Claude Le Roy		16 April 2011 – 4 May 2011	0	0	0	0
Nizar Mahrous		22 May 2011 – 18 August 2011	7	5	2	0
Marwan Khoury		7 July 2012 – 30 August 2012	4	1	1	2
Hussam Al Sayed		21 October 2012 – 10 April 2013	8	2	3	3	2012 WAFF Championship winners
Anas Makhlouf		13 April 2013 – 23 October 2013	3	0	1	2
Hussam Al Sayed (Interim)		9 November 2013 – 20 November 2013	3	1	0	2
Ahmad Al Shaar		13 February 2014 – 5 March 2014	1	0	0	1
Muhannad Al Fakeer		18 September 2014 – 5 January 2015	2	2	0	0
Fajr Ibrahim		6 January 2015 – 29 March 2016	14	10	1	3
Ayman Hakeem		9 May 2016 – 20 November 2017	21	6	11	4
Bernd Stange		31 January 2018 – 10 January 2019	11	3	5	3
Fajr Ibrahim		10 January 2019 – 31 December 2019	17	7	3	7
Nabil Maâloul		11 March 2020 – 15 June 2021	7	3	0	4
Nizar Mahrous		7 July 2021 – 16 November 2021	6	0	2	4
Valeriu Tiţa		18 November 2021 –	3	1	0	2

Players[]

Current squad[]

The following players were called up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against United Arab Emirates and South Korea, on 26 January 2022 and 1 Februar 2022, respectively.

Information correct as of 6 December 2021, after the match against Mauritania.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Ibrahim Alma	(1991-10-18) 18 October 1991 (age 30)	69	0	Jableh
	1GK	Khaled Haj Othman	(1987-05-01) 1 May 1987 (age 34)	7	0	Al-Ittihad
	1GK		(1993-04-01) 1 April 1993 (age 28)	0	0	Al-Karamah
	2DF	Omar Midani	(1994-01-26) 26 January 1994 (age 27)	51	1	Al-Nasr
	2DF	Amro Jenyat	(1993-01-15) 15 January 1993 (age 29)	33	1	Al-Manama
	2DF	Abdullah Al Shami	(1994-03-02) 2 March 1994 (age 27)	10	0	Al-Fahaheel
	2DF	Youssef Mohammad	(1999-06-26) 26 June 1999 (age 22)	10	0	Al-Ahli
	2DF	Muayad Al Khouli	(1993-10-16) 16 October 1993 (age 28)	7	0	Al-Nasr
	2DF		(1992-08-08) 8 August 1992 (age 29)	3	0	Al-Karamah
	2DF		(2000-05-18) 18 May 2000 (age 21)	0	0	Al-Fotuwa
	3MF	Mahmoud Al-Mawas	(1993-01-01) 1 January 1993 (age 29)	80	15	Al-Shorta
	3MF	Tamer Haj Mohamad	(1990-04-03) 3 April 1990 (age 31)	36	1	Al-Karamah
	3MF	Fahd Youssef	(1987-05-15) 15 May 1987 (age 34)	32	0	Al-Shorta
	3MF	Ward Al Salama	(1994-07-15) 15 July 1994 (age 27)	20	2	Al-Manama
	3MF	Mohammad Anz	(1995-05-14) 14 May 1995 (age 26)	18	1	Al-Riffa
	3MF	Thaer Krouma	(1990-02-02) 2 February 1990 (age 31)	18	0	Al-Najma
	3MF	Kamel Hmeisheh	(1998-07-23) 23 July 1998 (age 23)	17	0	Al-Karkh
	3MF	Aias Aosman	(1994-10-21) 21 October 1994 (age 27)	15	2	Ionikos
	3MF	Mohamad Rihanieh	(2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 21)	9	0	Al-Ittihad
	3MF	Oliver Kass Kawo	(2001-12-03) 3 December 2001 (age 20)	3	1	Järfälla
	3MF	Hosam Aiesh	(1995-04-14) 14 April 1995 (age 26)	0	0	Göteborg
	3MF		(2000-01-11) 11 January 2000 (age 22)	0	0	Hutteen
	4FW	Omar Khribin	(1994-01-15) 15 January 1994 (age 28)	49	20	Al Wahda
	4FW	Omar Al Somah	(1989-03-28) 28 March 1989 (age 32)	30	17	Al-Ahli
	4FW	Mahmoud Al Baher	(1994-01-03) 3 January 1994 (age 28)	8	2	Al-Riffa
	4FW	Molham Babouli	(1993-01-02) 2 January 1993 (age 29)	0	0	Forge

