Ruslanzhan Raimbakiev: “This tournament is important for us”

''The team is preparing for the tournament as planned. The intensity of training is good, and we began full training on 20 April. More players will join us in the coming days. Our first match is against Pakistan, and at this stage we do not see any difficulties. The coaching staff is working daily, both on the training pitch and in analysing our opponents. This tournament is important for us as we will play three matches.

Most of the squad has been selected from the KFF Academy. The team also includes players from Shakhter, Astana and clubs from the southern regions, as well as footballers from Germany’s Magdeburg and Spain’s Sant Cugat. All the players required by the national team were invited. At the same time, we took into account that some might not be able to join, as the matches fall outside the FIFA international window. For the same reason, there are no Kairat players in the squad. In addition, those players are preparing for tournaments in Switzerland and Saint Petersburg, and the coaching staff considered the potential workload, which is why other players were selected.”