Two weeks before the Asian Cup 2027 qualifying match against Thailand, Turkmenistan’s national football team appointed a new head coach. Rovshen Meredov, a 42-year-old specialist, holder of the professional PRO coaching license and master of sports, took the position, as announced by the Turkmenistan Football Federation.

Rovshen Meredov replaced Mergen Orazov as head coach of the national team. Under Orazov’s leadership since 2023, Turkmen footballers won one official match — a 2-1 away victory over Chinese Taipei in the Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers.

Rovshen Meredov began playing football in Balkanabat in the group of youth sports school coach Valery Revazovich Tskitishvili. Later, he played for top league teams including “Nebitchi”, “Dagdan”, “Galkan”, “Ahal”, and ITTU.

In 2003, he graduated from Turkmen State University with a degree in law.

After ending his playing career in 2013, he transitioned to coaching.

Under Meredov’s leadership, ITTU won the AFC President’s Cup in 2014 — the third most prestigious Asian club trophy — and “Ahal” won the Turkmenistan Cup in 2017, as well as three silver medals in the national championship.

In 2020, after nearly two years of study in Tashkent, Rovshen Meredov successfully defended a FIFA- and AFC-recognized diploma to obtain the professional PRO coaching license, which authorizes coaching national teams and club teams anywhere in the world. After that, he gained international coaching experience. In 2020, he coached Uzbek club “Kyzylkum”, and in 2022 — Kyrgyz club “Kaganat”.

Since early 2025, Rovshen Meredov has headed the technical department of the Turkmenistan Football Federation, which is responsible for the development of youth, women’s, grassroots football, as well as futsal and coaching education. Since 2020, he has also been a FIFA technical expert in the Global Football Development project led by former Arsenal head coach Arsène Wenger.

Now, Rovshen Meredov faces a difficult task — to lead Turkmenistan’s national team to qualify for the Asian Cup, the final tournament of which will be held in 2027 in Saudi Arabia. To achieve this, they must finish first in Group D, competing against Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka.

It is worth recalling that Turkmen footballers have only twice participated in the Asian Cup final stages before. The first time was in 2004 when the tournament was held in China, and the second time was in 2019 in the United Arab Emirates. In the previous qualifiers, Turkmenistan finished third in Group E and did not qualify for the Asian Cup finals held in 2023 in Qatar.

Despite the huge time pressure in preparing for the crucial June 10 match in Ashgabat against Thailand, the new head coach of Turkmenistan’s national team remains optimistic.

“I understand all the responsibility ahead of me,” said Rovshen Meredov. “The task is not easy, and we will put in maximum effort to solve it. From my side, I can promise that I will not be indifferent to the work. My team has formed a staff that will also put in maximum effort. It includes people who share my views on football and have experience playing for the national team. These are also dedicated people who want to help the team. In this regard, we very much count on the support of the fans, which we need so much right now.”

According to Meredov, the coaching staff of the Turkmen national team is currently reviewing all matches of the national championship to select candidates. After the last games before the break, an extended squad for the national team will be announced. Starting June 1, the team will begin a training camp in Ashgabat to prepare for the match against Thailand. At the same time, information is being gathered about the opponent, including video analysis of Thailand’s matches.

“The Thailand national team is a very organized team,” said Meredov. “I watched their qualifying match against Sri Lanka and must say these teams are progressing. Thailand is coached by a Japanese specialist who has instilled a well-organized, fast, combination style of play. Among all teams that did not qualify for the World Cup and are fighting for a place in the Asian Cup, Thailand is one of the strongest. That is why they were seeded in the first pot during the draw.”

“As for our next opponent, the Sri Lanka national team, which used to be an easy target, now has naturalized European players who play intelligent football,” Meredov continued. “So, in the fight for a ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup, no one should be underestimated. There are no clear outsiders in the group. Every game will be like a final.”