This was Kazakhstan's last Asian championships. In 2001, Kazakhstan looked to move to UEFA, and in 2002, they began to play their qualifying games there. It was the qualification for the European Championships in 2005 where Kazakhstan played their first qualification games. Kazakhstan began at Class B (the level of qualification) and came last in their group with just 2 points. Kazakhstan also finished last in the qualification for the World Cup in 2007, despite a good home victory against Romania. The qualification for the European Championships in 2009 were the first without seeded pre-qualification, but Kazakhstan still had to play a pre-qualification game. Kazakhstan came back against Wales after having lost 1–2 against them in a mini-tournament in Macedonia.