The national team's coach outlined the quick route to Kazakhstan's victories over Spain, England, and France in football.

The head coach of Kazakhstan's U19 football team, Alexander Kuznetsov, shared with Caravan.kz that Kazakhstani players have the potential to perform at a high level and mentioned the age group that European scouts should pay attention to.

— How would you assess the performance of the junior national team under your leadership in the recently concluded European Championship qualifiers?

— In the last cycle, our team competed in a challenging group during the European Championship qualifying round. We achieved a historic victory over the bronze medalists of the European Championship – the Ukrainian team (2:1), and narrowly lost to the hosts of the mini-tournament – the Netherlands and Slovenia. We were just one step away from reaching the elite round. Unfortunately, we lacked depth in our squad – injuries and illnesses among key players affected our rotation. Additionally, we could not count on Dastan Satpaev, who was undergoing a trial with Chelsea at that time. We are happy for him and wish him success in his future career. He has done a great job, and we will keep an eye on him. Despite the challenges within the squad, the team performed admirably, showcasing competitive football. This was the first victory in the Euro qualifiers in many years, and what a victory it was – against the bronze medalists!

— How is the work structured within your coaching staff?

— I would like to emphasize that the work was carried out by various specialists. Our main goal was to change the situation of recent years, as well as to earn points and develop players. I believe we are moving in the right direction. In general, one of the main tasks of the U19 team is player development, and we have prepared a whole group of footballers for the youth national team. Over two years of working with different age groups, we have achieved good international results: we became silver medalists at the "Development" tournament (Belarus) and the Slovenia Cup 2023, where we lost to Portugal 2:3 in the decisive match.

— How well are the regions represented in the junior national team?

— We have expanded the geography of our selection – players from more than 14 different clubs are represented in the team. We maintain contact with all coaches and closely monitor the development of the players.

— What can you tell us about the upcoming qualifiers for the next international tournament?

— In the new qualifying cycle, we will once again play in the Netherlands, where our opponents will include the hosts of the mini-tournament, Ireland, and Cyprus. We are starting to work with a new cohort of players born in 2007. We plan to hold our first training camp in March. We are already monitoring this age group, and we gradually integrated the leading players from 2007 into training sessions with older players last year.

— How is the process of scouting young Kazakhstani footballers going?

— The scouting work continues on a daily basis. I watch all matches involving candidates, during the training camps of professional teams, and when there are broadcasts – currently, this aspect is well-managed. I followed the games at the "Development" tournament in Minsk. I pay attention to promising players born in 2008. As before, we strive to cover all regions and create a competitive team in a short time, as we have an important qualifying stage ahead in November. The work is proceeding as planned; we will focus on player development and set ambitious goals for the team, as the previous cohort showed good progress, and now we need to build on those achievements.