Recent call-ups[]

The following players have also been called up to the Syria squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Taha Mosa	(1987-05-24) 24 May 1987 (age 34)	5	0	Al-Wahda	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
GK		(1993-01-30) 30 January 1993 (age 28)	0	0	Al-Jaish	v.  Iran, 16 November 2021
GK		(1997-01-30) 30 January 1997 (age 24)	0	0	Al-Fotuwa	v.  Lebanon, 12 October 2021
GK	Ahmad Madania	(1990-01-01) 1 January 1990 (age 32)	10	0	Tishreen	v.  China PR, 15 June 2021
GK		(1996-01-10) 10 January 1996 (age 26)	1	0	Al-Wahda	v.  China PR, 15 June 2021
DF		(1997-01-31) 31 January 1997 (age 24)	10	0	Al-Manama	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
DF		(1999-01-01) 1 January 1999 (age 23)	1	0	Al-Wahda	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
DF		(1999-04-27) 27 April 1999 (age 22)	0	0	Al-Jaish	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
DF		(1997-01-31) 31 January 1997 (age 24)	14	0	Naft Al-Wasat	2021 FIFA Arab Cup WD
DF	Saad Ahmad	(1989-08-10) 10 August 1989 (age 32)	6	0	Erbil	2021 FIFA Arab Cup INJ
DF	Moayad Ajan	(1993-02-16) 16 February 1993 (age 28)	62	1	Al-Riffa	v.  Lebanon, 12 October 2021
DF	Abdul Rahman Weiss	(1998-06-14) 14 June 1998 (age 23)	4	0	OFI Crete	v.  Lebanon, 12 October 2021
DF	Jehad Al Baour	(1987-06-27) 27 June 1987 (age 34)	23	1	Al-Jaish	v.  United Arab Emirates, 7 September 2021
DF		(1995-01-16) 16 January 1995 (age 27)	3	0	Al-Karkh	v.  United Arab Emirates, 7 September 2021
DF	Anas Balhous	(1986-08-03) 3 August 1986 (age 35)	2	0	Al-Wahda	v.  United Arab Emirates, 7 September 2021
DF	Hussein Jwayed	(1993-01-01) 1 January 1993 (age 29)	31	0	Hutteen	v.  China PR, 15 June 2021
DF		(1997-02-01) 1 February 1997 (age 24)	9	0	Tishreen	v.  China PR, 15 June 2021
DF	Momen Naji	(1996-10-09) 9 October 1996 (age 25)	4	0	Al-Shorta	v.  China PR, 15 June 2021
DF	Ahmad Al Saleh	(1990-05-20) 20 May 1990 (age 31)	54	2	Al-Jaish	v.  Maldives, 4 June 2021 INJ
MF	Mohammad Marmour	(1995-09-17) 17 September 1995 (age 26)	25	3	Mesaimeer	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
	3MF	Mohammed Osman	(1994-01-01) 1 January 1994 (age 28)	19	1	Sparta Rotterdam
MF		(1999-01-01) 1 January 1999 (age 23)	8	0	Al-Manama	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
MF	Ahmed Ashkar	(1996-12-12) 12 December 1996 (age 25)	22	0	Al-Hidd	v.  Iran, 16 November 2021
MF	Israa Hamwiah	(1991-02-11) 11 February 1991 (age 30)	5	0	Al-Hala	v.  Iran, 16 November 2021
MF	Osama Omari	(1992-01-10) 10 January 1992 (age 30)	39	6	Al-Hidd	v.  Lebanon, 12 October 2021
MF	Youssef Kalfa	(1993-05-14) 14 May 1993 (age 28)	23	1	Al-Wahda	v.  United Arab Emirates, 7 September 2021
MF		(1993-12-04) 4 December 1993 (age 28)	3	0	Al-Wathba	v.  United Arab Emirates, 7 September 2021
MF	Kamel Kawaya	(1998-06-06) 6 June 1998 (age 23)	0	0	Tishreen	v.  United Arab Emirates, 7 September 2021
MF	Simon Amin	(1997-11-13) 13 November 1997 (age 24)	1	0	Trelleborgs	v.  China PR, 15 June 2021
MF	Khaled Mobayed	(1993-01-10) 10 January 1993 (age 29)	38	4	Al-Wahda	v.  Bahrain, 25 March 2021 INJ
FW		(2000-01-14) 14 January 2000 (age 22)	3	0	Tishreen	2021 FIFA Arab Cup
FW	Alaa Al Dali	(1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 (age 25)	7	0	Al-Arabi	v.  Lebanon, 12 October 2021
FW	Nasouh Al Nakdali	(1993-06-15) 15 June 1993 (age 28)	14	0	Tishreen	v.  United Arab Emirates, 7 September 2021
FW	Mardik Mardikian	(1992-03-14) 14 March 1992 (age 29)	37	6	Al-Arabi	v.  China PR, 15 June 2021
FW		(1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 (age 24)	2	0	Al-Muharraq	v.  Maldives, 4 June 2021 INJ
SUS Player suspended. INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. RET Retired from the national team. WD Player withdrew from the squad for non-injury related reasons.

