Vladimir Cheburin, senior coach of Kazakhstan's under-21 football team, has named a 23-man squad to prepare for three final matches in qualifying for the 2027 European Championship, infohub.kz reports.
The goalkeeping department comprises Miras Rikhard (Irtysh), Sayatkhan Kusainov (Turan) and Sherkhan Kalmurza (Kairat).
Defenders called up are Sultan Askarov (Kaisar), Salamat Zhumabekov (Kaisar), Sanzhar Anuarov (Astana), Ramazan Karimov (Irtysh), Sagi Malikaidar (Irtysh), Ali Turganov (Ordabasy), Sergey Ivanov (Altai) and Nikita Gubarev (Kyzylzhar).
The midfield is represented by Abinur Nurymbet (Ordabasy), Akhmetali Kaltanov (Astana), Zhansultan Mukhametkhanov (Okzhetpes), Miras Omatay (Elimai), Olzhas Baibek (Kairat), Mukhamedali Abish (Kairat) and Saif Popov (Altai).
In attack will play Artem Litosh (Shakhter), Yan Trufanov (Atyrau), Magzhan Toktybai (Ordabasy), Maksat Abrayev (Astana) and Mansur Birkurmanov (Kairat).
The schedule for the final qualifying matches is as follows: on 25 September, Kazakhstan's U21 team will face England at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton. On 29 September, Cheburin's charges will play Ireland at Turner's Cross in Cork. The qualifiers will conclude on 6 October with a match against Moldova in Nisporeni.
Recall that in March, Kazakhstan's U21 team played two home qualifiers in Turkestan. In the first game under Cheburin, the team lost to Slovakia 1-3, with Magzhan Toktybai scoring the hosts' only goal. Four days later, Kazakhstan narrowly lost to Ireland 0-1, with the decisive goal coming in the 89th minute. After that defeat, Kazakhstan's U21 team lost any mathematical chance of reaching the Euro 2027 finals. After seven matches, the team has four points.
The final tournament of the U21 European Championship will take place in the summer of 2027 in Albania and Serbia.