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The Mongolia national football team represents Mongolia in international football under the control of the Mongolian Football Federation. Founded in 1959, the federation was inactive between 1961 and 1997 and the men's national team did not feature in any international fixtures during that time. The federation was reorganized in 1997 and joined the AFC the same year. In 1998 the federation became a full member of FIFA, the international governing body for the sport. The MFA joined the EAFF as one of eight founding members in May 2002. Because of the harsh climate and a lack of suitable venues, the team has hosted few home matches in the past. However, in 2002 the MFF, with assistance from FIFA, began developing facilities in the country, including the creation of the 5,000-seat MFF Football Centre, which will allow the team to play more matches in Mongolia.
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Although the MFA was formed in 1959, Mongolia competed in an international tournament celebrating the 10th anniversary of Japanese-controlled Manchukuo in 1942. Mongolia's only match in the tournament resulted in a 0–12 defeat to Japan. After the formation of the MFA, the men's national team competed in a tournament in Hanoi, North Vietnam which included the national teams of only communist states in Asia. Mongolia competed against China, North Korea, and North Vietnam, losing all three matches by a combined score of 3 to 19. Mongolia competed at the East Asian Games in 1993, 1997, and 2001. Although the tournament was meant to be competed among under-23 teams, Mongolia, Guam, and Macau were permitted to enter their full national teams in 2001. Some evidence suggests that Mongolia was also permitted to enter its full national team in 1993 also but sources indicate that only North Korea fielded a team without age restrictions. If the full national team competed in 1993, they recorded the team's first ever victory, either before or after FIFA membership, with a 4–3 win over Macau on 18 May.
The Mongolia national team has historically competed only in official competitions such as the EAFF East Asian Championship, AFC Asian Cup qualification, and FIFA World Cup qualification since becoming members of FIFA. The MFA was suspended by the EAFF from January 2011 to March 2014 and was therefore unable to compete in the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup. As of August 2016, the team has played only one FIFA international friendly. The match was a 1–8 defeat to Uzbekistan in Tashkent on 28 February 2000. The team's first official goal was scored in the match by Tsagaantsooj Enkhtur since Mongolia failed to score in its two matches at the 1998 Asian Games.
Mongolia recorded its first-ever FIFA victory on 24 February 2003 with a 2–0 result over Guam during the 2003 East Asian Football Championship. The team earned its second victory during 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification by a score of 5–0 over the same opponent. That 5–0 scoreline remained Mongolia's largest margin of victory until July 2016 when the team beat the Northern Mariana Islands 8–0 during the 2017 EAFF East Asian Cup. Mongolia suffered one of its largest defeats in an official match with a 0–12 result against the Maldives during 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification. Mongolia's senior men's team lost 0–15 to Uzbekistan during the 1998 Asian Games, the team's largest-ever margin of defeat.
2016 AFC Solidarity Cup
In April 2016, it was announced that Mongolia would participate in the inaugural AFC Solidarity Cup, a tournament for the confederation's lowest ranked teams who have limited opportunities to arrange friendly matches, in November 2016. The tournament would replace the defunct AFC Challenge Cup. Each team was expected to participate in a minimum of three matches. Mongolia was drawn into Group B alongside Sri Lanka, Macau, and Laos. At the time of the draw, it was announced that the tournament would be held in Malaysia. As part of preparation for the tournament, Mongolia played a friendly match against Hebei China Fortune, a club team from the Chinese Super League, during the team's training camp in China. The match ended in a 0–2 defeat. Mongolia did not advance beyond the group stage after finishing third in Group B. The team recorded a defeat to Macau and a win over Sri Lanka but was defeated by Laos in the team's final match, a match from which they needed at least a draw to advance. Mongolia's manager for the tournament was Toshiaki Imai of Japan.