Previous squads[]

Asian Cup

• 1984 Asian Cup squad
• 1988 Asian Cup squad
• 1996 Asian Cup squad
• 2011 Asian Cup squad
• 2019 Asian Cup squad

Player records[]

As of 4 June 2021^[8]

Players in bold are still active with Syria.

Most capped players[]

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Maher Al-Sayed	109	29	1999–2013
2	Ali Diab	97	4	2004–2013
3	Mosab Balhous	86	0	2006–2016
4	Raja Rafe	84	32	2002–2015
5	Tarek Jabban	83	5	1996–2007
6	Mahmoud Al-Mawas	79	15	2012–
7	Nizar Mahrous	76	12	1985–1993
8	George Khouri	74	8	1982–1989
9	Firas Al-Khatib	72	36	2001–2019
10	Feras Esmaeel	69	5	2002–2011

Top goalscorers[]

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Firas Al-Khatib	36	72	0.5	2001–2019
2	Raja Rafe	32	84	0.38	2006–2016
3	Maher Al-Sayed	29	109	0.27	1999–2013
4	Said Bayazid	24	24	1	1997–2001
5	Zyad Chaabo	22	49	0.45	2001–2010
6	Omar Kharbin	20	48	0.42	2012–present
7	Omar Al Somah	17	30	0.57	2012–present
8	Mohamed Al-Zeno	15	44	0.34	2004–2011
	Mahmoud Al-Mawas	15	79	0.19	2012–present
10		14	—	—	1953–1966

Competition records[]

FIFA World Cup[]

FIFA World Cup record									FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter								Did not enter
1934
1938
1950	Withdrew								1	0	0	1	0	7
1954	Did not enter								Did not enter
1958	Did not qualify								2	0	1	1	1	2
1962	Withdrew								Withdrew
1966
1970	Did not enter								Did not enter
1974	Did not qualify								6	3	1	2	6	6
1978	Withdrew								4	1	0	3	2	6
1982	Did not qualify								4	0	0	4	2	7
1986									8	4	3	1	8	4
1990									4	2	1	1	7	5
1994									6	3	3	0	14	4
1998									5	2	1	2	27	5
2002									6	4	1	1	40	6
2006									6	2	2	2	7	7
2010									10	6	2	2	23	10
2014	Disqualified								2	0	0	2	0	6
2018	Did not qualify								20	9	5	6	36	22
2022	To be determined								14	7	2	5	27	18
2026	To be determined								To be determined
Total	0/23	–	–	–	–	–	–	98	43	22	33	201	115

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

AFC Asian Cup[]

Olympic Games[]

Olympic Games record									Olympic Games qualification record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1900 to 1968	Did not enter
1972	Did not qualify								2	0	1	1	0	1
1976	Did not enter
1980	Round 1	3	0	1	2	0	8		4	2	0	2	3	1
1984	Did not qualify								6	2	1	3	6	10
1988									2	0	0	2	0	5
1992 to present	See Syria national under-23 team								See Syria national under-23 team
Total	0 Titles	3	0	1	2	0	8	14	4	2	8	9	17

