India vs Tajikistan: All-Time Head-to-Head Record

Khalid Jamil clinched his first win as India’s head coach against Tajikistan.

The Hisor Central Stadium in Hisor, Tajikistan, gears up to host the two international friendly fixtures between India and Tajikistan. Both sides are set to meet each other after 10 months and a lot has changed since their last meeting, with Tajikistan qualifying for their second AFC Asian Cup.

Since the last defeat to India, Tajikistan have not lost a single game and went on to get the better of Maldives, Timor Leste and the Philippines to top Group A of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

They are now led by Macedonian gaffer Igor Angelovski, who will be incharge of the Tajikistan team for the first time against India.

India, on the other hand are coming after a disappointing campaign in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Despite being the top seeded team and the favourites to qualify, they succumbed to defeats against Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Singapore to end up at the bottom of the table.

Khalid’s men are recently coming after another underwhelming campaign in the Unity Cup 2026 where they finished with two consecutive defeats to Jamaica and Zimbabwe.

Ahead of the two friendly games between Blue Tigresses and the Persian Lions, we take a ride down memory lane to find out what happened when India played Tajikistan last and who has the upper hand in history.

India’s AFC Challenge Cup meetings with Tajikistan

Tajikistan and India were drawn in the same group in AFC Challenge Cup 2006. The first meeting between these two sides took place in Gachibowli Stadium, Hyderabad. India were led by Bob Houghton, and they played a 1-1 draw against India, and the Blue Tigers topped their group.

These two sides met again in the same edition after making it to the finals. India defeated Myanmar whereas Tajikistan defeated North Korea in the semis.

The final was a one sided affair in the Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi as a hattrick from Sunil Chhetri and a goal from Bhaichung Bhutia saw India winnning 4-1 and become the champions.

In the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup, both sides were again drawn in the same group. Tajikistan had revenge in their minds as they went on to win the game 2-0 after goals from Khamroqulov and Davronov in the Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu.

Tajikistan lead the rivalry

India and Tajikistan met again at the Central Republican Stadium a year later in the friendlies. Tajikistan continued their dominance after winning the game 3-0.

The 2019 Intercontinental Cup saw hosts India getting thrashed by Tajikistan 4-2 in the TransStadia Arena in Ahmedabad and India finished bottom of their group after dropping points against Syria and North Korea too. They were led by Igor Stimac back then.

The two sides last met in the CAFA Nations Cup after a gap of seven years, in what was also the first match of the Khalid Jamil era as India’s head coach.

India made a dream start, with early goals from Anwar Ali and Sandesh Jhingan putting the visitors firmly in control with a 2-0 lead. Although the hosts attempted a comeback and pulled one goal back, India held their nerve to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

All-time head-to-head record

Total matches: 06

India won: 02

Tajikistan won: 03

Matches drawn: 01

Although India won both the first and the most recent meeting between the two sides, Tajikistan has largely held the upper hand in this fixture over the past few decades.

Emerging as one of Asia’s rising football powers, Tajikistan currently enjoy a higher ranking than India and will also benefit from the advantage of playing on home soil.

For Khalid Jamil, it is a test to perform against a good team and an opportunity to shine after the last few terrible games. For Igor Angelovski, this will be his first major assignment after taking over the reins of Tajikistan, and he will be keen to make his debut a memorable one.

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