The Laos national football team (; ) is the men's national football team that represents the Lao People's Democratic Republic. It is affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).
History
Laos established their national football association in 1951. The South East Asian nation is still waiting to make its entrance into a major international competition. Laos have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, AFC Asian Cup or Asian Games and as an international side, their appearances have been restricted to regional tournaments such as the Southeast Asian Games and the AFF Championship. After years of internal strife, Laos focused on economic and political recovery. With the country achieving political stability, football has made an impact on Laotians.
Since making their appearance at the 1995 Southeast Asian Games, Laos has competed in the inaugural 1996 AFF Championship drawing against Vietnam 1–1 and winning Cambodia 1–0. Although they are new to the regional tournaments, Laos has displayed a fiery passion and talent. In 1995, they beat Brunei and Philippines and two years later in the 1997 Southeast Asian Games held in Jakarta, they also beat Malaysia 1–0 and Philippines 4–1. Domestic competitions are also active with over 60 clubs competing at various levels. Domestic football is amateur although most of the top teams are drawn from government ministries and public services. In the qualifying preliminary rounds for the 2004 Asian Cup, they beat Bangladesh 2–1. In the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Laos qualified for the second round as a lucky loser after Guam and Nepal both withdrew from the competition, but proceeded to lose all its games (with Qatar, Iran and Jordan). They also advanced to the second round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, after defeating Cambodia 8–6 on aggregate. In the second round, they lost to China 13–3 on aggregate. Laos has defeated their much more established counterparts such as Brunei, Cambodia, Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia. Laos' first appearance in a continental tournament was in 2014, when they played at the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. In 2016, Laos were invited to the inaugural 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup held in Kuching being grouped with Macau, Sri Lanka and Mongolia. In the first match, Laos won Sri Lanka 2–0 before losing to Macau 1–4 but bounced back with another win against Mongolia 3–0 sending the team to the knockout stage. They would go on to face Nepal in the semi-finals level at 2–2 in extra time but lost on penalties shootout thus bowing out from the cup.
In 2023, Laos particapted in the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification facing against Nepal. On 12 October 2023, Laos contested in a 1–1 draw at the Dasharath Rangasala in Kathmandu.
Controversies
In 2017, the AFC announced it had been investigating the Laos national team, as well as football club Lao Toyota FC, since 2014 on suspicions of match fixing. As a result, many players and officials were banned for life, 15 of which were banned all at once. The players receiving the bans included star players Khampheng Sayavutthi and Maitee Hatsady, goalkeeper Vathana Keodouangdeth and former captain Saynakhonevieng Phommapanya.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2023
Coaching staff
Coaching history
Players
Current squad
The following 23 players were selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round against Nepal on 12 and 17 October 2023.
Caps and goals as of 27 September 2023, after the match against the Nepal.
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the Laos squad within the last twelve months.
Records
Players in bold are still active with Laos.