The Yemen national football team () represents Yemen in international football. The national team is administered by the Yemen Football Association.
When the nation was split into North Yemen and South Yemen before 1990, two national teams existed. After unification, the Yemen national football team is considered the successor of the North Yemen national football team. See the article South Yemen national football team for details on the South Yemen team.
Despite being the 5th most populated country in the Middle East, and Yemen's successes at the Youth teams such as the U23, U20 and U17 Yemen, so far, Yemen has never achieved the same success as those with smaller populations like the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Syria, Jordan and Oman.
History
1965–1966
Lahej debuted at the 1965 Arab Games in Cairo, Egypt in August 1965. It lost the first game 9–0 to Sudan, then lost 16–1 to Libya. After losing 4–0 to Syria, North Yemen won for the first time by defeating Oman 2–1 in the last game in the group. Lahej did not advance.
In April 1966, North Yemen debuted at the 1966 Arab Cup in Baghdad, Iraq. It was placed in Group 2. North Yemen lost its first match 4–1 to Syria on 1 April, and then 7–0 to Palestine three days later. On 5 April, they lost their last match 13–0 to Libya, and were eliminated, finishing bottom of the group.
Also in 1966, North Yemen entered the Games of the Emerging Forces in Cambodia. They lost their opener 5–3 against Palestine.
1984–1989
Following the tournament in Cambodia, North Yemen did not play a match for eighteen years, returning in 1984 in an attempt to qualify to the 1984 Asian Cup. This was their first entrance of the competition. They were placed at the qualifiers in Group 3 with all matches held in Calcutta, India in October 1984. North Yemen lost the first match on 10 October, 6–0 to South Korea, for whom Park Sung-Hwa scored four goals and Chung Hae-Won two. Two days later, they lost 2–0 to hosts India. On 15 October North Yemen lost 4–1 to Pakistan and three days later by the same score to Malaysia. North Yemen finished at the bottom of the group.
North Yemen entered its first World Cup qualification campaign with the aim of securing a place in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. They were placed in Group 3 of the West Asia zone in the first round of the qualification campaign. North Yemen played their first match at home to Syria in Sana'a on 29 March 1985 and lost 1–0 to a 70th-minute goal. On 5 April, they lost 5–0 to Kuwait in Kuwait City. On 19 April, North Yemen lost 3–0 away to Syria at the Abbasiyyin Stadium in Damascus. On 26 April, while hosting Kuwait, North Yemen scored their only goal in the group as they lost 3–1 in front of 10,000 people.
In August 1985, North Yemen competed at the 1985 Arab Games in Rabat, Morocco and was placed in a group with Saudi Arabia, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates. They lost 2–0 to the Saudis on 5 August, 3–1 to Algeria on 7 August, and then, on 9 August, beat the UAE 2–1 for their first ever victory.
On 15 October 1985, North Yemen played opposition from outside Asia and Africa for the first time, losing a friendly 2–0 to Mexico at home. The game against Mexico was regarded historic, as Mexico was host of the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
Reunification of the North and South (1990s) In the 1990, the North and South of Yemen re-united which prompted what is now the national team of Yemen to be merged from North Yemen. Their first international game, as a unified country, was a 1–0 win against Malaysia on 8 September 1990 in Kuala Lumpur.
Upon being a new country, they entered the footballing world with a different viewpoint. Their captains alternated between matches to promote a "unified" Yemen. Due to the ongoing political conflict in Yemen, many sought football as an escape.
Starting in 1993, their first big task would be the qualification to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, because they did not enter the AFC Asian Cup in 1992, nor the Arab Cup. Yemen lost three games, against China once, and Iraq twice. They drew with Jordan twice, and won against China and Pakistan. This placed them third, five points from Iraq who were first, and ultimately ended their first ever World Cup qualification campaign.
The qualification campaign for the 1996 Asian Cup saw them get thrashed by Saudi Arabia as they lost 4–0 in the first leg, but put a fight in the second leg as they lost 1–0. Despite finishing last, on points with Kyrgyzstan, Yemen's only redeeming event was the narrow 1–0 win against Kyrgyzstan, despite getting beat 3–1 in the return leg.