A young goalkeeper from Russia will be able to play for the Uzbekistan national team

Young Russian goalkeeper will be able to play for the Uzbekistan national team

Seventeen-year-old goalkeeper Timofey Tolstenev made his debut for Gazalkent in the Uzbekistan Pro League after the club managed to obtain FIFA permission for his registration. In the future, the team is considering securing Uzbek citizenship for the goalkeeper so that he has the opportunity to play for the national team.

Tolstenev made his debut on October 12 in an away match of the 22nd round of the Pro League against Jayhoon. The goalkeeper was in the starting lineup, and Gazalkent won 2-1.

The goalkeeper was born on November 17, 2008. Prior to his official debut, he trained with the team for about a year, but the club could not include him in the squad due to restrictions related to the registration of minor foreign footballers.

"Through FIFA, we received permission for his registration and immediately let him make his debut," a Gazalkent representative said.

Previously, Tolstenev had taken part in friendly matches for the team. In February, he was in the starting lineup for a game against Zenit-2 at a training camp in Turkey, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Now the club intends to evaluate the young goalkeeper's performance in the upcoming matches and decide how to proceed. One option is for Tolstenev to obtain Uzbek citizenship, which could potentially open the door to the national team.

"The next games will be an exam for him. If everything goes well, then he needs to get an Uzbek passport, because we do not have goalkeepers like him," Gazalkent reported.

At the same time, obtaining Uzbek citizenship alone does not guarantee the right to play for the country's national team: the possibility of changing sports citizenship depends on FIFA rules and the individual circumstances of the player.

Gazalkent was revived at the end of 2025 after a long hiatus. Since the 2026 season, the team has been playing in the Uzbekistan Pro League and attracting young players, including those from Russia.

In addition to Tolstenev, Russian footballers Ivan Korshunov and Vladislav Nabatov play for the club. Korshunov is a product of Saint Petersburg's Zenit academy, having previously played for Zenit-2 and other Russian teams. The eighteen-year-old forward Nabatov trained in the system of Yaroslavl's Shinnik.

In October, the forward scored a brace in a match against Pakhtakor-2, which Gazalkent won 3-2, and then scored again in the game against Jayhoon.

Earlier, the Uzbekistan national football team defeated Syria by a large margin in a friendly match in Tashkent. The match ended with a score of 4-1.