The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification happened with the outbreak of the civil war, leaving majority of the national team's players and staff to escape to Djibouti by boat, which made headline by the media. Yemen only managed to defeat two opponents, Pakistan and the Philippines, while they lost to other opponents, thus Yemen ended their qualification with bottom record. However, since the failure, Yemen has begun their resurgence. During the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification, which was the first attempt of Yemen to qualify to the tournament as an unified nation, Yemen has defeated Tajikistan, while maintaining other draws. Yemen had a big chance to qualify to its first international tournament in its history as a unified country. Finally, with the help from the Philippines when the Azkals defeated Tajikistan 2–1 in Manila, Yemen had finally qualified to the Asian Cup for the first time in its history.