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

WAFF Championship[]

WAFF Championship record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2000	Runners-up	5	2	1	2	5	2
2002	Fourth place	4	1	1	2	5	6
2004	Runners-up	4	1	1	2	6	13
2007	Semi-finals	3	2	0	1	2	3
2008	Semi-finals	3	1	1	1	2	3
2010	Group stage	2	0	1	1	2	3
2012	Champions	4	2	2	0	5	3
2014	Withdrew
2019	Group stage	4	0	2	2	5	7
2023	Qualified
Total	1 Title	29	9	9	11	32	40

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

FIFA Arab Cup[]

FIFA Arab Cup record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1963	Runners-up	4	3	0	1	9	4
1964	Did not enter
1966	Runners-up	5	3	1	1	9	4
1985	Did not enter
1988	Runners-up	6	2	2	2	5	5
1992	Fourth place	4	0	3	1	2	3
1998	Group stage	2	0	0	2	1	6
2002	Group stage	4	2	0	2	8	6
2012	Did not enter
2021	Group stage	3	1	0	2	4	4
Total	0 Titles	28	11	6	11	38	32

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Pan Arab Games[]

Pan Arab Games record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1953	Runners-up	3	1	1	1	3	5
1957	Champions	5	2	2	1	12	6
1961	Did not enter
1965	Group stage	4	2	0	2	20	8
1976	Third place	6	3	1	2	6	4
1985	Group stage	2	0	0	2	0	4
1992	Fourth place	4	0	3	1	2	3
1997	Runners-up	5	4	0	1	9	5
1999	Group stage	4	0	4	0	5	5
2007	Did not enter
2011	Withdrew
	To be determined
Total	1 Title	33	12	11	10	57	40

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Mediterranean Games[]

Mediterranean Games record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951	Third place	2	0	0	2	0	12
1955	Fourth place	3	0	0	3	0	10
1959	Did not enter
1963	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	10
1967	Did not enter
1971	Group stage	3	0	0	3	1	4
1975	Did not enter
1979
1983	Group stage	2	0	0	2	0	2
1987	Champions	5	4	1	0	13	3
1991 to present	See Syria national under-20 team
Total	1 Title	18	4	1	13	15	41

Asian Games[]

Asian Games record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1951	Did not enter
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982	Group stage	3	0	2	1	3	5
1986	Did not enter
1990
1994
1998
2002 to present	See Syria national under-23 team
Total	0 Titles	3	0	1	2	3	5

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

West Asian Games[]

West Asian Games record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1997	Runners-up
2002	Third place[9]	4	1	3	0	5	4
2005	Runners-up	4	1	3	0	7	5
Total	0 Titles	8	2	6	0	12	9

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Head-to-head record[]

Syria national football team results
Senior team  Summary 1940–1999 2000–2009 2010–2019 2020–2029  Under-23 team   Other matches

Honours[]

• West Asian Football Federation Championship

Winners (1): 2012

Runners-up (2): 2000, 2004

Fourth place (1): 2002

Semi-finals (2): 2007, 2008

• Arab Cup

Runners-up (3): 1963, 1966, 1988

Fourth place (3): 1992

• Pan Arab Games

Winners (1): 1957

Runners-up (2): 1953, 1997

Third place (1): 1976

Fourth place (1): 1992

• Mediterranean Games

Winners (1): 1987

Third place (1): 1951

Fourth place (1): 1955

• West Asian Games

Runners-up (2): 1997, 2005

Third place (1): 2002

See also[]

• Syria national under-23 football team
• Syria national under-20 football team
• Syria national under-17 football team
• Syria national futsal team
• Syria women's national football team
• Syrian Football Association
• Football in Syria
• Sport in Syria

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Syria national football team.

• Syria national team on FIFA.com
• (in Arabic) Official website of Syrian Arab Federation of Football
• Syria national team on Goalzz.com
• (in Arabic) Syria national team on Super.ae
• (in Arabic) Syria national team on Kooora.com